Her Haunting Dreams.

"Please, don't…" a gasp slipped past her parted lips and she let out a nervous murmur that was barely audible. A solemn whimper incessantly slipped through her lips at the same time.

Her eyes were shut tightly and her brows furrowed, beads of perspiration rolled down her forehead down to her cheeks while her body also thrashed violently around the bed. Her fingers were balled to form a tight fist. She clenched her fingers so tightly that blood ceased to flow in her hands, her veins and blood vessels popped and her hands became pale. A teardrop leaked out of the corner of her eyes and it mixed with the beads of sweat rolling down to her cheek.

The strands of her messy hair stuck against the skin of her face and neck, and her breathing was shallow, it was as though something pressed heavily against her chest. The torturous moment came and passed after a while, her laboured breathing slowly eased and after a few minutes had passed, she slowly opened her eyes again.

She inhaled deeply a couple of times, her eyes were blank and she stared into the space, it was as though she was wondering who she was and where she was. When she finally came back to herself, she slowly sat up. She ran her fingers through her hair and flicked away the strands of hair that were pressed against her face. She pressed her fingers on her forehead and lowered her lashes.

Due to a lack of adequate blood flow, her fingertips were cold when they came in contact with her skin. She sighed softly. The perspiration that broke out of her skin made her feel slightly cold when the breeze touched her skin. Her heart thumped faster than usual and only when she took a couple of deep calming breaths did it slow down and started beating at the regular pace.

A while later, she stood up from the bed. Her eyes lingered on the wall clock and she saw that it was already evening. She almost could not believe that she slept all afternoon but, she was not shocked. Whenever she had that dream, it always trapped her and she would be unable to wake up until the dream finally freed her. It used to be very worst in the past but after a lot of therapy classes, it became better.

She slipped her feet into the slippers at the foot of her bed and she walked into the bathroom. Allicia stood before the sink and splattered cold water on her face a few times. She paused and stared at the reflection staring back at her in the mirror.

The empty eyes that looked back at her reminded her of some years back when she seemed to have lost her soul. She sighed softly and looked away from the reflection. She splashed more water on her face and bent leaning against the ceramic sink. Water dripped down from her face and tapped against the sink in an uneven rhythm.

She could not help but recall the past, she remembered hating everything about her back then. She hated everything that reminded her of that right, she hated herself even more! She hated her eyes each time she saw her own reflection, she just wanted everything to go away! She cut her hair which used to be very long hoping that she would become a different person. She hope that when she looked into a mirror, she would see someone else who will not help her remember her past.

She struggled with this hate for a while until she learnt to forgive herself. Her therapist at that time encouraged her to grow. She could only grow by letting go. She decided to forget her past, live for her kids and dwell in the present. However, that did not stop the incident from haunting her in her dreams still. It happened that she just dreamt about the incident again that afternoon.

She inhaled deeply and stood straight, she walked slowly until she got to the bathtub. She climbed into the tub and submerged in the water with her clothes on. The water level reached her neck and she closed her eyes. She tried to find her peace once again.

By the time she came out of the water, she felt refreshed. Her eyes had regained their light and she looked like a totally new person. As soon as she returned to her room, she changed back into a T-shirt and a pair of shorts. It seems as though she had totally forgotten about the other activities for the door. And, just as she was wondering why Ava and the kids had not returned, she heard the sound of knocking on her door. They opened the door and Ava entered holding a bag in one hand and Zia in the other.

"You are back?" Allicia arched her brows and she stared at her friend.

"Of course!" Ava answered and rolled her eyes. Only then did Allicia realise how dumb her question must have sounded.

"Whatever, are you ready to be dolled up because I am ready to do that for you!" Ava flicked her hair behind her shoulder as she spoke.

Allicia paused for a second, she threw a glance at Ava before cocking a questioning brow. Seeing Allicia's questioning gaze, Ava also flared up.

"You– don't tell me that you have forgotten! You have a fucking dinner to attend in a few hours, okay?!" Ava explained in exasperation. She really could not believe that Allicia actually forgot that.

"Oh, it–" Allicia started and then paused. When she saw Ava's furious gaze, she swallowed back the remaining of her words humbly.

"Don't even try to make me angry with you" Ava warned.

"Yeah" Allicia knew what was best for her and she nodded obediently.

"Very good" Ava uttered and smiled.

"Well, that aside, you will be surprised at what I got you when you see the dress. Zia, quickly show your mummy her dress!" Ava voiced and the little Zia immediately opened the box in which the dress was packed.

Allicia turned around and when her eyes fell on the box, her eyes widened to the size of a saucer. She looked away from the box and looked at her friend.

"That– just how much did you spend on that dress?!" She questioned.

"Heh… let's forget about the price, okay. It doesn't matter at all!" Ava everted her gaze and chuckled awkwardly.

"You!" Allicia gasped, if she was correct, that was Lily's latest edition gown! Everyone knows how expensive those wears are. The clothes are costly as though they were made out of gold. Thinking about how much Ava must have spent on a single dress, Allicia felt like she would go broke soon.

"Hey, don't think too much, do you think the dress is this real thing? Nope, it is only an imitation so it is not costly at all, just a few thousand!" Ava quickly said.

Hearing this, Allicia inhaled deeply and let out a deep breath. As long as it was not the real thing, she did not mind.

"Fine. But, next time when you want to do something like this, let me know in advance and you can just buy me a simple dress instead" Allicia uttered, she threw one last glance at the dress and sighed again.

"Okay, okay… you should stop talking already and let's get you ready" Ava waved her hand dismissively and rolled her eyes.

Allicia finally calmed down, and she changed into the fiery red dress that was in the box. The dress was an off-shoulder satin dress body con dress, it had a mermaid design that left a train behind her. A perfect slit ran all the way to her thigh and it revealed her long leg. The dress accentuated her curves perfectly and the red colour was also a beautiful complement with her milky skin.

"Wow, this is perfection!" Ava voiced with a small gasp when she saw the dress on Allicia.

However, Allicia stared at her reflection in the mirror and knitted her brows. "It is just a dinner party within the company, don't you think that this is too much?" She could not help but ask.

Ava rolled her eyes in response, "What are you talking about? You think this is too much? I think it is perfect!" She voiced.

Allicia nodded and tore her eyes away from the girl in the mirror, even if she thought she had overdressed, it is not like she could do anything about it either, especially not at that moment.

"Come and sit here, let me do your make up too!" Ava said as she patted the vanity table.

Allicia complied and walked to sit by the dressing table. Ava unhurriedly applied makeup on her face and styled her hair to complete her dressing.

"All done, perfect!" She exclaimed after a while.

"How do I look?" Allicia extended her hand to touch her face only for Ava to stop her.

"Don't ruin my good work, there is a mirror!" She uttered.

"Mummy is pretty, mummy is the prettiest mummy in the whole world!" Zia's cute voice rang into Allicia's ears and her heart melted. After hearing her daughter's praises, she did not bother to look in the mirror again.

If her baby said she was pretty, so be it!