ENCHANTED LOVE, VOLUME 3 - Season 11 Episode 85

“Nancy! Nancy! Find the key to this room for me, please,” Sheryl anxiously instructed their maid. She was not sure what was happening inside the room, and was so worried about Melissa. “Okay. Wait a minute.” Nancy went down the stairs in a hurry. Sheryl and Charles were left standing in front of Melissa’s closed door.

The voice in the room continued to strike their ears. They did not only hear the shrieks, but also heard Melissa’s frightful screams continuously breaking into the night’s silence. “Go away! Go away! Don’t come near me! No! No! Go away! No!”

“Mom, what’s happening in there? What’s going on with you?” Charles asked loudly, hoping Melissa could hear him. He moved closer to the door, hoping she would hear him. After hearing another set of her loud screams, he could no longer wait for Nancy to get the key. He started to kick on the door with his full strength, hoping to break it through.

After kicking it a few times, the door finally swung open. At that time, the rushing Nancy just reached the top of the stairs with the key in her hand.

“Mom, what happened?” Charles ran towards Melissa. He found her completely covered with her quilt. She seemed to be struggling and experiencing the most horrible dream. She was trying so hard to get away from her nightmare, but she just couldn’t wake up.

“Stay away from me! No! Stay away from me!” Melissa was still screaming. She did not wake up yet, but she was so terrified that her voice was shaking.

“Mom, it’s me. I am Charles, your son,” he said as he tried to wake her up. He stood beside her bed, while Sheryl was a little behind him. Although he couldn’t see Melissa’s face, he heard the sharp screaming and saw her body moving anxiously under the quilt. Her actions told him that she had a very difficult time in the past fifteen years. Charles couldn’t help but feel sorry for his mom.

He felt a stabbing pain from inside. ‘Everything that Shining Enterprise is enjoying today will not be possible if not for my mom. She lost those last fifteen years for the sake of the company. If she did not choose to do that…’ Charles thought to himself, and he couldn’t continue.

“Mom, what’s happening to you?” Charles asked again. The pain continued to crush his heart and it grew stronger as he stared at Melissa’s depressing state. He badly wanted to hold his mother’s hands and comfort her. But whenever he tried to get close to her, she would turn him away and shake more intensely. He was beginning to feel frustrated himself.

“Charles, let me try,” Sheryl tapped his back and suggested. She made her way to the side of the bed and looked at the lump created by Melissa’s body underneath the quilt. She also couldn’t bear to see Melissa acting like this. She never believed in the saying that “life in prison was like life in hell”. But now, as she watched how Melissa’s life in prison had consumed her and what indelible trauma it had left in her heart, she couldn’t agree more. She could only hope and pray that no other person in their family would go through such torture.

At that time, Charles started to get lost in his own mind. He was not prepared for anything like this. He did not know what to do, so he just stayed there with his face rigid. After hearing Sheryl’s words, he put all his hope on her, because he thought Sheryl was the only one who could help his mother. He knew that he could not keep calm in front of Melissa.

“Mom, you are now in Dream Garden. I am your daughter-in-law, Sheryl. And this is your son, Charles. Don’t be afraid. We are all here to stay with you and take care of you. You’re safe here. Whatever you are seeing in your dream is all in the past now.” Sheryl coaxed Melissa in a soft voice. She then sat on the side of her bed.

She did not know if her way was going to work or not, but she thought she should try. She knew that Melissa’s trauma was caused by her prison life and she was so terrified of everyone because she was afraid that they would hurt her. Therefore, it was clear that what Melissa needed was the comfort from her close family and not questions that would make her anxious.

Apparently, Sheryl’s words worked like wonders. The shaking of the quilt gradually weakened, and the screaming stopped. Sheryl took this as a cue to further convince Melissa to come out from under the quilt.

“Mom, don’t be afraid. It’s just us, Sheryl, and Charles. We have no intentions of harming you. We are here to take care of you. Nothing can hurt you now. We will never allow it. We are your family. We will protect you,” Sheryl continued when she realized that her words were working.

Melissa finally stopped shaking. Sheryl and Charles waited for a long time for her to get out of the quilt, but she didn’t. There was a sudden silence in the room. Then a set of heavy breathing started to fill the silence. Everyone knew that that breathing came from Melissa. Charles motioned to Sheryl and asked her what was happening without saying a word. Sheryl shrugged her shoulders to answer she was not sure exactly.

