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“A-Azzy?”
Asriel stirred slightly at his sibling’s hoarse whisper and rough shake, awake enough to look somewhat disgruntled about Kris’s poking and prodding at him. “What happened, Kris?” He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and blindly grabbed at his bedside cabinet for his glasses. He turned to Kris, his face illuminated by the faint ray of moonlight peeking through the window.
“Th-There was a- a-” Kris tried to explain between quiet sobs, not making much progress. All they could feel was fear, the thick feeling clouding their mind and clogging their throat.
Asriel’s eyes widened in concern. “Hey, hey, you’re safe. What happened?” He paused to wipe a tear from Kris’s cheek with his comforter. “Was it a nightmare?”
Kris shook their head, but then nodded. They weren’t sure if what had happened had remained in their dreamscape or leaked into the real world. They could almost see it out of the corner of their eye, hidden in the corners, trickling from the ceiling, emerging from underneath Asriel’s bed. It was so quiet — the only noises Kris could hear were their own shuddering, distraught breaths. They were too scared to even blink. Maybe, in the split second their eyes were closed, everything would disappear, and-
“It’s okay, Kris. C’mere.” Asriel’s voice interrupted Kris’s fearful train of thought. It felt like a lone island in the middle of an endless ocean, a voice that Kris could hang on to no matter what, no matter where. They gingerly climbed onto Asriel’s bed and sank into the soft mattress, latching onto their brother tightly. It felt warm and safe, as if they were shielded by a forcefield that separated them from their fears. Nothing could hurt them when Asriel was here.
Asriel laid an arm around Kris’s shoulder. “Deep breaths. Just focus on breathing.” Kris obliged, slowly inhaling and exhaling with Asriel’s guidance. It was difficult to control at first, but after a few minutes, their breath shifted from arrhythmic wheezes to slow, steady puffs.
“So, do you wanna tell me-” Asriel began after Kris had calmed down but stopped once he noticed their face squishing against his clothes. “Hey! You’re getting your snot all over my pajamas!”
Kris chuckled. “Actually, wh-when you get a runny nose when you’re crying, th-those are just tears going down through your nose,” they said with a grin, their voice still shaky. They turned their smile towards Asriel’s disconcerted face.
“And why do you know this.”
Kris shrugged. “Dunno. Read it somewhere.”
“I see.” Asriel sighed. “So, do you wanna tell me what happened, if you want?” His voice was soft in a comforting way, just loud enough for Kris to hear.
Kris knitted their brows and looked away. They inhaled and exhaled sharply, the sudden noise cutting through the moment. “There was-” They paused for a second, taking a moment to collect their thoughts. “The dark. I- I’m- it was the dark.”
Kris found it in them to look at Asriel again. The thing they feared almost as much as the dark was Asriel looking down on them for it. But as they slowly turned their eyes up, instead of the taunting sneer part of them had expected, they were met with a kind smile and a nod of understanding.
“It was- I was-” as they struggled for words, they couldn’t help but notice how unusually high their voice sounded. “It felt like it was spreading. And everyone was gone. I couldn’t see anything — but it felt like other things could… s-see me. And it was all growing and surrounding and choking and-” Kris finished the sentence with an exhale. “It- I was- I’m scared of the dark."
Asriel’s response was to pull them into a tight hug. “It’s okay, Kris. I’m here. And so are mom, and dad, and as long as we’re here, everything will be fine.” He raised a hand to gesture around the room. “And, there are stars around.” Kris fixed their gaze on the glow-in-the-dark stars plastered onto the ceiling of the room, stretching across the walls on Asriel’s side of the room to the wall above their bed. Although they didn’t light up the space that much, it was reassuring to see their steady green glow persisting through the darkness.
“And,” Asriel added, ”you get used to the dark after a little bit, and you can see.” Kris found truth in his words as they looked around the room, now somewhat visible. They saw the red of their horned headband on the cabinet, and the glisten of the birdcage that had caught a stray tendril of moonlight, and the green carpet in the middle of the room with the strange symbol. The familiarity of it all eased the tension. And with Asriel’s warm presence behind them, they felt less alone than they had in what seemed like ages.
“Can you sing the song?” Kris asked innocently, brushing the hair out of their eyes and doing their best to make them sparkle. They hoped their eyes were actually sparkling, as they had no idea what they looked like.
Asriel sighed. “...Fine.” He took a deep breath and began to sing.
When the light is running low,
Kris loved the song, having memorized the lyrics. It was their favorite lullaby.
And the shadows start to grow,
Kris curled up into a ball and relaxed. Their fear had washed away in torrents. As long as Asriel was here, nothing could hurt them, especially the dark and whatever lurked within it.
And the places that you know,
Tired out from the tears they had shed earlier, Kris began to feel their eyes slowly ease shut. Their resistance to this only resulted in their eyes fluttering open for short bouts, but in the end, they were too exhausted to try and stay awake.
Seem like fantasy,
Kris finally drifted off with their lips contentedly turned up at the corners. They felt at home.
Despite Kris falling asleep, Asriel continued the song with a smile.
There’s a light inside your soul,
That’s still shining in the cold,
With the truth,
The promise in our hearts.
Don’t forget, I’m with you in the dark.