The beam of light flashed so bright that it ripped the sight from my eyes. Slowly a blur emerged, I waited impatiently as my vision returned. The tremble in my bones brought a soft chatter to my teeth, sending chills up my spine. I waited in pure silence. It was so quiet that I jumped when footsteps presented themselves. Fear consumed me as my eyes darted to different directions trying to identify the footsteps. Only moments later did my eyes catch a shadow against the wall, and slowly my body turned itself to face the shadow’s owner. A black cloak draped over his body. He had his head tilted downward to conceal his face. I told my feet to start running, but they refused to move. After a few seconds the figure gradually brought his head up. I shivered at the sight of his beady, red eyes. It felt as though they were lasers burning through my brain. His face was covered with black paint along the sides. Red paint surrounded his facial features along with more black paint creating patterns and designs. He slowly took off his hood only to reveal numerous white horns that appeared instead of hair. He stood still creating an aura of fear and terror. As he stared down at me he mad a deep glare that cause me to scream, but no sound came out. It sounded as though I lost my voice. I felt like a tiny mouse waiting to fight a lion. Finally I regained the ability to run, and I ran with such high speed as though my feet were no longer connected to the ground. I kept making quick glances back only to see him chasing after me. After my last glance behind me, I looked forward and found that the floor would disappear in a couple of steps. I tried to come to a halt, but it was too late. I watched my feet go over the edge and into a hole that beamed a bright, white light. The rest of me reluctantly followed in slow motion. My scream was once again stolen from me as I slowly fell down the bottomless hole. I looked up for someone to help me, but the only person there was that man with the horns. I watched in horror as he laugh viciously with his red eyes bright and full of terror.

“Ahhhhhhh,” I found myself capable of screaming again. However, I was on the ground. I slowly looked around at my surroundings. “I’m in my bed?” I questioned while still out of breath from screaming. While pondering over what had just happened I heard footsteps, and they were getting louder by every step. I abruptly threw the covers over my head and shut my eyes as I curled up into a ball.

“Mia?” my mother’s panicked voice caused me to quickly open my eyes. I reassured her of my presence by making myself visible. “What’s the matter?” she questioned as she flicked the light switch. My mother quickly came and sat beside me as she waited for my response.

“I… I had a bad dream,” I stated, while looking around for any sight of him.

My mother nodded, “You know there is nothing to be afraid of…” she went on, but I didn’t bother listening. My mind was a journey focused on finding the destination, and in this case I needed to find the man with the red eyes in a cloak. My mother regained my attention when she asked, “What was your dream about?’

I avoided making eye contact with her, “Nothing, I don’t remember,” I responded in the tone of a question. I could feel my mother’s eyes searching for the truth.

“Are you sure?” She asked.

“I don’t remember,” I reassured her. I looked beside me to find a bunch of stuffed animals. My eyes came upon two of my favorite teddy bears. They were so small and soft that I would take them ever. I picked up the blue one and held it tight in my arms as I quickly threw the red onto the floor. I turned my attention back to my mother.
She continued to study my face, looking for some explanation for me throwing one of my most prized toys onto the floor like a pair of dirty socks. Her eyes widened with the change of expression. “Darth Maul?” She asked. I nodded in defeat. “You know he is made up right? And he can’t hurt you because he isn’t real. This fear is all in your head, and it is your choice to let it go if you wanted to get rid of the nightmares.”

Although I completely understood he I just couldn’t shake the fear out of my mind. It was like trying to get the water out of your ears, which was nearly impossible. “Whenever I fall asleep I see his red eyes staring at me. How can I let go of that?” I asked my mother. I wanted to get rid of that vision so badly, but I didn’t know how.

My mother struggled thinking of a response for a few moments. She then hugged me goodnight, and she started to walk to my door. I slowly started to recline in my bed while clinging onto the blue teddy bear. My mother placed her hand over the light switch, but before she did she told me, “Darth Maul can’t hurt you considering he is dead…” I thought about this as I went to sleep. I guess that even if he was real he couldn’t hurt me because he is dead. Fear left me by taking a weight of terror off my shoulders. Since then, those evil red eyes have never made an appearance in my dreams, but I still shiver every time I see him in the movie.