The little girl was running through a beautiful field filled with flowers and tall green trees. The sun was shining brightly, and a warm wind moved gently through the grass. She laughed as she ran, feeling free and happy. Every flower she passed, she touched softly with her hand. The petals felt smooth and alive. Birds sang above her, and everything around her seemed peaceful.
She did not know where she was going. She simply enjoyed running between the colorful flowers and the trees that stretched high into the sky. It felt like a perfect place, like a dream where nothing bad could ever happen.
Then everything changed.
Without warning, dark clouds covered the sky. The sunlight disappeared. A cold wind swept through the field. The cheerful sounds of birds stopped. Silence filled the air.
The girl slowed down and looked around. Fear slowly grew inside her.
The flowers that had looked beautiful only moments ago were now dark and lifeless. Their petals hung toward the ground like they were dead. The trees no longer looked friendly. Their branches twisted and bent in strange shapes.
A loud crack echoed through the darkness.
One of the branches moved.
The girl froze.
Then another branch moved.
And another.
The branches stretched toward her like long fingers trying to grab her. Sharp thorns covered every inch of them.
She turned and ran.
Her heart pounded in her chest. She could hear the branches scraping against each other behind her. The sounds grew louder and louder as they chased her through the darkness.
“Help!” she wanted to scream.
But no sound came out.
She ran as fast as she could, tears filling her eyes.
Suddenly her foot caught on a root hidden beneath the grass.
She fell hard onto the ground.
Pain shot through her body.
Before she could get up, dozens of thorn-covered branches surrounded her. They moved like snakes, twisting and turning around her hands and feet.
The thorns pierced her skin.
Blood stained the grass beneath her.
The girl tried to pull away, but the branches only tightened their grip. More and more of them wrapped around her arms, legs, and body.
Every movement brought more pain.
She opened her mouth to scream.
Nothing came out.
Not a single sound.
The branches continued to move around her, covering her completely. The sharp thorns tore at her skin as blood spread across the ground.
The dark sky above seemed endless.
There was no one to help her.
No one to hear her.
She closed her eyes and wished she could wake up.
Because somewhere deep inside, she knew this was a nightmare.
A terrible nightmare.
But the nightmare would not end.
She waited for the morning light.
She waited to open her eyes in her bed.
She waited to wake up.
Yet nothing happened.
The darkness remained.
The branches kept moving.
And the girl slowly realized the most terrifying thing of all.
It was a dream.
A nightmare.
But she had not woken up.
And perhaps she never would…
Any similarity to real people, living or dead, is purely accidental. This story is entirely fictional.
Writer : Alireza Hazareh
Before You Leave… Read This: The Crying Girl
