"Stay away... from me!"

"Leave... from here."

Eve woke up screaming, then turned to find her parents holding her.

"Wha... what's happening exactly?" Eve asked wearily, rubbing her eyes.

"How long will we endure this problem?" her father muttered with frustration.

******

Eve sat at the table, beginning to eat her usual breakfast. She glanced at her mother and then her father, noticing how exhausted they looked.

"Don't drink too much coffee... it might be causing your fatigue," Eve commented, chewing her food.

"Don't talk and chew your food... and you have no right to speak at all, Eve," the parents yelled in annoyance and anger. Then her father added, placing his coffee cup on the table, "What's important, Eve... is... knowing the reason for your fears."

Upon hearing this, Eve set down her fork and knife. She lowered her head and said, "I don't know, I don't really remember my nightmares well."

Maria stood up, started gathering things from the table, and said, "It's alright... come on, get ready."

"Alright."

*********

Eve left the house, then turned around, her expression changing to confusion.

"What?" she muttered.

"Come on, Eve, let's hurry," Maria called from the car.

"I'm coming."

*********

Eve and her parents entered the reception room. The receptionist turned and said, "You've come at the right time."

He raised his hand, pointing to the door on their left. "This way, Eve," he said.

The attendant escorted Eve to her room. Eve turned to him and said, "Sir, you didn't tell us about the children who suffer from this condition... what happened to them?"

"Well... some are still here... and others, we say..."

"Moved?"

"Yes."

Eve looked forward again. "I see."

*********

"Will she be alright... I've been worried since these nightmares started," Maria said with fear.

"I hope her condition hasn't worsened."

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

"What do you mean?" Maria asked, puzzled.

"Nothing... never mind."

"Anyway... I need to call my sister and check on her."

While Maria was speaking, Bill was deeply lost in thought, saying to himself, 'Eve... if what I suspect is true now... know that we tried... I'm sorry, Eve.'

"I know the phone is in my bag... but I can't find it," Maria searched in her black bag for her phone. Then Bill turned back and said, "Let's go back home."

Maria was surprised and turned to him. "What about Eve?"

"It seems she'll stay in the hospital."

"I'll stay with her... she..."

Bill interrupted Maria, saying, "Your presence with her might make things worse."

"But..."

"We have to go... perhaps."

Maria's expression changed immediately upon hearing this, then she said, "I understand."

*******

"If... is the psychiatrist an expert in nightmares?"

"Not entirely... but he has treated patients."

"How many has he treated?" Eve asked the attendant with surprise.

"Two."

"And what... happened to them?"

"They were... transferred to another hospital," the attendant said, looking at Eve.

Eve began to feel increasingly nervous as they approached her room.

Eve glanced at the worker's left hand, spotting a yellow file with her name on it. The worker stopped, pointing to the room on his right.

"This is your room, Eve... Tenth wing, Room twenty-three."

The worker opened the room, and Eve entered, surveying her surroundings. It was small: a bed on the right, a table with a cupboard on the left, and in front of her an open window. Beside the bed was a strange device covered in white.

"Rest a little... in ten minutes... the doctor will come," the worker said, checking his watch—it was twenty-nine minutes past nine.

The attendant left, and Eve walked towards the window, looking out at a large courtyard where children were playing. She smiled.

"I wish I could enjoy like them," Eve thought to herself.

"Don't worry, you'll play with them tomorrow too," a man's voice assured her.

Startled, Eve turned to see a man behind her and shrieked.

"Don't scream... we're in a hospital... it's me."

"And... who are you?" Eve asked the man, bewildered.

"Don't worry, my dear... I'm the psychiatrist who will treat you," the doctor said warmly.

The doctor smiled at Eve. He was a man with black hair, streaked with some white strands, wearing a white coat and black trousers, with medical glasses.

"Let me help you up."

"No... no need, sir."

Eve shook her dress after standing. The doctor adjusted his glasses and said, "It's early for the session... I just came to meet my new patient... Your name is Eve, right?"

"Uh... yes."

Suddenly, nurses entered carrying a bag of clothes.

"Is the girl Eve Addis here? Come quickly," one nurse hurriedly said.

"What's going on?" Eve asked nervously.

"Come with us... you need to bathe... and change your clothes," the nurses said, one of them grabbing Eve.

"But I already bathed... and changed my clothes."

********

The doctor entered, saying to Eve, "Oh... I forgot to mention, this hospital values cleanliness... so... be obedient."

********

"Ah... it's been twelve hours waiting for the session," Eve said, lying on her bed.

Eve heard a knock on her room's door, got off the bed, and opened it. It was the doctor.

"Hello, Eve."

"Uh... hello, sir," Eve replied, then thought to herself, 'I don't know why I feel tense and disturbed around him... his smile hides something... I'm sure of it.'

The doctor looked at Eve and asked, "Why do you stare at me like that? Is there something that scares you about me?"

"No... I... just... uh... I've never stayed long in a place other than my room," Eve said nervously and shyly.

"Alright," the doctor replied kindly. He began patting her head, then stopped. Checking his watch, he said, "It's half past nine... it's not bedtime yet... so... we'll start the session."

"What... but I always sleep at eight-thirty... every day," Eve said in surprise.

"Okay," the doctor replied gently and coolly, smiling. He brought a chair and headed towards the bed next to that strange device. Eve stared at it, thinking, 'This doctor is hiding something.'

The doctor gently tapped the bed and said, "Please sit down... or... before that... close the door."

"Uh... okay." Eve nodded in agreement. As she moved to open the door, she jumped and grabbed the lock. The doctor's facial expressions changed, becoming new.

"... I'm sorry... I don't know what happened to me... I'll close it."

The doctor looked at Eve as she closed the door. Eve headed towards the bed and sat on it. She raised her head.

"So... what are we going to do, Doctor?" Eve asked the doctor.

"In this hospital... we doctors are used to calling patients... children... by our names... so, Eve... you can call me Otto."

"O-Otto." Eve was astonished to hear this name. Strangely, she began to hear whispers urging her to stay away from him.

'Stay away... stay away... from him... he's... dangerous.'

"No... no... these whispers... are coming back," Eve said to herself upon hearing these whispers. She put her hands on her head and started screaming, "Stay away from me... I don't want this."

********

"What... what's happening, Eve?" Otto asked with concern.

Eve began to thrash in her bed. Otto stood up, trying to calm Eve, but he couldn't.

Otto put his hand in his pocket and took out a strange capsule. He placed it in Eve's mouth.

"Calm down... take this capsule," Otto said, trying to reassure Eve.

After swallowing the capsule, Eve felt tired and drowsy. She fell asleep. As for Otto, he was astonished and perplexed.

'This is strange... this has never happened with them before,' Otto thought to himself. He placed Eve on the bed, looking at her, feeling a strange sensation.

Otto covered Eve with a blanket, then turned towards the door. He turned off the room's light, then opened the door, looking back at Eve.

"Goodnight, Eve... pleasant dreams." He then exited the room to find the receptionist waiting for him. He asked, "What happened, Otto?... I heard screaming."

"You did well in choosing the right person," Otto replied.

"I don't understand yet... what's the benefit of a child suffering from these nightmares?" the receptionist asked.

"Don't worry... you'll know everything once everything is over... my friend," Otto replied in a strange manner.

********

Eve began muttering strange words as she slept.

"At last... the time has come... widen... approach... oh door."

Something began to appear on Eve's forehead, like a black dot or something similar, but what was not taken into account was that this would be a turning point in Eve's life.

"Approach... oh door... do not go."