Fears

***

Once again she slept in a corner somewhere, hands folded in her lap, listening to the rustling in the hut. When the nightmare moved and fell, Grandmother raised her head and wiped her eyes. The creature stirred immediately, began to groan before opening its eyes and breathing more deeply. The wounds had healed well in a few weeks, and the creature already looked better than when it had been brought to the hut. Nightmare lifted her head, then carefully tried to roll over and make herself comfortable on the floor. Hearing the footsteps, smelling the strange atmosphere, the crackling of the quiet fire in the stove, the creature jumped to its feet, fell down before it began to growl and thrash about, as if trying to escape or run away from the place, but all it did was knock things off some of the shelves. Poor Sophia tried her best to calm the girl down as quickly as she could, as she rumbled to the floor in the corner, twitching and moving around, not letting anyone near her. She was like a caged rabbit, trying to get out any way she could, even if the hunters spotted her. Nightmare growled and held out one paw, before whimpering and pulling it back to her chest. Her lips trembled. — What am I doing here? Who are you, anyway? Are you going to kill me? — The girl’s mind raced, grinning like a wild animal. She tried to get away somehow, but she still had no strength. The old woman tried to calm the creature, even though she was scared to death of it. She watched as the creature growled softly, drool dripping from its mouth, which she wiped away with a bandage, then turned its head towards her paw, trying to remove the offending object. Nightmare could think of nothing better than to push the old woman away. Even though she was weak, she tried to do it as gently as possible, but Sophia still felt the force of the push and crashed to the ground a few metres from the creature. An unpleasant pain shot through her body, and her eyes blurred before she regained consciousness. — You… You were with them, weren’t you? Stay away! — Nightmare babbled in a shaky voice, breathing heavily. She pushed away desperately, trying to find a way out at all costs. After a few minutes, the creature calmed down, but its confused breathing and trembling emotions betrayed the tension and fear. As Sophia approached with the ointment, the nightmare suddenly hissed and growled, arching its back like a cornered street cat. — How scared you are… — Sofya muttered. She was no less frightened herself, but she tried to hold on. Without losing her patience, she approached the girl with a plate in her hand. Nightmare pushed herself into a corner, stood up, stretched, but fell back down again, as if her own body refused to obey. Sophia knelt down nearby, carefully adjusting her headscarf and small glasses, trying not to make any sudden movements. She placed the plate on the floor and, moving closer to the creature, spoke in a soft, enchanting voice: — You needn’t be afraid of me, dear. I’m not going to hurt you. There was a growl of disapproval. The creature drew its legs up to its chest, hugging them with its paws. Its body trembled. There was nothing but darkness in its black eyes, but it felt as if they were darting from side to side, as if looking for a way out, but the very thought of getting up or teleporting seemed unbearably difficult at the moment. Without moving from her seat, Granny continued to speak to the creature: — I know something terrible has happened to you…' she sighed, choosing her words carefully. — But this place… It’s soaked in the fear and suffering of others, it used to try to help people. But now… It turns every living thing into a hunted animal. She was silent for a moment, looking at Nightmare with a soft but wary gaze. — You know… I’m a little afraid of you too, ' she admitted. — But I’m trying to help. Please, at least let I treat your wounds from the fire. Nightmare looked at her, breathless, but didn’t answer. Instead, she sat down on her knees, giving up her attempts at 'pouting', her growl practically non-existent. This seemed to Sophia to signal gradual action. She slowly reached for the plate of ointment, then placed her hand beside it. There was ointment on her fingers. — Here, — she said quietly. — It’s for you. If you want, you can try it yourself, just make sure I don’t hurt you. Nightmare cautiously reached out for the plate of ointment, stopping when her claws touched the plate and lifting her head towards her grandmother. She jerked her paw away, leaving the ointment untouched. Suddenly, unpleasant images appeared in front of her grandmother: the walls were covered with cobwebs, and strange silhouettes of shadows began to flicker around. Sofya gasped, but immediately pulled herself together. She tried to calm herself, closed her eyes and began to breathe. — It’s not your fault, baby, — she said in a calm voice. — I understand. You’re just scared. The illusion slowly dissipated. Once more the Nightmare trembled and her body shook. She turned her head partially towards Grandmother, and it seemed to her that the creature was looking straight at her. It was as if she was expecting a reaction from the old woman, anger or fear or worse, but instead Grandmother just moved closer, holding out her other hand. — It’s all right. I’m not afraid of you. Nightmare looked at the other in disbelief, but something in her voice slowly calmed her. She allowed the old woman to apply the ointment to her paw, though it was still as tense, twitching at times. Some of the pain made her hiss. — What’s that? — Nightmare pulled her paw away and sniffed at it, wanting to lick it all off but not daring. — It’s ointment, — Sofya said, showing a plate of ointment. — I’ve been putting it on you for a while now… while you were unconscious and didn’t wake up. And it seems to work well. I understand herbs. Nightmare snorted softly and looked away, but her voice broke through the caution: — You shouldn’t waste them on me. My body… It heals itself. Slowly, but it’s doing it. Sofya raised her eyebrows in surprise. — All by itself? Nightmare paused for a moment before continuing. The creature’s voice was muffled: — Yes. At times like this, wounds heal on their own, but it’s a long and painful process. Sometimes I don’t even know what’s better: to wait or to try to speed it up… — she was silent for a moment, clenching her claws tightly, which almost penetrated the skin to deep wounds. — But your ointment helps a little. It… eases the pain. Sophia lowered her eyes to the plate of ointment, then looked back at Nightmare with some sympathy. — Then let’s do this: I’ll just be there to help if it gets too hard for you. OK? Nightmare looked up at her from under her thick locks, suspicion still creeping into her gaze, but there was a faint glimmer of appreciation in the depths of her eyes. She did not answer, but made no further attempt to push the old woman away. She just sat down in the corner, hugging her knees, snuggling into them.

