Chapter Text
Sometimes I feel like my mind is playing a bad joke on me.
I'm talking about things like hallucinations, which fortunately are not large-scale to worry about, or that I'm behaving strangely, and, to be honest, I myself don't understand what's happening to me. It all started just with a little stupidity in childhood, namely that I watched a scary show about psychics, which caused me hallucinations and a fear of the dark. I remember how afraid I was in the dark, i seemed to saw things, felt eyes on me, like a predator watching its prey before attacking. Or stay at home alone, when for some reason my parents liked to go somewhere in the evening, leaving me alone, in the only lighted room, in the corner, watching the darkness behind the doors and windows, carefully, as if if I turned away, there would be someone there... it will appear.
To be honest, I never told anyone about these strange things happening to me, not even to my parents, so they didn’t know, and I had to deal with it alone. (Although they began to suspect something when I wake them up in the middle of the night to ask them to walk me to the toilet, or bring me water, since I was afraid to leave the safe zone on the bed.) But years have passed, and now everything seems to be in order , and in general, they hardly bother me. But over time I learned how this happens. Watching scary things makes me hallucinate, but if I don't watch anything scary for a while, the hallucinations go away. Get it, yes!
While I was immersed in my thoughts, I almost didn’t hear someone calling my name. Of course I didn’t hear it until someone started shaking my hand, bringing me out of my thoughts back into reality, meeting the gaze of my young niece, whose green eyes looked at me almost offended.
-What is it, Lucica? – I ask her, smiling.
-I’ve already been calling you for several minutes! And you didn't answer... – She was indignant, grunting offendedly and crossing her arms and pouting.
It was funny and I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face. This is Lucia, my niece, she's only six years old, but already "grown up" as she likes to claim herself sometimes, although her light brown hair, chubby cheeks, and love of wearing pink or something cute suggest otherwise. Even her small stature is the same story.
I raise my hand and carefully smooth her straight hair.
-Come on, don’t be angry, maybe you’d better tell me what you wanted? “I say, trying to sound soothing, although my smile betrayed my amusement.
She straightened up and nodded.
-Okay, I want to play a game where you are a cat and I am your owner. - Lucia said, pointing at me.
I let out a chuckle. It was her favorite game, so it wasn't surprising, she always suggests playing it when she comes to visit. But I don’t mind, it’s still easier to play a pet than an owner.
I heard a chuckle next to me, and I turned my head to my nephew, who was sitting next to me on the floor, holding in his hands a plush toy from a Pokemon game that he proudly called “Spark.”
-Actually. - He started. – I was telling something more interesting for them than your games.
Lucica let out an offended “Umph,” pouting again. My nephew, Mira, he is eight years old. A boy with light-brown hair and blue eyes, and a cheerful nature. By the way, he was quite a bit smaller than me, I feel he is going to overtake me soon.
-It’s not fair, I was the first to ask, and in general, you should play with us! - Lucia retorted, pointing a finger at her brother, who smirked, amused by his little sister's reaction. – You will be a cat, just like them!
-What? Nooo! – Mira said dramatically, pretending to be offended.
This made Luchika pout even more, and I tried my best to maintain my composure and not laugh. For this, Mira laughed, continuing to tease and anger her as he loves it, for which he paid badly. Lucica walked up to him and raised her hand, hitting him on the head, causing Mira to instantly "AUCH!" before he tried to get up and run away from his angry little sister.
Now I’m definitely giggling, watching with imperturbable amusement at the argument between the two. Luchika continued to tell Mira that we would play her game, that we could not avoid it, otherwise she would be upset. What can you do, they are siblings, they just exist to quarrel and fight. To be honest, I'm used to it, I should already be grateful that they didn't get on my head, (But it's not that important, somehow I can't hold it anymore--) and fight for who will sit on my in the best place, leaving small bruises on me due to their growing weight and size, not so big of course, although I don’t mind. What can you not do for the happiness of these two...
But no matter how, I think that I should intervene, no matter how I am still the eldest, and I am an example, and I should teach them good things.
In the end, I managed to calm them down and persuade Mira to play the game that Lucia wanted. He agreed, (not that he had a choice with his evil sister hanging over his head), but instead of a cat, he decided to become a dog, and she seemed to agree, as long as he was in the game.
And later, we played this game, which was accompanied by walking on all fours, and me and my nephew watching Lucia play her role as our owner, and laughing like gossips at her funny shenanigans. I just can't, she's very sweet and sometimes it makes me wonder if I was like that as a child. And Mira laughs at her, trying to irritate her, but there’s nothing I can do, they have such sibling love...
It’s already dark outside, and only the light in the room where we’re playing allows us to still stay awake. But it’s already clear that it was getting late, although it seems like I’m the only one keeping track of time here, but what can I do? But this doesn’t stop us from having fun, jumping, joking, teasing, and tumbling on the floor, no matter how strange it may sound, but it’s impossible without improvisation, right?
Now we stopped at the moment where Lucica, as our owner, prepared us “food” in plastic plates, which is extremely funny, but we still “ate” what she gave us. Not without making faces and laughing, forcing Lucia to play a serious owner, scolding us for our disobedience “at the table.” At that moment, someone entered the room, and we raised our heads to notice my mother entering the room.
