Short Shorts II

Nightmare City. It’s not the place to think of before you sleep. I tried to recite familiar rhymes but they turned into “Nightmare City, it ain’t so pretty!” I thought of my beloved starlight poster but the mocking winking City Mascot began to form from the random arrangement of stars. His voice called me, “There’s no escape! Come right now!”
Switching on the lamp, the sound of laughter, and the menacing shadows and the idea of a bad time-bed time place leapt away. I sipped hard bursts of sharp, cold water left there by Mama. I knew I was warm, remembered how loved I was and drifted off to a gentle sleep. Mascots winked their starry eyes. “We knew you’d come.”

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