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A look at my alarm clock on the little white bedside table tells me that it is half past two when she calls my name for the first time this night. Sincerely hoping these nightmares will not become a regular occurrence, I crawl out of the bed, flinching as my naked feet touch the cold wooden floor, before I walk quietly out of the room.
It only takes me a few steps until I reach her door and upon opening it, I can already see her sitting upright on her four poster bed amidst her cuddly toys, blankets, and pillows. Her tousled, dark curls are clearly visible against her bright, pink bedlinen but as I step closer it’s her quiet sobbing that catches my attention.
“Hey darling, another nightmare?,” I ask quietly and cover the last remaining metres until I am by her side, carefully sitting down on the mattress next to her. Still crying, Emiliana crawls onto my lap, burying her face in the crook of my neck while her tears now drip onto my skin, rolling slowly down my chest. “It was the same horrible dream, Daddy,” she whimpers and as I put my arms gently around her, I rock her slowly back and forth.
“Shh, I’m here now. It’s all good, Emmy,” I breathe against her hair, hoping it will calm her down. She nods faintly but doesn’t let go of me. “Do you want to sleep in my bed again tonight?,” I offer and gently I lift her chin up, wiping her tears away with my fingertips. “Yes please,” she mumbles, sniveling once more, and I kiss her softly on the forehead.
“Well, then let’s take Pixie and then we go back to bed,” I smile and she scrambles off my lap to fetch her favourite cuddly toy, a white rabbit with long fluffy ears and huge, blue eyes. I stay on the edge of the mattress and chuckle lightly as she climbs onto my back. “Somebody wants a piggy-back, eh?,” I ask and her quiet laugh makes me smile lovingly. “Yes please, Daddy,” she whispers into my ear and carefully I stand up, my daughter clinging onto my back like a monkey onto a tree.
I’m not surprised when I hear quiet, little feet padding along the carpet in the hallway and up the stairs leading to my bedroom. Of course Benjamin would have heard us by now and of course he would want to join in on the cuddle session in my huge, kingsize bed.
“Hey Ben,” I smile and ruffle gently through his hair. “Did you bring Bouncy?,” I add and he nods, rubbing his eyes tiredly before he pads into the room ahead of Emiliana and me. Carefully, I put her down onto the bed before I turn back towards the door.
“I’ll be right back. You go ahead and make yourself comfortable,” I mumble with a smile, quietly leaving the room again to use the bathroom on the floor below.
The sight that greets me as I enter my bedroom again a few minutes later, makes me stop for a moment, taking in my two children lying on my bed, facing each other, their cuddly toys squished between them, Ben just about to put his arm protectively around his sister.
I watch them lovingly, proud at my son’s sensitivity and my daughter’s thankfulness as she places a careful kiss onto his cheek before they both pull the thick, heavy blanket all they way up to their chins.
“Did you have another bad dream, Emmy,?” Ben whispers into the semi-darkness and Emiliana nods. “Yes, with a huge monster that tries to grab me by the toes,” she mumbles, the memory of her fear audible in her voice. “Well, it can’t catch you here,” her brother replies, earnestly. “It would have to get past my toes first and past Daddy’s and we’ll make sure it doesn’t get you. And Bouncy and Pixie protect us, too,” he adds and I can see his sister smile a little in the pale light of the moon shining in through the curtains. “Thank you, Ben,” she breathes before she looks up at me and I smile.
As carefully as possible, I crawl back onto the bed and under the blanket next to Emmy.
“Is everybody safely under the blanket?,” I ask, quietly, letting my hand run through their hair as they both nod. “Goodnight then,” I whisper into the direction of my children and they both answer with a mumbled “Goodnight” themselves, clearly drifting back to sleep already.
I’m not even needed here, I realise and with a proud smile on my face and the sound of their regular breathing as the dominating sound in the semi-dark room, I slowly fall asleep as well, my children holding each other tightly under the blanket next to me.