I have to admit, it might—No. It would not be fun.
Now who’s the grouch?
I curl my fingers into the cushion.For years Nightmare has demanded blood. Now it wants braids. And I don’t know which is worse.
Revenge is worse, it answers.
Do you mind staying out of my inner thoughts for just a moment?
Sorry, but you were thinking out loud,it replies softly.
But even though I’m frustrated, my body isn’t as tight as it usually is. I’m not sure when that happened.
The past few hours have been nothing if not a relief from how our conversations usually go.
Besides, we’ve found my father’s killer. Now we need to plan.You lost her.
Later,it says dismissively.First, the blonde.
If I find her, will you shut up?
Yes,it promises.
Fine.I rise from the chaise—no doubt I won’t sleep tonight anyway—and stride back to the window. I peer through the mist, into my realm, the dark buildings, the purple lights, the silver sliver of moon, and I breathe it all in deeply.
On the other side of this is where she lives.
Light.
I live in shadow.
How do you propose I locate her? By sending out a dream asking for her to be delivered to my doorstep?
Um, no. That would be a bit stalkerish, don’t you think?
I mean, is that really a question you want to ask when all you’ve done is wax poetic about her and ponies for the past eight hours?
I’m going to ignore that and pretend you said something nice. Anyway, no, we’re not going to send out a dream, though that’s a fantastic idea. We’re going to do something different.
I can’t wait to hear this.And what’s that?
I swear Nightmare smiles when it replies,We’re going full fairy tale.
Chelsea
“And that’s why you should enterWinnie the Pooh. It’s got cozy vibes, so it’s totally safe. So…” I smile at the ten-year-old girl, who’s trying to decide between enteringWinnie the PoohorDracula. “What do you think?”
She frowns. “It’s been a hot minute since I’ve entered a book, so I’m going withDracula.”
I suck my teeth. “Then we’ll have to get permission from your mom.”
She looks around quickly. “Never mind.Poohit is.”
I smile to myself. That’s what I thought. “All right. Take the book to the counter where you’ll be rung up.”
As she walks away, I shake my head. Kids never change. Always trying to enter books that are off-limits. I was probably the same.
Who am I kidding?
