35
That night, Reik held me as I slept. He seemed to lack any sense of security, his arms wrapped tightly around my waist, like a vine that had grown into me. I drifted in and out of sleep, tang-
led in his embrace.
I had so many
dreams.
1
And that night, for the first time, I finally: saw the contents of those chaotic dreams clearly.
I remembered the years Reik and I had relied on each other to survive. We grew up in the same orphanage. When I was twelve, the orphanage director cornered me, his intentions vile.
Reik plunged a sharp dagger deep into the man’s thigh.
He crippled the director’s leg and took me away from that dark place.