Dream Scream: Micro Fiction

Tanya was running fast, so fast that she thought her legs will fall off.

Sweating, panting, she stops to catch some breath. She knows he is following her. She holds her bag tightly, close to her heart. There is something valuable in there and she needs to bring it to the cottage, else something bad is going to happen. She stops only to look back again. 

There he is. Closer, much closer. 

He stretches his hand to take her bag. She closes her eyes, screams for help. He says, "Let it go". 
"Nooooooooooooo", she screams again.
She was adamant. She wasn't going to give up so soon. He realizes she needs to keep quiet. And so he slaps her hard and asks to open her eyes. 

Withering in pain, she struggles to open her eyes. She look into his eyes. They were not scary, they were comforting. He leans closer, puts his warm hand on her forehead and says, "It is okay, you just had a bad dream. Let go the pillow."
"But Pa, I have to get the bag to the cottage, else they will kill me."
"It is a pillow. There is no bag. Nobody is going to kill you. It was a nightmare. Now go back to sleep." 

She looks around. She was on her bed. It was, indeed her room. She somehow lies down, still scared to close her eyes again. As though he can read her mind, he replies in the same warm voice, "Close your eyes, my princess. It is all going to be okay." Trusting him, she closed her eyes. All she could see was nothing. All she could hear was nothing. All that she felt was...his warm hand still on her forehead.