Nightmares Reimagined

[Daiyu]

Mara dragged her finger through the dirt, absently drawing little shapes and symbols. Nox had a pleasant voice and kind eyes, she thought as she watched him engage in what she assumed was small-talk. It was kind of sweet, actually. “I don’t refer to Daiyu as a separate person, you know. The doctors, even my parents, all assure me that is my name, and they simply reject the idea that I am Mara instead. It’s quite frustrating. Perhaps, yes, that is the name on my birth certificate, but why is it so strange that a girl claims a different name? That’s why they incarcerated me, although, I must say that if I had my choice, I do prefer the Guardian to the equivalent at home. The doctors are better here, even if they continue to disbelieve the things I allege. That nightmares are real, for instance. And the electroshock therapy is much more tolerable.” She shrugged. The doodling in the dirt had turned into an elaborate finger sketch of a nightmare devouring a person head first.