A Different Kind of Dragon Slayer

She moans and tosses He sleeps lightly as always And quickly is wide awake Aware of her every move He knows what will follow He is ready The moaning becomes a scream He feels the terror Knows the vile dragon that she battles In her nightmare Filled with hatred for the beast He moves closer to her “Don’t touch me! Get your dirty filthy hands off me “Get off…Get OFF Stop it! STOP!” She shrieks “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” And he gently shakes her awake Then moves back As she bursts into sobs “It’s just a dream… I’m here….sh….there now It’s only me! He’s gone…he’s gone!” And yet…though every cell Is dying to rock her in his arms He holds back Knowing…she will cringe at his touch And push him away If he moves too fast First he must slay the dragon “I’ll never let him touch you again” He whispers…gently moving closer…closer “He’s gone…Gone.” He is almost there “If he EVER lays a finger on you… I’ll make him pay…. You’re safe with me. He won't EVER hurt you again." Her hysterical sobbing Quiets down Almost imperceptibly She sits up and pulls her knees in to herself Burying her face in them as she rocks back and forth Crying....more softly now “NO ONE will ever hurt you again….” There…he’s ready to gather her into his arms She looks up into his eyes The look of revulsion disappears When she sees the dragon slayer of her dreams There beside her…with love in his eyes Still she holds back...feeling tainted, spoiled…dirty Her hands running up and down her arms Desperate to clean the marks Of dragon fingerprints Burned into her flesh He understands and whispers “You are mine now"… He holds her hand "You are so beautiful.... My angel… I'm"... And before he finishes She throws herself into his arms And holds on for dear life To the dragon slayer... Her savior He doesn't know how long it takes Until she falls back to sleep Her even rhythmic breathing Warming his neck His arms enfolding her There is so much he can't understand So much of her that he still doesn't know But he is sure of one thing… He’d give his everything He'd give his life To slay every last dragon Of her night. Eileen Manassian Ghali