Chapter 50 - Ru's Nightmare

The playroom was a small room within the judge's chambers.It was originally intended to be used as a rest room for the head judges.But Judge Baek had converted this room.The current room had light green colored walls and a jungle theme decoration.On one side was a table that held various wooden puzzles and picture books.The other corner was occupied with a small slide and rocking horse.Yet another corner held a small ball pool and many board games for older children.Ru was playing in the ball pool inside the playroom.He was really happy in this room.Usually whenever his father took him along to office,he would be really bored.But today, this place had such nice things amd that lady who brought him here also said that he could order whatever he wanted to eat.

He was playing well when Secretaru Wen came back to the room.She smiled and said,"So...Ru,are you enjoying yourselfYou like to the ball pool?"

Ru nodded his head a bit shyly.

She smiled at him again and asked,"Would you mind terribly if I join you in play?Can we play pass the ball or catch-catch?"

"Yes!!"

Ru started passing the ball to Doctor Wen and catching it in return.They continued like this for a few minutes during which she asked him about his likes,dislikes and other general topics.They then moved on to talking about his favorite people where he talked about his mother,father and uncles.Ru,being the chatter box he was,also mentioned everything that Aunty Su had told him and how Aunty Su got sick before he could prove her wrong.

Dr. Wen understood everything the young child did not.Soon they moved onto things he feared.Until now,Ru had been behaving like a normal kid but with this topic he suddenly clamped up.Dr Wen realised the child's barriers were thick and he had now become a bit more alert.This meant that someone had try to coax him to share his fears in the past as well.That person must have failed..but she wouldn't.She immediately changed the topic when she realized that there was something he was hiding.They also moved onto the puzzles and other games.As they played,she started talking about herself to Ru as well.She was behaving more like a child than an adult.During this time,she noticed his sharp memory.The boy had to look at everything only once and he would be able to place it correctly.

Dr Wen then started talking about her fear of monsters and how her father usually protected her.This prompted Ru to unknowingly talk about how his father was a dragon and pushed away all dangers to him.A child usually has blind faith in their parents.But Ru talked about his father as if he had seen his father push away the danger...

Finally having won Ru's trust Dr Wen had learnt a part of a story.The recording device was now playing a crucial moment.

Judge Baek heard Dr Wen say,"I still have some scary dreams.But then I think how my father has taught me to fight and then I sleep peacefully"

To this Ru had replied,"My father is also going to teach me to fight and become a dragon.Then I am also going to push that woman and breathe fire on her..."

A pause...Dr Wen did not say anything to prompt him knowing currently he was thinking of a way to finish off the monster in his dreams.

After the pause a trembling baby voice continued,"That bad lady monster in my dreams used to feed me fire.I would keep crying but she only holds my arms and legs and pinches my nose.Everything inside me was burning when she did that.And then she was laughing really loudly...she said that my father loves me so I must be punished...But then father came and pushed her away...he was shouting at her and then he picked me up and ran away.He was very cold.But he pushed the fire out of my stomach and then he never let the monster come near me."

Again a silent pause...with the harsh breathing sounds and sniffling of a child.At this moment,Dr Wen had forgotten all about being a professional and picking up the child had hugged him to comfort him.It was at this moment that the phone in the room had rung.She got up to answer and it was at this moment that Ru said something that rattled her,"I thought that the monster in my dreams was my mother but I have Alice now.Since she is my mother that monster cannot become my mother..."

The recorder then continued to play the one sided conversation between Judge Baek and Dr.Wen.Dr Wen then continued to slowly distract him again from his nightmare and ordered food and then left him inside.

Currently the little boy was enjoying his food without a care in the world...

Judge Baek,had been a judge for many years now.But never in her career had she been so shocked by a child's statement.

She looked at Dr Wen and asked softly,"So Dr,do you really believe that Ru's nightmare has some truth.Could it be that he has cast his mother in the role of a monster bacause he missed her and she abandoned him?"

"I would consider that possibility if the child had not displayed eidetic memory symptoms.I think that his memory is correct and he only assumes it to be a nightmare because he was too young to understand the difference between reality and dreams.Also the nightmare is the same and has never varied.So there is a 50 percent chance that it is true...."