Just a Dream by Anne Manzhura

Anne woke up by
her daughter screaming, "Mummmmmmmy!"
Quickly, she ran to her daughter's room, terrified by her desperate cry. She found her little girl lying in the corner of the room, panting, and holding her hands over her head, covering the face, as if she was trying to hide from somebody.

She hugged her and tried to calm her down, "Shhhhh, sweety! Sweety! It's me! Your mum is here! Don't worry! You’re safe with me! Tell me -  what happened?"

The little girl cried out loud, "Mummy! There's someone roaming around in our house!"

Placing her over the chest and brushing her hands into the little girl's hair, Anne replied, "No, sweety, there is no one here! Just you and me! It was just a bad dream! Please, calm down! Stop crying! I won’t leave you!"

Pointing towards the door, the little girl screamed, "Mom! There it is! See! Mummy! There!"

Anne turned back to see a silhouette, holding a knife in his hand. Her eyes went wide. She hugged her daughter all over and tried to scream out for help, but no words came out of her mouth.

The silhouette moved closer to them and said, looking right into her eyes, "Sometimes, you just have to listen to those little kids! They speak truth!" And then he stabbed her right into her heart with the knife.

She squealed in agony, "Aaaaaaaahhhh!"

Anne woke up from her husband shouting, "Hey! Annie! Wake up! Calm down! You were screaming in your sleep! Relax! It was all just a dream!”

She looked around, hugged her husband, and mumbled with relief, "Oh! Thanks God! You cannot imagine what an awful dream it was!"

She got down the bed and moved towards her daughter's room. The little girl was still sleeping. This brought her some peace. Anne smiled, kissed her on the forehead and went back to her bed.

Her husband asked, "Darling, where did you go?"

She replied with a smile, “Honey, I just went to have a glance of our daughter and check if she’s okay.”

He frowned and whispered, "Annie, are you feeling alright? We don't have a daughter!"