You are a Shadow Nightmare. Such creatures are darkness made real, and they are capable of making peoples nightmares come true. However there was something "wrong" with you. Unlike others of your race you weren't interested in causing chaos and destruction, but rather looked upon humanity with pity and sympathy. You wanted to make their deepest dreams and desires real, which did not endear you to others of your kind.
Your clan had cast you out, and now you wandered the mortal realm. No one could see you unless you touched their dreams. They didn't realize how lucky they were, to have homes, families who loved them for who they are, at least mostly. "Oh stop mopping," you told your self angrily, accidentally causing the street light above you to flicker and die out. That's another annoying thing about being a Nightmare, your emotions tend to put electronics out of whack. It was late, and most people in this part of the world were asleep, which was the reason you were here. You drifted into an apartment building and up into the dreams of a family of tenants. Oh the interesting thoughts! You could see their dreams and desires as well as nightmares at a single glance into their dreaming faces. Where to start, where to start?
There was the father; John Smith, about age 45, he didn't like to keep track. He desired a home for his family, and often the source of his greatest recurring nightmare was this apartment building. He felt insecure that the only job he had been able to get since the recession had put his family into such dire straits. He was an intelligent talented man and it made you sad to see such talent wasted. He was a Doctor and a fairly good one. If not for the recession and the fact that he was fairly new to the scene, the Hospital where he worked would not have laid him off. You felt a slight surge of anger towards his old boss and how he had handled John's "removal" because he "just wasn't the kind of Doctor they needed" right now. It was enough, you did not need to look any further. You decided then and there that you would "adopt" this family and make each of their dreams in turn. Maybe at some point you would even show your self to them.
You stand in the center of their three room one bathroom apartment. A family of six counting their dog, John the Father, Mary the Mother. Jack and Jake twin eight year old boys, and their sister Elena the twelve year old caring big sister. Oh and and Murphy the Morkie, age two and a half years. You Concentrate on John's dream home and begin to spread your shadow over all of them. The room darkens with your shadow, while only the family can be seen clearly. All at once the lights in every Apartment switch on and begin to flicker. Televisions switch on Blaring at top volume and its clear to all that something is happening. That is except for the Smiths who can't hear and any of it. The shadow fades from their too small apartment and their fade away with it, the room cleaned and in much better repair than any other room in the place. You even added the nice touch of updating all the appliance, how's that for service?
Even as you all faded away from the apartment building you began to fade in to reality in a lovely home, two stories tall, with around 2,900 square footage. The Back yard was in full bloom full of green grass, Day lilies, honey suckle, and a Weeping Willow tree, as well as a fish pond in the corner. Each of the Smith family had been moved into their own bedrooms, the twins sharing, but all the others off on their own. You added an nice sum of money into their bank account and a few brand new laptops and other such treats. The Smith family could now technically be counted among the idle rich, with how much money you had added. The air around you buzzed with your delight. You had actually helped someone. There was just one more thing, you yanked the recurring nightmare out of John Smiths Head and ripped it to pieces so it would stop troubling him. Now It was time to take a nap, or rather the equivalent, yourself, that was a big shift in reality you just did after all. You floated out and into the Garden, and looked around. You saw the decorative glass orb on a rune carved pedestal. You had put that there for you to rest in. once inside the orb, you were safe from any harm while you "slept". You slipped inside and curled up thinking about how next to help the Smith family. Only they would be aware of the changes around them. Others would subconsciously create their own reasons for the change, they won the lottery or some such nonsense
The night ended and the Sun rose looking down on the miracle you had caused. The First to wake up was Elena, looked around herself in wonder and ran into the other rooms of the first finding the twins and waking them up. "Go away Sis, I'm trying to sleep," was the only response she could get out of Jake
while Jack only offered an unintelligible groan. Elena gave up and checked the other rooms finding her parents. She shook her mother awake And Mary exclaimed looking around her "How...Am I dreaming?" "Not unless I'm dreaming too!" Elena exclaimed. John Smith yawned, eyes half opening and his speech still slurred with the best nights sleep he had had in months, "Whasal dat rack ket?" he started coming around and became much more alert,"Wait where... where are we?" "I don't know dad, I just woke up and we were all here, the twins are sound asleep in another room, and Murphy right at the foot of your bed like he always does," Elena relays slightly panicking. "Wait there is something on the bedside table, it looks like a letter, John what does it say?" Mary notices, keeping her head in this "Crisis". "It says, Dear Smith, Family. Do not be alarmed, I apologize for the surprise, but this is how it had to be done. You are the sole owners of this house now, and I have taken steps to ensure you never want for anything again. The money you will find deposited in your bank account should be sufficient to take care of your needs for a long time. Signed A. Mister E," John reads unbelieving.
They go downstairs and find a fully stocked Kitchen and lovely family room. "This can't be true. How did we get here? Is this some kind of sick joke?" Mary wonders confused. Elena Flicks on the Television which is set to the news "And in other news Lets applaud the good fortune of the Smith family, who have won the lottery for well over ten million dollars. They are now living in a modest home in the suburbs of the city, however that's still a far cry from the three room apartment the family of five had been living in prior to their good luck. Now for the weather report..." The anchorman trailed away into other more mundane news while the Smiths sat dumbfounded.
A week or so passed and nothing led to any contradiction. They put it to divine intervention, still unbelieving, but after another week they were forced to accept that it was true. Meanwhile you still "slept" vaguely aware of what was transpiring, and purring with delight inside.
You awoke a week later as the sun set and your "adopted" family watched television together in the family room. You slipped out of your sphere and drifted into the house looking at the Smiths with what equaled a smile on your shadowy form. Who to help next you wondered as they slowly wandered, one by one to bed. You looked into the dreams of each of them in turn
Jake and Jack it seemed shared a secret. Not that they knew they did. Both of them secretly desired to be diapered again, but more than that they also wanted to be babied and pampered and never grow up but mos importantly have their desire accepted by the rest of their family. Neither boy knew why they desired this so fiercely, but the shame of the desire prevented them from telling anyone, even each other. Normally they shared everything and were very close. But they were so worried about rejection that they couldn't tell any one. It was an interesting conundrum. You had seen the nightmares of children their age who feared being put back in diapers, but you hadn't come across anyone who wanted that. It would be a easy shift for you. Your kind had done similar things to children before turning them into lifelong bedwetters, you would just have take it a step farther.
Elena was suffering from the usual school preteen pressure. She had a crush on a boy a year older than her, but wasn't brave enough to see if he might return her affections, the boy was a close friend of hers, and she had started to develop feelings for her. "Ahh young love," you whisper to your self. You could help her by making her irresistible, or even by given her the power to see if he returned her affections without having to take the leap and ask.
Mary was the typical overworked parent who just wanted a day or so to her self and her husband, but couldn't bring herself to admit it as focused on making the rest of her family happy as she was. "Easy enough," you thought, I could help her relax by sending the kids to camp or for a sleepover.
Well it looks the twins have the most interesting desire. But Elena's could lead you into the realm of middle school full of opportunities to make dreams come true, nerdy children becoming muscular and sporty, as well as smart, or send bullies for a day in the life of their victims. You could do a lot of good that way. On the other hand there is Mary's simple wish of time to herself and husband, not hard to manage at all, it might even lead to another baby in the house, if you don't diaper the twins up first. You take your pick...
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