We carefully walked outside, making sure to close the sliding glass door behind us so Rocky wouldn’t nose his way out. Sure enough, where the bunny had sat was a disturbed patch of grass with loose soil and a few tufts of rabbit fur. I grabbed a nearby stick and gently lifted the grass and fur.

Inside were four tiny, gray, squirming baby rabbits, eyes still closed.

“They’re so cute! Can they be our new pets? Please, please, please?” Jack said as he crouched down lower.

I smiled. “They’re cute, but they belong outside, with their mom.”

He sighed in disappointment, and I carefully replaced the grass and fur on top. “We can check on them each day, though, and say hi.”

“What if Daddy cuts the grass and hurts them?” Jack said.

“Well, let’s mark it off.” I went into the garage and found an old easel tripod that Mark had brought home from work a few years ago.

I stuck the tripod on top of the nest, careful to splay the legs so they wouldn’t scare off the mom. As I did, a feeling of darkness settled around my shoulders. It raised the hair on my arms, and for a moment, a shadow seemed to move across the nest, although the sun was on the opposite end of the sky.

A word popped into my brain, a whisper more than a thought: Death.

The panic and fear I felt in my dream came rushing back, my vision narrowing and my ears roaring with pumping blood. Goose bumps popped up on my arms as I remembered the way the woman’s mouth had stretched open, her rotting teeth like decrepit piano keys.

I’m back.

The words whispered against my cheek, nudging my skin in a tender caress.

Startled, I stepped backward, and just as quickly as it had appeared, the feeling was gone. Another trick of my mind, perhaps. Or maybe the lack of sleep was finally kicking in. I shook my head and turned to Jack.

“See?” I said. “All good.”

We went back inside, and I picked up my now-cool cup of coffee. Putting it in the microwave, I took a deep breath. My pulse was still racing from whatever had happened outside, but I told myself it was just anxiety, just my tired mind warping my thoughts.

Occam’s razor, I thought. I took a few more deep breaths, trying to center my body. I was safe in my house. Whatever I’d felt outside was in my head, created by a nightmare and the stress I felt over finding a job.