Slowly, she turned around. The hound’s snarling grew louder. Aru dragged her gaze up from the fruit on the ground, where four dark paws impatiently scratched at the dirt. In the back of her head, the din of her nightmaresgrew louder and louder. They screamed that she wasn’t enough, wouldneverbe enough….
But she pushed hard against the painful thoughts clamoring around her.
Sage Durvasa’s words rang out in her mind:See well….
“Fine,” she said, raising her head to look at the hound straight on. “I see you.”
The nightmare hound started to whine.
“I see you for what you really are,” said Aru.
It lay down,putting its head on its paws, and blinked at her.
“You’re not a nightmare,” said Aru, raising her voice.
The hound rolled onto its back, tail wagging.
“You’re a floof.”
A second later, that’s exactly what it became. In the place of the nightmarish hound was a large, fluffy, somewhat dopey-looking white dog. It had badger markings around its eyes and a tail that looked like a feather duster.
“Wake them up,” said Aru sternly. She crossed her arms, even though what she really wanted to do was hug the dog and take it home.
Dutifully, the dream dog trotted over to Brynne and Aiden. It licked their faces, and the other nightmare hounds dissolved. Aiden and Brynne shook themselves, then stared at the pooch.
“Did we have a dog this whole time?” asked Brynne.
Aru felt a burst of reliefwhen she heard Brynne’s voice. The sound of it almost banished the Nightmare-Sleeper’s voice still echoing in her head.
“Nope!” Aru scratched its ears, cooing, “Hello, former monster! You are thefluffiestmonster!”
The dog’s tail went in a circle. Brynne reached out to scratch under its chin, and the big canine let out a contented sigh.
“Aru, you know you can’t keep it, right?” said Aiden.“It might switch back….”
“You’re not my mom!” said Aru, fluffing the dream dog’s ears. “You can’t tell me what to do.”
“ButIcan,” said a melodic voice.
The air shimmered, and the goddess Ratri appeared before them. She wore a black-and-purple salwar kameez that looked like evening fading to night. Her sable skin was star-spangled. Her hair ended in smoky black wisps and around her foreheadshone a bright constellation crown.
Immediately, Brynne, Aiden, and Aru pressed their palms together and bowed low. The dog stretched its front legs out and bowed, too.
“It requires no small amount of skill to free oneself from one’s own demons,” said Ratri.
Brynne turned red. “Sorry I plucked the silver apple thing.”
Ratri laughed softly, then picked the fruit up off the ground. “It’s notan apple at all. This is a Dream Fruit.”
“So you eat it and have good dreams?” asked Aiden, staring at it longingly.
“Not quite,” said Ratri slowly. She knelt on the ground and dug a small hole in the earth, which inspired the white dog todothe same. With hands that were somehow still clean, Ratri placed the fruit in the cavity and covered it with dirt. “It shows you what you cannot normallysee. That is one of the purposes of dreams: to help you see things in a different way. Sometimes a more truthful way.”
When she said this, her eyes went to Aru. “Dreams connect people,” said Ratri, getting to her feet.
“Wait…. Was it you who brought Mini to us in our dreams?” asked Brynne.
Ratri smiled and pushed a lock of hair behind one ear. “Perhaps,” she said gently. “I try to be subtlein the ways I provide assistance … unlike my dear sister, who is a bit more obvious.”
