1 Mama's Daydream

Amy's diamond earrings shimmered in the sun. She dazzled the paparazzi in her sparkling Italian-designed evening gown. Even her short and spiky ice-blonde hairstyle shimmered in the sunlight. The young actress and former UFC fighter had her son and husband by her side. A gentle, afternoon breeze washed over Amy’s flawless skin. Her evening dress had a low cut design in the back, revealing the tattoo of a Siberian tiger between her shoulder blades. Amy dreamed of this moment. She loved walking down the red carpet at the Academy Awards with her husband and son.

Her arm returned around her husband’s waist after she'd strike a pose for a photographer's camera. Bryan kissed his wife while proudly holding his little boy in his arms. Amy's first love was her son and husband. The Hollywood glamour and her starlet lifestyle was a side issue. This was her heaven. She didn't want anything or anyone to destroy her first love. She wanted the photographers to capture every scene of her red carpet moment. She wanted them to capture her husband and son so the world could see her beautiful family.

Bryan and Eric wore matching tuxedos. A large tuxedo and a pint-sized tuxedo fit for a Prince and a King. The King and the little Prince escorted their Queen down the red carpet in a dazzling fashion. If Amy had a choice, she would never wake up from her dream.

Seeing her son in her husband's arms made her wish it was all real. Seeing them both dressed in sharp tailor made suits made Amy question if her heavenly vision of them was her true reality. These were the men she loved. A kiss to her son’s cheek had to be real. Feeling her husband's arm around her waist made her forget the nightmare that was to come.

Amy saw him coming every time, and she'd try to stop him. A crazed gunman disguised as a photographer would step out onto the red carpet, pointing his silver small caliber revolver at Amy’s husband and child.

Amy could never stop the man from pulling the trigger. She'd see his opposing physique, his ripped jeans, the sunglasses that blacked out his eyes, and the tattoos that painted his massive, exposed, rigid arms.

It would end with her fighting with the man. Amy would punch the man in his chest, not caring about him being twice her size. Blood would decorate the red carpet, and it would always be Amy’s blood. The front of her glittery dress would always turn a crimson violet-red. Amy could only land one punch on the gunman before getting shot in her stomach. There was nothing she could do after she would feel the .22 caliber bullet slice through her belly button piercing. Amy would try to scream, but nothing would come out.

Getting shot was a minor concern for Amy, because she'd feel relieved that her stomach caught a bullet that was meant for her husband and son. The daydream inevitably ended with Amy lying on the red carpet with her husband trying to cradle her in one arm while still holding Eric in the other.

"Mommy?" Amy snapped out of her daydream when she heard her son’s voice. It was like hearing the coo of a dove. "Are you okay, Mommy?" Eric asked, wondering why his mother stopped pushing him on the playground swing. The little boy smiled when his mother breezed her fingers across his face.

"I'm fine, baby. Mommy was just thinking about something," Amy spoke through a smile. It took the sweet voice of her son to awaken her from her daydream. The young mother looked down to see that a pair of cropped, women's blue jeans and a sleeveless blouse replaced her shimmering evening dress. A children’s playground replaced the red carpet and the Hollywood glamourous atmosphere that immersed the young mother.

Amy went back to pushing her little boy on the playground swing. She thought about what happened earlier and how she finally had the chance to take her son to a theme park. Amy wanted to enjoy spending time with her son. She didn't like how her daydream ended, but she did like how nothing could stop her from protecting the two men she loved the most... Not even a bullet.