shadows

Others Stories | Sep 16, 2016 | 6 min read
8 Votes, average: 3 out of 5
In a small town, North of Glasgow, sleeps a four year old boy.
This boy is most likely having a lovely dream about Disney characters, Marvel superheroes . . . or completing a Pokemon game on their new iphones, or whatever four year old kids dream about nowadays.
Anyway, the kids bedroom is dastardly dark. His parents were too useless to invest in a dimmer switch for the poor boy. However, even in this low light, his navy curtains give the darkness an underwater, deep in the murky depths kind of feel. I'm surprised this kid isn't plagued by tsunami or boy-eating shark nightmares.
As the boy enjoys his slumber, and the deep blue shadows dance all around him in waves, an even darker shape rises from a tiny crack in his wall.
The blacker than black shadow faintly resembles the shape of an insect - a preying mantis. It cascades towards the boys bed and disappears beneath it.
The boy stirs, feeling a prickling sensation on the back of his neck. He knows something isn't right, like he's not alone anymore.
"Mammy?" the boy whispers into the inky emptiness of his room. He sits up, keeping the duvet scrunched up to his neck.
"Hello," a feathery male voice answers, soft and melodic.
"Daddy? Where are you?" the boy replies, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"I'm not your daddy. I'm not your mummy," the wispy voice states.
The boy searches the room with his sleepy eyes - there's no one. The voice is hovering in the air, not formulating from a single place, body or object. It's as if it were the voice of God.
"Who are you?" the boy enquires with a frown.
"I'm your friend."
"My friend? What's your name?" the boy requests.
"I don't have a name. It makes me sad. What about you?"
How could someone not have a name? The boy wonders. "My name is Finlay. Why can't I see you?" Finlay asks suspiciously. He's contemplating getting up and going to tell his parents about his new unnamed friend.
"You can't see me, Finlay, because I'm magic," the voice whispers wondrously.
"Magic? Like a Wizard?" Finlay is dubious but excited at the same time. "Or, like a monster?"
"Neither. I'm from a magical kingdom, full of children like you. Would you like to see it, Finlay? I could take you there now," the voice proposes.
Finlay pauses. He is intrigued by the prospect of a magical kingdom, like the ones so many Disney films depict. However, he knows his parents should be informed of this too because they always distil in him the dangers of going off with a stranger without their permission. Even if that stranger is an invisible, magical friend.
"Can mammy and daddy come too?" the boy asks, his small face lighting up at the thought.
"No. Only special little boys and girls can see it. Mummies and daddies can't know about it because it's a secret," the voice reveals.
"I'm not allowed to keep secrets, my mammy said."
"Don't worry about that. We'll have so much fun, come on," the voice insists, his wispy tone turning raspy.
"I can't go, I'll get in trouble."
"I promise you won't. Now, get out of your bed very quietly so mummy and daddy won't hear," the voice says in a low hum. It seems like he's losing his patience with the boy.
"I don't want to. I want my mammy," Finlay counters rather timidly, suddenly afraid of the dark.
"You petulant child. I will kill your mummy if you don't do what I say. I will slit both your parents throats while they sleep." The voice has become harsh and dangerous which makes the boy jump back under his covers for protection.
Finlay remains hidden and trembling in his bed for over a minute, contemplating whether to shout out for help or just wait for the voice to go away on its own.
It's eerily silent. Finlay's little heart is beating wildly, like a thudding drum that echoes in his ears. It's the only thing he can hear.
He believes that the voice was lying; it must be a monster, Finlay says to himself. He can't call for his parents because the monster might hurt them like he said. His parents told him that, if he thinks there's a monster, he should go and sleep in their bed. Finlay has slept between his parents before, when he's had a bad dream. But, this is no dreamland monster. Finlay is very much awake.
"Hello? Are you still there?" Finlay questions tentatively, keeping himself securely hidden under his duvet.
The heavy silence continues to weigh on little Finlay as he decides his next move. His four year old brain is running through the risks of calling out for his parents or simply making a run for their room. Either way, the monster might get him and his parents too. Although, he didn't get and answer from it before. Finlay wonders if it has grown bored of him and disappeared into the thin air that it manifested from.
Finlay may be small but he's a strong minded kid. He can be as strong and brave as someone like Iron Man or Anna and Elsa from Frozen, he thinks.
The boy decides that he's not going to hide under his covers like a baby anymore. He cautiously pokes his head out of the confides of his safe duvet fort and searches the blueish blackness with his bleary, tired eyes.
His bedroom is still and empty. Even the shadow waves from his curtains have stopped dancing.
Finlay bites his lower lip nervously. His door is only a few feet away. His teacher, Mrs Hay, said that he is one of the fastest runners in his class, so he can probably get there and out of the door quick enough. Then, he can run to his parents room across the hall and jump into their bed. They'll protect him from the monster.
In all the Disney films he's seen, good always triumphs over evil. Monsters always get defeated in the end. Finlay takes comfort from this.
He's made his mind up; he will risk it and make a break for his parent room. What a brave kid little Finlay has turned out to be. Anna and Elsa will be proud.
Finlay seizes the moment and flings the covers off himself and propels his body up and out of his bed.
As soon as his tiny feet touch the stained wood floor, Finlay is grabbed by a pair of cold, greyish-green claws that reach out from the shadows. He can hear a sort of ticking sound, like a pair of pincers clanging together, coming from under his bed.
Before Finlay can muster a scream, the deathly claws, that have tightly gripped his ankles, pull sharply, slamming the boy to the floor and winding him. Only a small yelp escapes Finlay's mouth when his fragile little body is dragged swiftly under the bed by the ticking, clawed monster.
Suddenly, there's complete silence, like nothing ever happened.
The room is empty once again. The shadowy waves resume their dance.
The moral of the story? . . . Kids, don't trust Disney films, because real monsters don't take no shit. And, parents, don't be cheap, a little bit of light goes a long way by keeping the shadows at bay.

The End.

 

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