“What happened then?”

“Well, I never went out. Mama just put her hands on me and Layla started kicking and pushing and rolling around. It was kind of funny really, and Mama and I were laughing and we were all having fun. And then it got really quiet and still in the room, and Mama started to sing, and I drifted off into a light sleep and she left.”

“That was it?” I said.

“Well, no, not exactly. Later that night I had this amazing dream about Layla. I started having a lot of dreams about Layla. These dreams weren’t like anything I’ve ever had before. They were so real. They were happening just like I was awake, but they were mysterious and magical. They were so powerful and strange that I was afraid to share them with you so I went to see Mama to help make sense of them.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me,” I said.