Bedtime

“OK, now. Fold your hands and say your prayers” his mother told him.

His little heart quaked.

All the other steps of his bedtime routine were comforting and reassuring.

First a bath, then a bedtime story, and then tucking in all his stuffed animal friends around him and making sure his night light was just right.

It was all perfect until…

“Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen.”

And his parents wondered why he had nightmares.