The Nightmare is Real!

Nora had one of those headaches - the dreaded migraine. Even her lavender cure (a few drops of essential oil on the temples) was not working. Thank the heavens for small mercies it was not a workday - working with a migraine at her bake shop was a real challenge. Conscientious to the core though, Nora would not have called the shopkeeper next door to have him put a “sorry, closed” sign up, and would not have disappointed her customers. She would have put on a brave face and no one would ever know she felt under the weather. Weekend time meant tidying the apartment she shared with her brother. She haphazardly cleaned but her heart was not in it; all she wanted to do was lie down in a cool, dark room until the headache passed. She disconnected the telephone, made a cup of peppermint tea, and tried to think of all the things she was grateful for. (Not sure if that helped, but it certainly didn’t hurt). For added comfort she put on the CD of gentle ocean waves; that usually helped. Ah, restorative sleep. No, that was not to be.  

It was a nightmare she had had before. Nora was alone in her neighborhood grocery. Outside was a fierce blizzard and it was impossible to see anyone or anything beside the white of the snow. She dreaded this dream. The doors were locked and there was no way out; the only saving factor was that the power was still on. Some of the shelves were well stocked; some weren’t. People had been panic-buying. The weather forecaster had warned everyone that the storm would be a bad one and urged them to leave the area if possible. She had hurried down to the store just to get some milk, butter, and eggs to make a cake for her brother’s upcoming birthday, but the blizzard hit and hit hard. As she dreamed, she felt her stomach tighten, chest tighten, brow frown, and her pulse quicken as she made futile attempts to leave. After riding her bicycle to the store any attempt to reach home during the blizzard would be useless anyway; the best thing to do would be to ride out the storm inside and hope that it would pass soon. At least the food would not spoil - being stuck in a building with food that was off was an even more unpleasant thought. What was that? A light shining through the door. Quickly she made her way over to it and hoped for a rescue - no; only her imagination; there was not a soul outside. Part of her wanted to break down and cry but she told herself to hold it together; the nightmare would come to an end soon. She thought it was the migraines that brought the blizzard dream on since she only had it when she had a migraine; but wasn’t certain. At last…

Nora woke from her nightmare to find the unthinkable - she was indeed alone in the neighborhood grocery. How on earth could a nightmare have come true? She had just gone into the store to get some milk, butter, and eggs - ingredients for a cake that she was making for her brother’s birthday. She had taken the bicycle and hoped to be back before her brother returned from work. A surprise blizzard fizzled all hope of that. Zero visibility and she could see ice forming on the power lines - the temperature was dropping. She combed the store searching for signs of life - no one. Some of the shelves remained stocked, others were empty - her dream. A living nightmare! She must find some way out. As she got to the last row of her search for life, she spotted a bundle in a basket. It was a baby - where on earth did the infant come from and where were her parents?

Pinned to the youngster’s blanket was a note that read:

“If you have found this note, please take care of our precious charge - she is the future of our race. Her name is N1N3Y and she is from a star system very much like yours. Our world is in chaos so we beg you to look after this little one until we can return her to her rightful place. Thank you.”

Goodness. Nora looked down at the sleeping bundle and realized that the little being would die if someone did not intervene - she could not let that happen. Thinking quickly, she left the infant momentarily and fetched some ready-made formula for the baby to eat and some tins of Spam for herself and headed back to the last aisle and her charge. There wasn’t any way to warm either meal, but she put the formula inside her jacket to warm it a little and hopefully make it a little more palatable. She looked again at the note. Her name is N1N3Y it said.  

“You have to have a different name here little one; I’ll call you Nancy. Your kind will still be able to find you when they return because we will stay in this town.” The sleeping infant stirred slightly as if to acknowledge Nora’s presence. When the small creature woke a short time, later Nora gasped - her eyes were the most beautiful violet color she had ever seen. No, wait - the same color as hers. Huh? Was Nora herself a star child? Was her brother? So many questions, no answers. She held Nancy after the infant had the formula and kept her warm and safe until the blizzard passed. In the store she found a baby wrap carrier - perfect. She left some money in an envelope to pay for the formula, the carrier, and the Spam and walked the bicycle to her home. There was far too much snow around for her to walk. She would raise the infant as her own. Nobody questioned Nancy’s sudden presence, everything seemed planned. The little girl learned the customs of Earth and found special joy relating to the animals of the planet like dogs, cats, butterflies, and especially dolphins. Each could communicate in their own way. Nancy’s skills as a baker increased and her brother became a horse whisperer.

Years later the guardians returned to take the little girl.  

“You did a wonderful job taking care of N1N3Y N15; we knew we could count on you.”

“N15?”

“Yes, that is your name and your brother is J15. It is time for you to take your rightful place in the palace now that N1N3Y is old enough to be queen of Ethos - many millions of miles from here. J15 is the chosen horse groom and you are the chef.”

A stunned Nora sensed that the information was correct - she was on earth only to take care of the future queen.

“Your spaceship awaits your majesty” the guardian said to N1N3Y.  

“I understand, but I will take with me this creature” - pointing to a small dog that was her best friend.

“So, it is done” the guardian replied. And the young queen reigned happily with her dog/ companion.