Chapter 9 Javier
Nine
Javier
Right after putting Aleesa down for a nap, I went to my bed, only to have a familiar nightmare. One that always happened around the time of year Eloise had died.
Eloise sat on a bed with a light shining down on her. Her silky dark-brown hair swam to her shoulders, and she wore the pink nightgown that was her favorite. She looked really beautiful that day.
I realized after a while that she was in our bed, sitting right in the middle, with her back against the headboard. She held a baby swaddled in pink. I approached the bed, and she looked up at me, smiled, then offered me the baby.
“She’s all yours,” Eloise said.
I studied my baby’s face. My beautiful baby girl with the button nose and sandy curls. Her green eyes were just like Eloise’s.
I looked at Eloise again, but people were now surrounding her. Blood poured from between her legs, and when she saw this, she screamed. Someone took the baby from me, and I was torn between going to Eloise or making sure my baby was okay.
But Eloise made the decision for me. She pointed at our daughter, demanding that I go. Then she continued screaming.
Some time passed. I did not know where I went, only that I was taking care of our baby. Finally, I returned to the room to check on her, but Eloise and every single stranger was gone.
The only trace that my wife had ever been there was the massive bloodstain in the middle of the bed.