Night Terrors

Last night, I was up reading The Alaskan Bootlegging Bible and trying to imaging what wine made from milk whey would taste like. It was past midnight, it was deadly quiet, even with some windows open. Wife was working the late shift.

Suddenly my daughter stumbled out of bed and began walking around the house. No one in our house has ever slept walk that I know of. I went to her, and she came over and clung to me very tight. She was murmuring and crying and was in the middle of a terrible nightmare. She had a cold sweat and was extremely frightened and would only say "I wanna go home".

I laid her back down, but she soon got back up and clung tightly again. I held her for a long time, rocking her like she was a baby, and finally, I had to lay down with her to get her comforted and back to sleep. I say back to sleep, but really she never woke up. This was all an extended nightmare.

In the morning she was her cheery self again. I asked her if she remembered any dreams. She paused and got this dark look on her face. She said the nightmare was about everything around her growing really big or getting really small, while she stayed regular size. Doesn't seem scary to me, but maybe this dream is an insight into the deeper fears of a six-year old.