aside the money. ?Come on. Tell me. What?s the worst thing??
Helen shook her head and started pushing the broom around.
There had always been a voice in her head that would whisper
possible explanations for her strangeness, words like freak or
monster or even witch. No matter how deftly Helen silenced that
voice, it always came back eventually.
The absolute worst thing that Helen could think of would be to
find out that she really was one of those things.
?It?s nothing,? Helen said, unable to look up.
?It isn?t just going to go away because you don?t talk about it, you
know,? Kate pressed. Helen knew she was right, and she also knew
she could trust Kate. Besides, she needed to talk to someone about
it or she?d go crazy.
?I?m having nightmares. Actually, it?s the same nightmare that I
keep having over and over, and it feels so real. Like I?m going
someplace while I?m sleeping.?
?Where do you go?? Kate asked gently. She came out from behind
the counter and made Helen stop sweeping and focus.
Helen pictured the barren, hopeless world she had been forced to
visit the last few nights.
?It?s a dry place. Everything is bleached and colorless. I can hear
running water in the distance, like there?s a river somewhere, but I
just can?t reach it. It?s like I?m trying to find something, I think.?
57/395
?A dry land, huh? You know that?s pretty common in dream imagery,?
Kate assured her. ?It comes up in every dream book, in
every country I?ve ever been to.?
Helen swallowed her frustration and nodded. ?Yeah, but I wake
up in the morning and my feet . . .? She stopped herself, hearing
how crazy she sounded. Kate studied Helen for a moment.