Page 3 - FS October 2020

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DREAMS BECOME

NIGHTMARES- Flash Fiction

by Serena Mossgraves
James woke to hearing his wife singing a
sweet lullaby to their daughter. He
couldn't help thinking that usually Lara
was too busy to take the time. He
marveled at the beautiful alto she had.
Quietly, he slipped from their bed. He
wanted to see the moment without
disturbing it.
The baby's room was closer to the
stairs. He kept the house spotless, so the
floor was soft on his feet as he padded
across to the open door of their daughter's
room. Kayla was not quite six months old.
His job was able to be worked from home,
so he was here all of the time. Lara worked
for a busy firm, and was gone more than
not.

The house had been Lara's dream, the baby his. Minor fighting in the last six months
had occurred as Lara accused him of loving Kayla more than her. James mostly wrote it
off as frustration from work, and exhaustion. So to hear Lara singing a lullaby was so
sweet, and a relief that he really did not want to disturb it. He barely got the door to
open, revealing the beautiful long brown hair of his wife as she was sitting in the
rocking chair. The chair had been in her family since the revolutionary war. Honestly, it
creeped him out. Lara loved it. Said that she felt loved when she sat in it.
Just as the door opened, there was a knock at the front door. Not wanting the
moment to be disturbed, he opened it to find three men, two in police uniform and one
in a suit. They started telling him how sorry they were for his loss and how Lara had
died in an accident that morning. Time stopped, James turned and ran back to the
nursery... only to find it empty.

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