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all right. I'm here. Nothing will hurt you while I'm here." |
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Josie's eyes prickled with tears. How many times had she imagined saying just those words to her baby? Instead, she said them to a twenty-eight-year-old stranger. Her daughter, to be true, but a woman with a soul that mystified Josie as much as Josie's would mystify D.J.'s. Despite all the drawbacks and secrets in their relationship, it felt good to be needed. And though D.J. might deny it, right now she needed Josie. |
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Josie continued to stroke D.J.'s brow, but the girl did not quiet. Though reading her charge's mind wasn't allowed, Josie did recall another option from her crash course on guardian angelhood. If she couldn't stop D.J. from dreaming, she could at least replace the nightmare with a good dreama dream that might help her charge see the possibilities in her future. D.J. could use some hope. |
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Touching her palms to the sides of her daughter's forehead, Josie concentrated. D.J. gave a murmur of distress before her face relaxed; she sighed, and then quieted into a peaceful slumber. |
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D.J.'s nightmare was always the same. She stood alone in a great, dark cave. The air around her pulsed with night. Scuffling sounds from the ceiling and the floor announced the presence of rodents, both winged and four-footed. The steady drip-drip of water grated on her nerves, along with the dampness seeping into her bones. |
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She stumbled forward, trying to discover the way out. If she had gotten in, there had to be a way out, |
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