Cypress - Gen 9 Ch 10

I just wanted to apologize for the length of time between updates. I started this legacy shortly after I lost my job, and I've been out of work ever since. I just recently started a new job! I'm happy and excited about this, but it means I don't have as much time to work on my legacy, so updates are not as frequent. Thanks for reading!

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It was 3 am, and Oakheart had awakened me once again, as he had every night since we had arrived back in Riverview.

'Aw, did you have another bad dream, sweetie?"

"Scawie dweem, daddy," he sniffled at me. "Zaya gone! Wucky gone!"

"No, sweetheart, they aren't gone, it was just a dream. See, there's Azalea out sleeping in her stall."

I pointed out the window to the faint outline of the horse asleep in the stable.

"And looky here. Lucky's asleep on the floor right next to your bed. See?"

"Mommy? Mommy still here too?"

Nothing would suffice but that we both go check on mommy. After he was satisfied that she really was asleep in bed, I tucked him in for the umpteenth time.

"Now go to sleep, sweetie. I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

I sighed heavily as I headed back to bed.

Our little Oakheart was such a joy to be around - during the day. He loved playing outside. It was almost impossible to get him off that pirate ship, once he started.

He even loved Star's horse Azalea, and would constantly ask to be lifted up so he could pet her. But night time - that was a different story. Sometimes I wondered how he could be so cheerful during the day, when it seemed as if he was always awake half the night. But he never seemed any worse for the wear, and Star and I both assumed he would eventually outgrow his nocturnal wakefulness.

One thing I was not prepared for, when we arrived home, was how grown-up my baby sister was becoming. She had become good friends with a boy from school, who she introduced as Bryan. He seemed to be as infatuated with tiny creatures as Bluebell was. Most days, when she arrived home from school, I could hear the two of them, chatting with the birds, or playing with the cats.

And shortly after she graduated, they were married at the edge of Sunflower's Pond.

The whole family was invited, and I was amazed to see all the cousins grown up. Bluebell and Bryan moved out on their own soon after the wedding...

...and not long after, it was time for our precious bundle of joy to celebrate his birthday.

We decided on a small family affair, and I cheered exuberantly when Oak puckered up his little lips and blew his candles out all on his own.

As we dug into the cake, I had my own reasons for celebrating. Surely now that Oak was ready to start school, he would start sleeping through the night.

That evening, it was Star's turn to read the bedtime story. She read it with her usual flare, then tucked  Oak into his new big boy bed. 

"Can Lucky sleep with me, pleeaasse, mom?"

"Okay, sweetie. But you have to go right to sleep. No playing!"

I could here him sigh from my vantage point in the hallway.

"Alright. I'll try."

"That's my big boy. Goodnight!"

A short time later, when I poked my head in the door to check on them, they were both sound asleep. So far so good! Soon after, Star and I were sound asleep as well.

Sometime later, I was startled awake with the distinct feeling I was being watched. I cracked open my eyes, to find Oak just standing there quietly next to the bed. When he saw I was awake, he whispered.

"Dad?"

I sighed and slowly swung my legs over the side of the bed and lurched sleepily to my feet.

"What is it son?"

I'm not even sure why I asked, it was always the same - the same 'scary dream' he'd been having since he could barely talk.

"It's okay, Oak. We're all still here. Now give me a hug and scoot back to bed."

"I just wanted to make sure. I'm sorry I woke you up."

"It's okay. Just go back to sleep."

But it really wasn't okay. Nearly every night, the dreams and sleeplessness continued. Finally, Star and I decided to take him back to Hidden Springs - perhaps Granny would know what to do.

It felt good to be back in Hidden Springs. We ended up taking Lucky with us, for he and Oak had become inseparable. Oak, of course, didn't remember the place, as he was only a baby when we had moved back to Riverview. 

I had experienced my midlife birthday long ago, but now it was my beautiful Star's turn to celebrate. She didn't want a fuss, but still I sneaked in a party horn to 'serenade' her on her birthday. 

Life moved on, and Oak began to make new friends in the local school, but his favorite was hanging out with Granny. They would spend hours together in the little park across the street from our cabin.

And as for me, I had a new project to work on. Granny had always, on occasion, thrown out a strange word, or used an odd turn of phrase. Star claimed that these were remnants of the language her people had spoken, 'before'. I now believed I had enough words to try and match a spoken language to the written translation I'd made of the oldest journal - the one that had led me to Hidden Springs. How exciting! To be able to actually speak that forgotten tongue!  Star became my eager assistant, and often sat with me as we wrestled with this new puzzle.

As Oakheart grew, he also grew more curious about our family history. Our bedtime stories usually turned into stories from the past.

"Tonight I want the story of Ren and the Abandoned Nectary!"

"We just read that one. How about Brook and the Time Machine? Or Olivia and the Ghosts in the Basement?"

"I know! How about the first story - Sunflower and Max, and the SEA research and the pond, and..."

I had to chuckle at that. He knew all the stories by heart, yet he still wanted to hear them again. A man after my own heart.

He nodded off just as I finished the story, and I gently leaned over to kiss him goodnight, leaving Lucky snoring there as usual in case he awoke during the night.

That's right, Oak still wakes up almost every night, with that dream of his. Lucky has learned to listen for him, and wake up with him. Most nights, with a little comforting from Lucky, he settles back down to sleep, without waking the entire household. And the dream doesn't seem to scare him quite as much anymore, which is a blessing that Granny has played a large part in bringing about. I never realized until the last few years, what an unmitigated delight it is, to be able to sleep the whole night through.

This night, however, was not one of those delightful nights.I woke in the night to hear talking and low 'woof's coming from the direction of Oak's room. Sure enough, there was Oak, carrying on an animated conversation with Lucky at 2 o'clock in the morning. 

"Alright, son. Settle down now. You have a big day tomorrow. You don't want to be sleepy for your birthday party, do you?"

"Aw, dad. I was just telling Lucky about my dream There was the beach, like always. Only this time, there was a girl. On the beach, that is. A girl with long white hair. I never saw anyone so pretty! I had to tell Lucky about it."

The next day, we all gathered at the park for Oak's big day. Star invited all her many relatives and friends, most of who I didn't know well. Oak was on board with the whole thing though, so while I directed my attention mainly to my best bud Lucky, Star manned the grill and Oak told Granny his latest joke.

Of course, when it was cake time, I joined in with gusto on my trusty party horn.

"Happy Birthday, Oakheart!"

As the party slowly wound down, and people began to leave, Oak approached me with a serious expression on his face.

"Dad, I need to talk to you about something. It's about my dreams..."

He stopped at this point, glancing over at Granny, as if to garner support. Granny smiled and nodded encouragingly. I took the hint, and smiled and nodded myself.

"What is it, son?"

"I.. well.. dad.. I don't think.. and Granny agrees with me.. my dream isn't just a dream. I think it's real...."