“Mom,” Sheryl said again. She thought that if Melissa didn’t have the courage to get out, she could help her. There was no answer still. Melissa appeared to have calmed down a little bit, so she figured that Melissa might be not afraid of what she was going to do.

Sheryl pulled back the quilt and said in a soft voice, “Mom, I’m pulling back your quilt slowly. It’s going to be okay. You will see your son, Charles.” She continued to pull the quilt until Melissa was completely out. “You see, Charles is here to take care of you.”

With Sheryl’s assurance, Melissa finally got out of the quilt and sat up. Her hair was a mess and her dull eyes were fixed on Charles. Seeing Melissa looking at him like that, Charles felt both ashamed and regretful. Sheryl stood at the side of the bed, holding the quilt.

Melissa immediately caught the expression on Charles’ face, and was very much pleased with the course of events. She knew that her plan was going to succeed. She called out to him, “Charles, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m really sorry.” Melissa’s voice came out hoarse. “I’m fine, my son. I was just having a nightmare. But I’m fine. I’m really sorry if I bothered you.”

“Mom, what are you talking about? Why would you think that you’re a burden to us?” Charles responded with a hurt tone. “I want to know what happened. What was wrong with you? Why would you behave…” Charles didn’t get to finish his questions, not because he didn’t know what to ask, but because he decided to not ask anymore. He was not sure if he would like to hear her answer.

“It’s all right. It was just a nightmare.” Melissa did not explain why she had that nightmare. She didn’t even look at Charles’ eyes. The truth was, she was not prepared to discuss details about her faux nightmare.

Apparently, what she did was helpful. At least, in Charles’ eyes, her expression alone made his heart burn. The act was so good, it was believable.

“It’s too late. You should go back to sleep. I’m fine. It’s not a big deal. It’s just a dream. I will try to have a light sleep. It will be okay if I control myself to do so.” Melissa’s voice was very weak.

“Does it happen frequently? How long have you been having these nightmares? And how do you deal with them?” Charles asked her. He was extremely bothered by the fact that his mother was constantly haunted by these bad dreams. “I’ve been having these nightmares for a long time now, and I’m already used to it. If I’m tired, I will…” Melissa explained very vaguely and did not finish her sentence. Her acting was superb.

“Sher, do you still have the phone number of the doctor we used to see?” Charles turned to Sheryl and asked. “Call him. Let him come and see what’s wrong with Mom.” He no longer felt like sleeping after what had happened. After learning that his mother had a such serious sleeping disorder, he felt really bad for her. At the same time, he felt guilty.

“Charles, it’s almost midnight. It may not be appropriate to ask the doctor to come at this time. How about this? I will accompany Mom tonight in her room. I’ll take care of her. We can call the doctor and ask him to come tomorrow morning. What do you think?” Sheryl proposed. Charles looked at the clock. He found that it was surely too late to call the doctor. And he thought that Melissa was not satisfied with Sheryl, so it might be a good chance for them to know about each other and improve their relationship. Therefore, he said, “All right. That sounds good. Mom, what do you think of Sher’s idea?”

“I’m all right. You don’t need to call the doctor. I’ve been living with these nightmares for many years. I already know how to deal with them. It will be better if someone can accompany me tonight; that way I will not feel so afraid,” Melissa answered, but she didn’t directly agree or disagree with letting Sheryl to stay. However, in her words, what she meant was apparent. She meant that she needed someone to stay with her so that she would not have those nightmares anymore.

“All right. Sher, you can stay here with Mom, but only for tonight,” Charles agreed. “I will call the doctor to come tomorrow morning,” Charles knew that Sheryl’s idea would be best for now, since he already knew Melissa’s views.

“Yes, that will be best,” Sheryl confirmed. “It’s all right, Charles. I will take care of Mom. You can go back to sleep now. It’s getting so late. You don’t want to wake the kids up, do you?” Sheryl smiled as she touched Charles’ arms to urge him to leave.

“Fine, I will go back and sleep. Good night, Mom,” he said to Melissa and then came close to Sheryl and kissed her. “Good night, Sher.” Charles left Melissa’s room with Nancy. The maid went downstairs since her services were no longer required.

Charles, on the other hand, went to the room next to Melissa’s to check on the children. After he found that Clark and Shirley were still sound asleep, he came back to his own room to sleep.

“Mom, it’s all right. I am here. Don’t worry. You can sleep soundly now,” Sheryl comforted Melissa after everyone left.