As I prepare my self to sleep, I gaze at the moon. The night light shining, piercing the fabric of the curtain as I look towards the darkness to protect myself.

As I blink.

I see my sisters

Brothers.

And parents.

Coddled with me as they seem to be seemingly asleep.

But its just a dream isn't it?

No one questions what or how it happens...

We just accept how things are and play on with the script.

And so I stare at my siblings peacefully sleeping as I see the curtains ever so slowly seperating apart. I glaze at the pale glass window as a finger cloaked in black slowly lifts up the bottom of the window.

I froze. Not knowing what would happen next. As a small gap of time indulged with quite and peace embedded inside the tension.

And that's when it started.

One by one.

A hand smothered in black grabbing each of my precious family through the window.

A weird occurrence isn't it?

No one screamed.

No one noticed.

It was dangerously quiet and swift.

I then noticed why the reason was.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

As the monster had kidnapped one of my siblings, the situation rewinds to the time the window was closed.

But with a twist.

As each sibling gets kidnapped and time resets,

There's one less family member sleeping with me.

I'm reminiscing right now but I knew back then and know now,

How much of a coward I was.

All I did was freeze,

Look at up helplessly at The Hand kidnapping my family,

And did nothing.

As I crumbled with eyes glazed with fear, wondering what would selfishly happen to me,

It was my turn.

As the finger slowly opened the window with death awaiting in my mind.

I'm going to die.

I'm going to die.

I'm going to die.

I was forcefully snatched through the window as my eyes bulged wide with terror.

Yet.

I was back at the same location, sitting inside my bed frozen with fear.

What had happened? I asked myself.

Suddenly, a series of pulling had happened with no time to even think.

I was pulled by the Hand as it slit my throat.

I was snatched by the Hand and mutilated in two.

I was strangled to death.

Over

And over.

And over.

Until it was normal as sleeping and waking up.

The fear inside me swirled into rage and determination. Determined to get rid of this unknown creature which had manifested to plague us.

A plan to grab the hand and yank it inside in order to pummel and kill it.

I readied myself as I gulped down my nerves as it slowly opened the window.

Waiting for the right moment.

As I glared at the window... I recklessly marched towards it.

But the Hand was too powerful.

It's mysterious force forcefully trying to pull me.

I manage to balance myself and tear myself away from the force of the Hand as it slowly pushes down the window.

Had I succeeded?

The time reset.

It seems I was talking to my brother now.

With words coming out of our mouths yet blank in understanding.

The Hand then continued to open the window and snatch my brother as I temporarily forget the creature existed.

As I wail in despair at the truck driving away, fists clenched up.

I look back and see.

My family are.... alright?

The trauma kept infesting inside my brain as I continued to play with the script.

For I had not known what was common sense and what was not.

Yet this dream had stayed with me for 14 years.

Why?

What is the purpose of me remembering this?

Is it.. Because I'm a coward? Because I'm afraid to lose my family?

What does the Hand symbolise....

These are the meanings I had thought of

And the meanings I stand by.

A coward as a child brimming with innocent.

An innocence which has been shrouded with clouds of reality as I experience life.

I march on with life.

With the vivd vision of this dream till this day.

I will persevere to stand by my family,

And reject this dream as reality.