Appleblossom stares up at the night sky.
The monsters are all asleep, but she is nocturnal. She shuts her eyes and her mind wanders. She hears her mother’s voice, so far away, yet so present and distinctive, calling her name: “Appleblossom!”
She tries to make the voice inside her head go away, but again she hears it. “Appleblossom!” Her mother’s voice is more insistent now. It keeps calling to her. “Appleblossom!”
This is torture.
Mama’s voice continues to play tricks on her mind, and then she hears another voice. It belongs to Antonio. “Appleblossom! Where are you?”
She puts her hands to her head and sticks fingers in her ears. The voices are now harder to hear, but they haven’t gone away. “STOP!” she shouts.
But the stop is some kind of go, because now she hears a new, louder voice. “That’s her!”
She knows that voice. It’s Amlet.
Appleblossom opens her eyes. Now another sound is in the mix. She hears movement coming from the wall. And then she hears a deep voice say, “Come to Papa!”
And then Mama again: “She’s never even met you!”
And then: “She’ll know her papa when she sees her papa!”
Appleblossom bolts upright as she squeals, “Mama! Mama, I’m here!”