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6
Debra’s nightmare
Debra didn’t sleep well that night. She dreamt she was on the top of the cliffs looking down on Black Rock. It was night time. The rock opened. Flames and smoke were pouring out of a cave. Slowly a witch appeared in the inferno. Her eyes glowed like red hot coals. Dilo was swimming nearby. The witch called out, “Dilo, Dilo,” in a moaning voice. The dolphin surfaced and listened. He was caught in the witch’s spell and started to swim towards the rock.
Debra wanted to warn Dilo. “Keep away Dilo, keep away,” she tried to shout. But no sound would come out of her mouth.
Debra panicked. She ran along a path that should have led to the sea. But the path always went the wrong way. Debra rushed this way and that. No matter how hard she tried she couldn’t reach the water. All the time she could see Black Rock and could hear the Witch laughing like a demon. She had to warn Dilo.
Then the wind started to blow. Huge waves lashed Black Rock. Lightening flashed and thunder crashed. Dilo leapt out of the raging sea. Higher and higher he rose. At the top of his jump the Witch let out a blood curdling screech.
At that moment Dilo turned into a giant crow. “Caw, caw,” cried the huge black bird as it flew off into the dark night sky. The witch. wailing in triumph, slid into the sea and vanished as lightning zig-zagged across the dark sky. For a speck of time it lit the crow flying far away. A moment later there was a loud clap of thunder.
The noise woke Debra with a start. She sat up in bed. Slowly Debra realised she had been dreaming. She instinctively reached for the ring on her finger. She twisted it. Debra recalled the swim she had had with Dilo a short time ago. Touching the ring made Debra feel warm inside. The fear that had gripped her vanished.
Debra got out of bed, walked to the window and opened it. Outside the air was still. There was no storm. All was silent. Stars shone in the sky and their reflections sparkled on the water. In the distance was Black Rock, black as coal in the dark blue sea. Debra thought she could see the silhouette of a boat close to the rock. But she wasn’t sure. It didn’t matter anyway. There was no lightening, no thunder and no witch.
“Thank goodness it was only a dream,” Debra murmured to herself as she climbed back into bed. Soon she was fast asleep.
When Debra woke the next morning the sun was shining. She looked out of the window. The sky was blue all over. The sea was flat calm. Even Black Rock looked peaceful. It was going to be another glorious day.
On the floor beside her bed Debra saw a black feather. She bent down and picked it up.
“I hope that’s not a bad omen,” she said quietly to herself.
But it was.
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