MY NIGHTMARE

"No, leave me alone! Nooooo"! Rita jumped off the bed and ran to her mother's room for comfort. She was sweating profusely and panting in her mother's embrace. She had another "episode" as they called it. No, it wasn't a dream, it was more of a trance which has hunted her all her life. "Mother, I saw him again", she cried,"the bull-horned man with scaled skin and firey eyes.He came bearing gifts and it felt as if his eyes were seeing through my very existence. His aura was such a negative one, I felt suffocated and it was like life was being snatched out of me". "It was just a fragment of your imagination", her mother said, comforting her but Rita wouldn't take that. "I know what I saw!, you of all people know that I have been disturbed and tormented by this man ever since I was a kid. Please tell me, what is wrong with me? Am I possessed by a demon? Do I have a mental disorder? Am I mad? Mother please tell me, I deserve to know. You owe me that at least." Her mother, Cecilia sobbed as she pulled her to a tight embrace, "All is well my daughter, all will be well". They both slept on the same bed because Rita couldn't go back to her room after all she went through in the past few minutes. She sobbed until she slept off but Cecilia could not sleep. She was full of worry and pity for her daughter. "Why must it be her? Why my daughter? You should have chosen someone else. How do I tell her? I can't bring myself to do that. She will commit s*****e. I don't want to lose her yet Rita was her only child and her husband had an accident which resulted to his death barely two months after Rita was born. She was her only companion and relation since she lost her parents and siblings to a wildfire which engulfed their home in the outskirt of the village. It was during one of her lonely hikes she met Rita's father. His demise was a great loss but for the sake of her daughter, she endured everything and chose to be strong, now this. She wished she was the one having these "episodes" in place of her beloved daughter. It was a long night but sleep managed to steal the moment after a long silence. What will tomorrow bring for this mother and child?