***

Each day dragged on slowly, as if time was deliberately delaying the moment when she could see if she would finally be able to use her powers to the full, or if she would have to wait. The neighbours looked at the old woman with suspicion, sometimes starting unpleasant conversations. Sofya felt their suspicious glances. It seemed to her that they were beginning to guess: the creature that had burned in the fire a few months ago was living in her house. The whispers behind her grew louder. — Have you seen the lights in her windows flicker sometimes? That’s strange, some said. — And I heard someone growling and screaming from her house at night, ' others said. Sofya tried to ignore it, but every day it got harder. She knew she wouldn’t be able to hide the nightmare for long, but the thought of throwing it out didn’t even cross her mind. No matter what happened, she felt responsible for the creature, if only because she had once decided to help. At times like this, she would sit by Nightmare’s bedside and speak softly: — Don’t mind the others. The main thing is to get better. I’ll take care of the rest. Nightmare listened in silence, but from time to time her eyes flashed something like gratitude, however faint. She could feel her grandmother stroking her already partially recovered shoulder and saying those words lovingly. She could not believe that there were such people in the world, willing to help even someone who could kill you in an instant. Finally, one day, the creature showed weakness — real tears began to flow from the black eyes, as if they were coming from somewhere, rolling down her cheeks and onto the clothes the girl had finally managed to create. Seeing this, Sofya sat down next to Nightmare and hugged her, feeling her body tremble. — What’s wrong with you? — Sofya asked, leaning in closer. Nightmare looked up at her with a mixture of fatigue and confusion, then suddenly pressed her head to her chest and exhaled loudly. — Almost no one ever showed me any sympathy…. Everyone shunned me, feared me, made me suffer like they did back then… — her voice trembled. — I feel so strange. Like a little child. It’s so strange… Nightmare fell silent, but then she growled sharply, digging her claws into the regrown hair on her almost-healed head: — I’ve been living like an animal, you know? I’m an animal, let’s put it that way. I liked it that way. It was easy. And then… Her breathing became noisy and ragged, but after a while she managed to calm down. — I wish I could go back to my pack. But here… I’m surprisingly happy here. Strange to hear me say that, isn’t it? — Her lips quivered, and a nervous chuckle broke the silence. Sophia felt Nightmare tremble and put a gentle hand on her shoulder, trying not to frighten her away. — It’s not strange, — she said quietly. — You just need time to get used to it. I’ll do my best to make sure no one hurts you. Nightmare didn’t answer, but her tense body relaxed slightly under the old woman’s warm hand. It felt so good. It made me sick.