Goodnight Moon
“Tell me what you dream of,” the woman asked her charge lightly as she tucked him into bed.
“I dream of many things,” the young boy responded, his face contorting as he struggled to recall his latest dream. “Sometimes I dream of the moon,” he answered.
“You’re an astronaut?” she smiled as she asked the question. Children were capable of such amazing dreams giving away to fantasies and desires.
“No, I’m not. In my dream is a castle with beautiful music. A girl keeps calling to me, but I don’t know where she is. At least I think she’s talking to me.” He stuck out his bottom lip thoughtfully. “She doesn’t seem to know my name if that’s the case.”
“What else do you dream of?”
“I dream about riding a dark horse in a lush green field a lot. There’s a young boy with pale hair, maybe even blue hair, that’s always trying to give me advice. He talks to me a lot in my dreams.”
“Do you know who he is?”
The young boy shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. Maybe next time I will ask him. Why do you ask?”
She chuckled lightly. “Our dreams are very important. They are the eyes to our souls.”
“Our souls?” he asked, his interest piqued.
“You are someone who’s very important. I have no doubt that you will be responsible for many great things in life.” He watched her as she spoke, a sharp intelligence behind his eyes. “Would you like me to tell you a story?”
“It’s not going to be about princesses and dragons is it?” he groaned.
“Sometimes princesses are more than damsels in distress. These princesses protected the galaxy from an ancient evil that existed under the surface of the earth. There’s also the dashing prince who fell in love with the princess.”
“And let me guess,” he answered somewhat bored. “I’m the dashing prince?”
The babysitter chuckled. “No, Kai, you are one of his fierce protectors that wielded their own ancient magic. Led by fate and aware of their destiny these proud soldiers fought for their prince until they were stolen and turned by the evil.”
“And what happened to all of them?” he asked, his eyes now wide.
“They all died.”
“That’s not a good story.” He crossed his arms and frowned.
“No it wasn’t a good story,” she agreed. “It’s about redemption though. It’s about learning from our mistakes and not making them again. Sometimes it takes more than one lifetime to understand. I hope you will understand when the time comes.” She rose from his bed and headed towards the door.
“Setsuna?” he called out her name as she started to exit through the door. “Is that why I dream?”
“That is why you dream.”
“Are you going to stay with me again the next time my parents are away?” he asked hopefully. “I feel safe with you.”
“No, Kai,” she answered softly. “We will not be meeting again for a very long time.” Her dark eyes seemed full of an unnamed emotion just before she turned off the light and closed the door leaving Kai alone to his dreams.