Don't chase the rabbit.
She’d nearly fallen into a trance with the methodical movement of her pencil, her eyes never leaving the page in front of her. What had once been a crisp, blank sheet now resembled something entirely different; every spare space was filled with a doodle or half-completed sketching. For the most part the piece lacked any sort of consistency or connectivity, but Suzy’s main focus was now at the center of the page — the part she’d been working on for nearly an hour straight.
What’re you drawing, sweetheart?
Her mother’s voice hardly pulled her from her reverie. Suzy mumbled an absent response, which transformed into a yell of surprise when her mother took the page from her grasp to examine it. The spell was broken, and Suzy stood there dazed for several moments, unaware of the sudden lack of color in her mother’s face.
Suzy, what is this?
"It’s just a drawing, umma."
No, Suzy, what IS this? This is — did you have a nightmare?
She shook her head in confusion. Just then, her father came in from work, and her mother instantly strode away from her to accost her father in the doorway, speaking in hushed tones. Suzy took a few steps closer and pressed her ear to the wall out of curiosity.
What eight-year-old draws something like this? Do you see what this is? It looks like a great serpent coming out of the little girl’s chest! Did you let her watch a horror movie?
No, god no, I’d never do that — ah, that’s really… detailed.
Should we take her to the doctor? She was just sitting there, drawing it like it was nothing. And she was so focused… ugh, I can’t bear to look at it, it’s so frightening.
"Umma?"
Her parents fell silent, as though if they were to face their daughter, the image she’d drawn would be a reality on her.
"I didn’t dream it… It’s just… a feeling. Not mine! It’s just a feeling. Someone felt sick—"
That’s enough, sweetheart. Go play outside.
"But — "
Go!