Ira

A young girl sat cross-legged on a bed, fidgeting with a small bundle wrapped in tissue paper. A knock came from the other side of the door just before it was opened to reveal a shadow. When the girl did not respond he entered and claimed a seat next to her. She leaned into him with a familiarity only she was allowed. She did not fear the being that had kept her alive for so long, only that he would one day leave her.

"Aren't you going to open it?" he asked

"No"

"Why not?"

"I haven't decided if I'm still mad at you or not"

"I don't see how that stops you from opening a gift."

"If I'm mad, I don't want it, so I can't open it, but if I'm not then I can."

"Maybe knowing what it is will help you decide"

"But that would mean opening it"

He shrugged.

"No one said anything about keeping it," he said, standing to leave "but you better make up your mind soon, it has an expiration date"

The moment he walked out the door she tore the package open, her curiosity stronger than her hurt. Inside was a box of coloring pencils and a large white envelope. Setting the pencils aside she opened the envelope and looked inside. She scrunched her nose in confusion then proceeded to dump the contents of the envelope on the bed. Several scraps of paper came fluttered out. An assortment of tickets, coupons, and gift cards landed on the blanket in front of her. A smile spread across her face and joy hummed through her. Grabbing a hand full of them she ran into the hall. He was waiting for her right outside the door, leaning against the wall.

"Are these real? "She asked breathlessly

"No, they're just for looks," he told her.

She squealed and threw her arms around him.

"When can we go?"

"As soon as you get changed."

"I can do that later, these are only good for a week."

"Shoes." He said not bothering to point out her twisted logic.

She gave a frustrated huff and went into her room but soon reappeared holding a neon pink rain boot in one hand and a blue sneaker in the other. She held them up for his inspection and he raised a brow. A smile broke out across her face and she quickly shoved her feet into the footwear before grabbing one of his hands and tugging him toward a large wooden door at the end of the hall.

"Come on, time to get out of this hole"

The Nest was Mindy's second child and a dream she'd kept alive for the sake of her first. After struggling for years to keep the doors open after inheriting the dinner from her former boss, Mindy decided the only way to keep it alive was to rebrand it. So, after Emma started school, she took out a loan and renovated. And soon found her niche by catering to exhausted parents and tired students from the boarding school just five minutes out of town with discount meals and cheap, but good, coffee

Now it was the go-to for after-school activities and a haven for the everyday folk who kept different hours than the rest of the world. Doors open from 2pm to ten in the morning it traded a lunch hour rush for the families of a dinner crowd and kept its doors open for the late-nighters who were, more often than not, back in the morning for a good breakfast after their graveyard shifts. And during the midnight hours, when the breakfast-to-go bags were being prepared for everyone in a rush to get to school, a pot of Mindy's famous soup was kept warm for anyone who stumbled in drunk off their ass or just in need of a safe place to be for the night.

Despite its nighttime activities, Mindy's Nest was a huge part of the community and anyone who walked through its doors, both stranger and friend alike, was expected to call her "Auntie" because to her everyone was familia. And people were happy to comply because Mindy Carvalho's dinner was the heart and soul of this town. It was used to organize and host monthly events for the youth, facilitate carpools for parents trying to get kids to school, and always had a fundraiser going for someone in need, so if its owner and chef said somebody was alright, then they were all right.

Even so, Mindy's influence didn't stop the people of Ashton from being cautious of the girl and her father who showed up without explanation in the dead of night. I knew better than to think they would have ever welcomed us with open arms and never took it personally that I was given the job of the dishwasher to cause less of a disturbance.

With all that the Dinner was normally a hub of activity but with only a week left before finals and the ball just a few days away, most of our usual clientele was at home finishing last-minute assignments before cutoffs hit while those who had fallen behind crammed to get in as much studying as possible.

Having already finished everything I need to do I was on the clock until the morning shift came in to relieve me of duty. Since most school days Emma and I took the first shift after classes it wasn't unusual but with the lull in foot traffic, Mindy had put me on table duty today so I wouldn't "get rusty" but I was sure it had more to do with the events of the last week. she usually let me claim the counter, where there were fewer accidents and socializing was less of a requirement, but What Principal Wagner said must have gotten to her.

