Howls fill my ears as the dream fades, and I shoot up in bed screaming—or howling—I don’t know.
“Honey,” a voice beside me moans. A cold, soft hand reaches out and grabs mine. “It’s a dream,” she mumbles. I look down at the dark tangles of hair covering her face.
“A dream,” I sigh, lying back down, but sleep won’t comfort me. I hear her breathing, can even feel it, I think, how the mattress moves, just ever so slightly. Maybe I just want to believe I can.
Softly, quietly, inch by inch, I crawl out of bed.
Tale Told 