NIGHTMARE

That peace didn't last.

The nightmare tore through her consciousness like a blade through silk. At first, it was just a whisper at the edge of her awareness—a sound she'd buried deep in her memories, one that had no place in this peaceful world. The whistling shriek of missiles, a sound that had haunted her past life, grew from a distant echo to a deafening crescendo that ripped her from her bed and into the dream's grip.

But when she found herself outside her room, it wasn't the expected destruction she witnessed but something far more unsettling: a sky shooting stars. They fell too close, too bright, searing golden trails across the night like molten tears. Each one screamed past with such proximity that the heat raised goosebumps on her skin, the peaceful evening transformed into a terrifying display of violence.