Staircase at Night

When Maria was very tiny, she shared a large attic room with her two older sisters, Katrina and Juanita. The door to their room was at the top of a long narrow staircase. Maria mostly liked her room, but was a little scared of the stairs, because she was so tiny.

Sometimes at night, Maria would wake up from a bad dream. She would go to each of her sisters' beds, but they would not wake up. She really wanted to be with her mother, but her mother's bedroom was downstairs.

Maria gathered up her blanket (it was soft yellow with satin trim) and hugged it to her little body. Then she gathered her courage and opened the bedroom door to the dark staircase.

Maria sat on the top step and stared down the stairs. It was so dark and so far down. She hugged her blanket again and scooted her bottom down to the first step.

Now the hard part came - she stood up, turned around and stretched her hand to the doorknob. She wrapped her fingers around it and pulled the door towards her until it closed all of the way. Then she pressed her body to the door as she slowly turned her body around on the narrow top step. With her back now to the door, she slid back down onto her bottom.

Maria took a deep breath. She slowly bumped her way down the stairs on her bottom - one at a time. When she reached the end of the staircase, Maria stood up on the black and red checked linoleum floor in her bare feet. She scampered down the hallway to her parents' bedroom, dragging her yellow blanket behind her.

Maria stood at the door and called, "Mommy?" But there was no answer.

Maria lifted her little fist and tapped on the door with her knuckles. Maria's mother's voice came through the wood of the door, "Who is it?"

Maria answered softly, "Maria...I had a bad dream."

Maria's mother opened the door and scooped Maria up in her arms. She gave her a big hug. Then she lay down in her bed, with Maria right next to her. She pulled the covers up and snuggled Maria to her. Maria squeezed her cold little feet and tiny toes in between her mother's warm legs and fell asleep - safe and happy - sweet as an angel.