Chapter 5 - Shadows at the Window
Despite the quiet victories, the darkness did not surrender easily.
Nightmares were the worst. They usually struck at 3:00 AM, the hour when the subconscious loses its defenses. Lily would wake up screaming, flailing against her blankets, trapped in the hallucination that the laundry room door was locked and the air was running out.
Mark stopped sleeping in his own bed altogether. He dragged a worn armchair into her room, keeping a dim amber nightlight plugged beside her bedside table. Whenever the panic seized her, he didn't try to pull her upright; he simply placed his warm, heavy hand on her shoulder and spoke in a steady, monotonous rhythm until the tremors subsided.
""Five things you can see, Lily,"" he would instruct softly, utilizing the grounding technique Dr. Patel had recommended. ""Tell me five things.""
""The... the window,"" she would gasp, chest heaving. ""The teddy bear. Your blue shoes. The ceiling star. Your watch.""
""Good. Four things you can touch.""
""The blanket. My pajamas. Your sleeve. The pillow.""
Slowly, step by step, he pulled her back across the border from terror into the waking world.
One night, after her breathing had steadied, she looked at him through the twilight. ""Dad? Why did she hate me?""
Mark closed his eyes for a moment, wrestling with the impossible task of explaining adult malice to an innocent soul. ""She didn't hate you, Lily. She hated herself, and she was greedy for things that didn't belong to her. When people are that sick inside, they hurt the brightest things around them because they can't stand the light.""
Lily pulled her knees to her chest. ""I’m glad you saw the pills.""
May you like
""I should have seen them sooner,"" Mark answered honestly, the lingering guilt catching in his throat. ""I’m sorry it took me so long.""
""You came,"" she whispered, closing her eyes. ""That's what matters.""
