The next day, Abril woke up in the middle of a nightmare, screaming and crying. Alessandro took her by the shoulders and spoke in a soft, soothing voice.
"Calm down, you're safe, you're with me."
Abril hugged Alessandro, clinging to him tightly, trembling. Alessandro patted her back until she managed to calm down.
"A nightmare?"
Abril nodded.
"Do you want to tell me what it was about?"
"No, I'd rather forget it."
Alessandro didn't want to force Abril to talk about her nightmare, so he just hugged her and said,
"That's fine, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to. Just remember, you're not alone anymore; I'm here with you."
"Yes."
Abril stayed in his arms for a while longer until someone knocked on the door. It was Cassian, wanting to know how she was.
Alessandro sa
