My wife (32F) and I (31M) have been married for about 5 years now. My wife, Amber, has always mumbled in her sleep. Her family even jokes about how often she would mumble in her sleep at holiday dinners and gatherings. The only person who doesn’t laugh is her mother, Katrina. Years ago, when we first met, Katrina pulled me aside and told me that Amber used to sleepwalk. She told me that it was never a good idea to wake my wife up in the middle of a dream or try to engage with her indistinct mumbling. I promised Katrina that I wouldn’t mess with Amber during one of her episodes.

Lately, though, Amber has been talking in complete and coherent conversations with someone in her dream in a dialect that I’ve never heard from her. The voice she used was pitched higher but eerily soothing. She had never used it with anyone before.

The night it started, Amber woke me up because I thought she was on her phone. I lifted my head and heard her using her voice saying “You poor thing. I promise, I’ll help you but you have to follow my rules.”. I was too freaked out to wake her. The next night, she woke me up again but she spoke to the person or child more sternly.

“You know that you live here, right? You can’t follow me out again.” She said.

The next morning, I called Katrina, Amber’s mother. Katrina recounted a story from Amber’s childhood when she had an imaginary friend named “Orion”. Amber would act out in bad behavior and blame it on Orion. Katrina had taken Amber to therapy after “Orion” made her take a pocket knife to school. Katrina said that Orion was never mentioned again. Katrina reminded me that I should never wake or talk to Amber during an episode.

On the third night, I heard Amber scolding the dream child in her dreams but kept that strange high pitched nurturing voice.

“We can’t keep having this conversation. You can’t come out again. Real people will get hurt!” She argued.

In my concern, I gently placed a hand on Amber’s back and begin to slowly move it in a calm circular motion across her skin to wake her up. Amber rustled in the blankets and sleepily lifted her head up.

“Hey sweetie, who were you talking to?” I quietly asked her.

“It’s okay, darling… Orion can’t get us out here.” She reassured me as she rolled over and went back to sleep.

The next morning, at breakfast, I asked Amber to tell me more about Orion.

“Sweetie, something weird has been going on and I’ve been wanting to ask you about something.” I said nervously.

“Is everything okay, Henry?” Amber asked with deep concern.

“You’ve been talking in your sleep to someone named Orion. Do you remember your dreams at all? Do you know who Orion is?” I asked, hoping for something other than what she said next.

“Nope. No clue” she confirmed. I was puzzled and even more nervous.

“Amber… you’ve been carrying out conversations with someone named Orion in your dreams and it sounds a little hostile.” I explained. She looked a little confused but still claimed that she has never heard of anyone named Orion. I had no option left but to bring up her childhood.

“Okay… I spoke with your mother yesterday. She said that you had an imaginary friend as a kid. That you told her Orion made you bring a knife to school. Does that ring any bells?” I asked as gently as I could. Amber’s face twisted from concern to anger.

“So… you called my mother because of what? A scary conversation I was having with a dream person named Orion and she fed you some bat shit Boomer story!? Is that it!?” Amber defended.

“Amber, it’s not like that at all!” I tried to explain.

“Bullshit, Henry! You got scared of a bad dream that I was having and you called my alcoholic mother who has 3 bottles of wine a day! How could you believe anything she fuckin’ says!? What else did she tell you?” She asked me.

“Your mother told me to never wake you if you talk in your sleep or when you sleepwalk.” I said sheepishly.

“She’s a fuckin nut case, Henry! I haven’t been caught sleepwalking in decades!” Amber screamed.

“Amber… you know that on any other day, over anything else, I would take your side… but last night I DID wake you from your dream. You told me that Orion couldn’t get to us. What did you mean by that?” I asked.

“What the fuck is wrong you people!?” She yelled in escalated anger. Her face was turning red. “I am a good wife, Henry! I can’t even fuckin sleep without my mother getting involved!” She cried.

“Amber, I’m sorry. Okay? I’m sorry. The sleep talking is really scaring me though.” I tried to explain.

“Oh good! Now my husband is too scared to sleep next to me!” She sobbed.

I held her in my arms as Amber cried. I felt awful for bringing it up. I felt awful for being scared. I felt awful for not believing her.

On the fourth night, I woke up to the sound of Amber choking on something. Once my foggy brain caught on to what the sound was, I leapt out of the bed and turned the light on. Amber stood up from her side of the bed and began to frantically wave her hands in front of her throat. When I ran over to her, I immediately noticed that her throat was really wide and swollen, almost in a rectangular shape. Amber was choking on the mysterious obstruction so bad that her eyes started to roll back.

Suddenly, she stopped choking. There was a few seconds of silence before Amber’s phone started to ring from inside of her throat. Her phone’s screen illuminated through the muscle, veins, and skin of her neck. I could see that it was an “unknown” caller. Amber raised one hand over her head and slowly reached down into her throat to pull her phone out. Amber’s mouth elongated and dislocated to make way. The phone rang as it slid up her airway and her throat returned to its normal shape. She never gagged or coughed.

Amber held the phone out in my direction with an extended arm. She used that creepy fucking voice.

“Here you go darling, it’s for you.” Amber said.

I reached out, took the phone, and held it to my ear.

“Heh… hello?” I greeted anxiously. No one responded. I looked at Amber in confusion. Amber used a finger to press the “speaker” button on her phone screen.

“It’s okay, Orion. You can come out now.” Amber said. The other line on the phone hung up.

Our bedroom door creaked open to reveal the silhouette of a shadowy child with ambient glowing white eyes. The child stood in the doorway waiting for her. Amber turned to me and used the creepy voice to speak to me.

“Henry… Orion and I are going on a trip… you can’t follow me out. This is where you live.” Amber said before kissing my lips and exiting the room. Her and Orion got into our car and left. I have not heard from her since… but I know her and Orion are out there. The night she left was the night before the UFOs being shot down, train derailments, and earthquakes that have been in the news. If you see Amber… tell her that I just want to come back out again.