Isla twist and turn in her sleep, suddenly too warm and heavy. Sweat dripping from her forehead as a scowl is plastered on her face. Breathing is hasty and uneven. She clenched her fist in the bedsheet, twisting it.
Her mother is standing in front of her with extented hands. A soft , motherly smile on her thin pink lips. Long brown hair are cascading around her, she looks beautiful.
And yet, Isla is not able to reach her. Her feet are rooted on the ground. She is crying , extending her arms, begging her mother to hold on . But instead of holding on, she is fading. The white lights around her getting brighter.
Isla is shouting but her voice is mute. Tears are continuously running down her beautiful face as she watched her mother fade away.
Isla sat upright, sweat dripping from her . This is the nightmare she has every night. It feels as if she is loosing her mother again and again.
Her throat is dry , she quickly grabbed a water bottle from the beside table and took long gulps .
She is shivering with the intensity of aftermath. The room is suddenly suffocating. She felt as if her mother died all-over again.
Isla stood and wore the fluffy slippers Jennifer had brought for her. She needs air .
With wobbly steps she made her way outside the room, she went downstairs. The entire penthouse was dark, just the moonlight was lighting up .
It's been a week since she moved in with Leo and any person could tell that that her husband was ignoring coming home.
He would wake up early before Isla and get ready for office and by the time he comes back, Isla would already be in her room.
At times like this, Isla really misses her mother. Usually when she would have a nightmare, Jennifer made sure to pull her closer and cuddle throughout the night. And here she was, being Isla nightmare.
Tears kept running down Isla's face like a river, a constant reminder that her mother won't come back was killing her.
She made her way towards the swimming pool that is placed at a far end of the apartment. That room gave her serene feeling. She would often sit there, all alone.
And tonight, she sat on the edge, hugging her knees to her chest as she let herself cry her heart out.
Everything was so perfect when she had her mom with her , even though they were poor and there were some times when they were reduced to just have a single meal each day but even then she was happy.
Now she is living in outstanding apartment that is ten times bigger then her former house and yet she is not happy.
" Why are you sitting here?" A voice said and Isla turned her head to see her husband standing at the door of the room.
Isla looked away , quickly wiping her tears but it was too late as Leo had already seen them. When Leo didn't got any reply, he walked towards her, standing directly in front of her and eyeing the petite looking girl who was looking even smaller than she already was.
He sat beside her as he loosen up his tie. Isla was looking at the water in the pool, her gaze blank.
" What's the matter?" Leo asked, his voice surprisingly calm and collected, opposite to his usually rude and arrogance filled voice.
Isla Shaked her head and Leo sighed. The girl is difficult to handle.
" You know, keeping things in your heart instead of sharing them makes it hard to survive. It won't take long for all the worries consume you whole." He commented as he dusted his cream coloured shoes. Isla was still crying but not as hard anymore.
" I saw my mom in my dream." Isla finally said as she looked up at Leo who was giving her his entire attention. " I don't know if I can call it my dream or nightmare though." She added as she looked away from him and was now observing the weird patterns that were dancing on the walls from the reflection of the water.
" What do you mean?" Leo asked, sounding more curious than he actually intended to .
" My mom is fading away with a smile on her face and I can't reach up to her." She said with a soft sob.
Leo kept quiet for a few seconds, his as stretched to caress the girl's back but he stopped, hand hanging in the air above his wife's back.
" It's up to you , how you take it." Leo said , as he too turned his head and let himself observe the patterns. Isla was now looking at him, eyes holding curiosity.
" What do you mean?" She asked, clearly confused.
" It is a nightmare if you keep thinking about how you weren't able to reach up towards her and it is a dream if you just remember that even though she was fading, she had a sweet smile on her face, indicating that wherever she is , she is happy." Leo said surprising even himself with such wise words.
Isla was looking up at him with sparkle in her eyes maybe because of the tears she was shedding or maybe they were always like this.
She smiled at him, though it was a tight smile, Leo can tell that it was genuine.
" I wish that I have a positive mindset towards the life like you have." Isla said with a smile and she watched her husband stand up and dust his pants a little before extending her hand towards the still sitting girl.
Isla glanced at his hand and then at him and then again at his hand before finally placing her much smaller hand .
She stood up straight and Leo was just in front of her. He withdraw his hand and placed it in his pocket pants.
" You should sleep. It's past midnight." He said, sternly but the hint of gentleness was in his voice. Isla nodded. She shifted on her feet.
"Goodnight."
"Goodnight."