By the time Helen and Jessie came downstairs to join him, he had orange juice and some dry cereal in bowls on the table. Jessie was pale, and she had dark circles under her eyes. Look like you’ve been in a fight, kiddo. He supposed that in a way, she had.

He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. “You hungry?”

“A little.” She sat down and poured milk on her cereal while Helen grabbed one of the glasses of orange juice. He glanced at her and she shrugged, walking back to the kitchen counter where she sipped the juice slowly.

“We’re going to take a trip this afternoon and get you checked out, all right?” he said. Jessie froze, spoonful of cereal halfway to her lips.

“I’m okay, Daddy,” she said in a small voice.

“Of course you are, pumpkin, but it would make us feel better. And maybe it will help your nightmares.”

“They’re not nightmares, they’re real,” she said calmly. “At least they will be, pretty soon.”

He felt like the temperature in the kitchen had just dropped ten degrees. Helen looked at him, her face lined with worry, but he could not answer her. It was not what Jessie had said, it was the way she said it, as if it were God’s honest truth and nothing at all could change that or stop it from happening.

Then the paralysis broke and he went to her. “I searched the woods a long time and there is nobody out there. This man that you see”—he paused and searched for a way to continue—“he’s a scary man, but he’s in your head and he can’t hurt you. I won’t let him.”

She smiled distantly, and it chilled him to the bone. “He doesn’t care about that, Daddy. He’s crazy; he doesn’t think right. When he thinks, it’s all messed up.”

“What do you mean, all messed up?” Helen had joined them at the table, and she looked as if she had seen a ghost; David saw a vein pulsing in her temple.

“He sees monsters and bad people everywhere, even if he’s alone. His brain is like a scary movie.”

“I think the best thing to do is tell the doctor about the man,” he said, trying to keep his voice calm and even. “He’ll be able to handle it better than any of us. You can trust the doctor, honey. And I’ll tell you this right now”—he knelt and held her face in both of his hands—“I will never let anyone hurt you. I promise you that.”

“Okay, Daddy.” Her voice sounded so thin and fragile.