She sat on the edge of the bed, drenched in sweat, her entire body aching.
For a moment she thought she was back in her own apartment. Only when the streetlights reached her through the window did she remember where she really was.
The pain was still there—raw, relentless—convincing her that what she had just experienced had been real. Not a dream. Not just another nightmare.
She bit down hard on her forearm to stifle the scream, clenching her teeth until the metallic taste of blood spread across her tongue.
That snapped her back.
What if she had woken her mother?
What if Julia saw her like this—pathetic, shattered, back at the bottom again?
Amelia wiped the blood from her lips and sat perfectly still, listening.
Silence.
Morpheus held Julia tightly enough that no scream could pull her from sleep.
Barefoot, Amelia slipped into the bathroom. Cold water on her face. She cleaned the bite marks, applied cream, wrapped the skin carefully.
Another scar for the collection.
The pain slowly dulled, but she knew sleep wouldn’t return. Not after that.
She threw on the first clothes she could find and left the apartment, forgetting the darkness that had terrified her the night before.
Outside, she stood uncertainly, then—as always—turned left.
One intersection.
Another.
A third.
She reached a roundabout and kept running, her feet carrying her toward the bypass road.
Something pulled her back toward the lake, but she didn’t question it. She ran to exhaust herself. To drown the memories in fatigue. She ran until her body screamed for mercy.
“Oh hell…”
She stopped almost ten kilometers later, standing at the forest path she had walked the day before.
Disoriented, she had no idea how she’d gotten there.
It was still brutally dark. The only light came from distant streetlamps along the bypass. She turned toward them, ready to go back—
—and felt someone behind her.
Too close.
Frozen with fear, she turned slowly. Only the black forest stared back.
Still, she knew.
Someone was there. Watching.
She thought about calling a taxi, but her phone wasn’t with her.
Despite the exhaustion, she bolted toward the city, not looking back even once.
She burst into the apartment at the exact moment Julia’s alarm went off.
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
“What are you doing?” her mother asked, half-asleep.
“I couldn’t sleep. I went for a run.”
“At five in the morning?”
Only then did Amelia realize she’d been gone almost four hours.
“It just… happened. Are you going to the bathroom?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.”
She filled the kettle, forcing herself to move normally.
“What do you want for breakfast?”
“I don’t usually eat breakfast, but… whatever,” Julia replied from behind the door.
Amelia made an omelet from eggs, vegetables, and some forgotten bran. When Julia came out, she studied her daughter quietly.
She looked worse than she’d admitted. Not tired—tormented.
“I’ll take a quick shower and drive you to work,” Amelia said.
“You should sleep.”
“I can’t.”
She locked herself in the bathroom before her voice broke.
Julia ate slowly, appetite gone.
“You never said you were struggling,” she said gently.
“The nightmares have been back,” Amelia admitted, staring into her coffee. “I’m working on it with my therapist.”
“Sleeping pills?”
“The nightmare always returns. But I’m making progress.”
Julia shook her head. “On video calls you looked fine. In person… you don’t. Did you make some for yourself too?”
“It would’ve gone cold. I’ll eat when I get back. I promise.”
They went down to the parking garage fifteen minutes later.
Julia stopped short when Amelia opened the Maserati.
“How much was this…?” she whispered.
“Get in, Mom.”
“How much?”
“About four apartments like ours.”
Julia didn’t speak again until Amelia dropped her off at the hospital.
“Pick me up at six.”
“Eat something,” Julia said softly.
On her way back, Amelia noticed a shopping center with a construction market and an interior design store. She made a mental note to return.
At home, she forced herself to eat. Then she reviewed local interior designers and shortlisted two studios with the strongest portfolios.
It might have seemed strange—after a nightmare, no sleep, and emotional collapse—that she could focus on normal tasks.
But she’d learned how to live with brokenness.
Still, exhaustion won.
She lay down “just for a moment” and woke an hour later, heart racing, fear clawing at her chest. The nap helped—just enough.
By noon she was back out.
At the showroom, she ran into Sylwia.
Jack’s sister.
Hatred had lived in her eyes since Amelia vanished without explanation years ago.
“Hey,” Sylwia said coldly. “Didn’t think you’d have the nerve to show up here.”
“Hey. You look… well. Congratulations,” Amelia said, glancing at the baby carrier. “My mom still lives here, you know.”
“Oh I do know. And she’s not happy about it.”
That tone cut deep.
“What do you want from me?”
“She must love you very much,” Sylvia said ?to sacrifice herself like that.”
Sylwia turned away.
“Finish what you started,” Amelia snapped, grabbing her arm.
“Kiss my ass,” Sylwia spat, walking off for good.
Amelia stood there, shaking.
Then she noticed Poul watching from a distance—Maya’s husband. He smiled uncertainly, then disappeared between displays. The smile faded as he turned away.
She left the store, overwhelmed.
Later, she drove out of town. Somewhere without memories. She stopped by a small lakeside beach, wrapped herself in a blanket, and sat on a garden swing for hours.
She tried not to regret coming back to Olsztyn.
The darkness had followed her.
But for this moment—this quiet, ordinary moment—everything felt almost normal.
She breathed.
And gathered strength for what was coming next.
That night, watching a random Netflix movie beside her mother, she felt something unfamiliar.
Peace.
Sleep came again.
It didn’t spare her—but it didn’t destroy her this time.
Some nights don't end in the morning.
- N.
