Chapter 6 - Nightmares and Light
Julia’s nighttime terrors remained the most agonizing obstacle in the house. Every night at precisely 2:14 AM, the nine-year-old would wake up screaming for her mother, her shrieks echoing through the cavernous hallways like a siren of unmitigated grief.
One night, Ricardo bolted out of bed, intending to rush to Julia’s room as he always did, only to stop short when he saw a sliver of light coming from beneath his daughter’s door.
Luía was already sitting on the floor just outside the bedroom threshold, her back against the wall. She wasn't holding Julia; she knew the girl needed space during her panic cycles. Instead, Luía was speaking in a low, mesmerizing storyteller's cadence.
"Once upon a time," Luía murmured into the dark corridor, "there was a little girl who lived in a kingdom of eternal sunshine. But one day, the sun had to go to sleep behind the mountains forever. The little girl thought she would never see light again. She wandered into the dark forest, terrified of every shadow, believing the dark was her enemy. But as she walked, she looked up and realized something wonderful: because the sun was gone, she could finally see the stars. They were always there, shining quietly above her, waiting for her eyes to adjust."
Julia’s sobs quieted down to ragged breathing inside the room.
"Are the stars still there, Luía?" a small, trembling voice asked from the dark.
"Always," Luía replied softly. "Even when clouds cover them, they never leave."
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The next morning, for the first time since the funeral, Julia walked down the grand staircase under her own power. She walked straight into the kitchen, pulled out a chair next to Luía, and whispered, "Was the girl in your story okay in the end?"
"She was," Luía smiled, placing a pancake on her plate. "She learned how to navigate the night."