I would have been touched by her concern if her way of showing it wasn't so unfortunate. Customer service was its own kind of torture and now more than ever I preferred not to deal with other people. Already I had a headache and a creeping sense of déjà vu had pledged me all day.

But maybe Mindy was right, and I'd lost my touch. More likely I'd never had it to begin with. At least that was what I was prone to believe when the asshole at table 3 decided his coffee wasn't "black" enough and demanded a new pot.

Skirting around his bloated and battered aura bruised by anger and bitterness I returned to the kitchen yet again.

"Again?" Mindy scowled "I swear if that chocho doesn't drink my coffee I'm kicking him out, tell him he's paying by the pot.

Sighing I grabbed another along with the fully loaded breakfast plate for table 1 and turned back to face the new customers pushing in through the door. A family of five that were all noisy gaped tooth smiles. Plastering the most convincing friendly I could in to face I greeted them with a friendly "Welcome to Mindy's. Just grab a table and I'll be with you in a moment."

Hurrying over to table 1 I carefully set down the loaded breakfast plate.

"Here are your pancakes, anything else I can get for you."

The occupants, a couple who were here most Friday nights for the breakfast special and whose auras were almost one, took a moment too long to respond their attention captured by something over my shoulder.

"Lord have mercy. Those poor folks." the women murmured in shocked horror, and I turned to see what all the fuss was about.

The screen hung in the back corner was normally set on whatever talk show Mindy picked the night before but today someone had switched it to the local news and I was just in time to catch a visual of a collapsed building, the ruins still burning as firemen and paramedics swarmed the scene. The bottom of my stomach dropped out as déjà vu turned to recognition when the host appeared, her reserved continence a poor imitation of the somber event and my knees went weak with dread at her worlds.

"As of now fourteen killed with twenty-eight others having reported injuries and other three in ICU including off-duty officer Mark Williams and his eleven-year-old daughter Natali."

"13 dead, 29 injured" I whispered remembering the dream from weeks ago at the barn.

I was going to be sick. Emma was right they hadn't been just dreams. They were real. I'd seen this before. I knew the faces of every person caught in the blast and worse, I knew what was going to happen now. That little girl was going to die. And her father would survive only to have his world torn apart by the grief of her death.

" 'scuse me."

Startled me out of my daze I saw a little hand reaching to tap my arm just out of the corner of my eye. Gasping, I jerked out of reach before it could make contact, but my sudden movement sent the pot in my hand crashing into table. Hot coffee splashed out, landing all over my apron and stinging my arm. The kid, one from the family, jumped back just in time to avoid getting caught in the deluge. Hissing in pain, I let the pot slip from my fingers be for I could think better of it, and glass shattered across the floor.

"Crap!"

Cursing under my breath I hurried to wipe the burning liquid off.

"Oh, dear. Take these." the wife from table 1handed me a handful of napkins.

Apologizing profusely, I dabbed at the mess, trying to keep as much of it off the food and floor as possible. When there was no longer any danger of it dripping off the side I took the sopping pile of napkins to the kitchen, for once glad for the numbness that took away any embarrassment I might have felt, and grabbed a broom to get the glass scattered everywhere. When I returned several customers including the couple were trying to collect the pieces near them.

"Oh no please don't, I'll get it."

The bell above the door rang again but I ignored it to snatch some of the broken glass from the lady and knelt to pick up the larger bits next to her foot. I felt the breeze gusting in from outside and cursed when it sent a shard spinning just as I was about to grab it. Pointed at just the right angle it cut into the fleshy part of my thumb and I snatched my hand pack. Blood weld and I cursed again at what a pain today was turning into. Really, what else could go wrong?

"Need some help"

I froze.

That voice.

I knew that voice.

It was deep, but soft, with the barest hint of an accent curving around each word with the unhurried precision of thoughtfulness.

It was the voice I heard countless times.

It was the voice of my nightmares...

And a dream.

his voice.

Heart racing, I slowly turned to look up and there he was. With head slightly tilled with curiosity and his gem-like eyes glinting with unseen secrets, the embodiment of two years of nightmares.

Standing in front of me was literally the man of my dreams

I might have stood there like some idiot for an eternity if he didn't offer a hand. Too stupid to do anything else I took it and let him help me up. In a rapid rush, everything came into focus.

And it felt like waking up.