A short, middle-aged woman who looks a little like me, a serious but kind person. She looks a little tired, which is not surprising, looking at us and the mess that the three of us made in the room while we were playing, it’s like a tornado has passed through. She tsked, shaking her head before speaking.
-And so, children, it’s already late and it’s time to sleep, clean up and get ready for bed, but in the meantime, grandpa and I will lay out the sofa for you. (she meant my dad) - She said, looking at the three of us with a calm look.
The children made dissatisfied sounds, clearly not eager to clean up, and then go to bed. My mother did not comment on the behavior of the two, and simply calmly left the room, also accustomed to their whining.
Then I raise my head to look at the clock that was on the computer table. 22:04. Oh, we're a little late on this one aren't we? But mom is right, it’s late and it’s time to go to bed, so I still politely asked my nephews to help me clean up, and they agreed.
So, we were all cleaning up our own mess together, and I could already hear them yawning, which made me smile. The goblins are tired, how cute. So. Tent behind the closet. Toys in a box. Felt pens and papers are beautiful on the table. Constructor in the package. Package for the balcony. Boom! And now the room looks like nothing has happened, we stand in the middle of the room, satisfied with our work. It's always nice to look at a room, but only when it's clean. Now I’m already yawning and smiling at the children who sleepily tell me something else, giggling quietly with them until my mother returns again.
She and my dad had already laid out the sofa on which the children would sleep. Today they stayed overnight, but cocretly, for two nights, since now it’s spring weekend anyway, and there’s nothing stopping us from doing this. Moreover, we haven’t done overnight stays for a long time, and to be honest, I’m glad that we resumed it. Now my mother took out the children's pajamas from the bag that they would sleep in and began to help them change into these clothes. And I decided to go to my room myself, which was located right next to this one, specifically so that I would be nearby if those two needed something at night.
In my modest room, I closed the door behind me, and I myself had already changed into pajamas and got ready for bed. So, there is water, there are plushies, the bed is in place...
Yes, everything seems to be in place, oh right, washing teeth, for sure. Mentally hitting myself on the head, I left my room to notice that my nephews were also already in their cute and funny pajamas, and my mother was trying to calm them down and put them on the spread out sofa, where there was already a sheet, pillows and a blanket. The only thing missing is children. Ha.
I walk past them, looking at that picture with amusement. Mira waves at me, and I stick my tongue out at him, to which made him amused and he giggles, along with Lucia, who saw all this and covered her mouth with her hand to hide her giggle. Because of this, my mother casts an imperturbable look at me, and I grin and quickly run out into the corridor, pretending that it had nothing to do with me, and go to the toilet.
After the evening quick procedures, I went out and returned to the room with the children, who were already lying on the bed, and my mother was telling them something. Probably a lecture on how to behave correctly, but those two were too tired and sleepy to listen to it, but when they noticed me they perked up.
- Grandma, can they sleep with us? – Lucia asked, making puppy eyes with Mira, as if begging.
-Oh, please? – Mira says, making his voice slightly thin to sound more convincing.
But it’s not in vain that my mother raised two whole children, this won’t work for her anymore, so she sighs and shakes her head.
-No, children, they have their own bed, and even more so, if you sleep together, then you definitely won’t sleep. – My mother noticed, smiling slightly.
Even if the children were disappointed with her answer, they still giggled at her joke. Although she is not completely joking, but that is a completely different story. So I give them a hug each, smiling at them, and saying goodnight before I say goodbye to my mom, who has gone to bed, turning off the lights in the room, plunging it into darkness, and then making sure the children are already comfortable to fall asleep, I went to my room.
I don't close the door completely, leaving it ajar just enough so that I can see the small edge of the sofa where the children were sleeping. Then, after drinking some water from the bottle next to my bed, I lay down on it, finally feeling relaxed for the day, and covered myself with my blanket. Well, it was a good day, full of energy as always when these two come, in a one and different way. But my knees still hurt after walking on all fours for a long time.
Sighing quietly, I took my plushie and hugged it, as I like to do every night, because I really love cuddles, and with another yawn I turned on my side and let my eyes close. It's a normal evening, like any other, and nothing could happen... could it...?
Well, okay, this is not the time to think about it. Because I was tired, I began to quickly fall asleep, and in my head I was replaying all sorts of stories that I like to make up before slowly plunging into the darkness of my consciousness...
The night was calm. I was calm until something made me wake up from my sleep. I didn’t even remember what I dreamed, but I don’t think it was a nightmare, considering that I woke up quite calmly. I don’t think I need to worry about this, especially since there was no light coming through the eyelid, which suggests it’s still night. Although, I’m still thirsty, so there’s nothing to worry about. I thought and tried to unstick my eyes, which refused to open. But eventually I manage to open them and am greeted by the darkness of my room.
I yawn and roll over so I can reach the water bottle next to the bed. Taking it, I opened the lid and carefully drank a few sips, enough to quench my thirst. Closing the lid, I put the bottle back. This was not something new, it often happened to me that I woke up in the middle of the night, for unknown reasons, which is strange, although I don’t have nightmares—
The movement was noticed by me out of the corner of my eye, and I froze. My hand that is still holding the bottle went cold. I held my breath. Why? What's happened? Movement was noticed in another room, from the ajar door that I left this evening. Maybe it was my imagination? I thought, but another part of me thought something was wrong. And perhaps this is true. When did my heart start beating like that? I'm not scared, or am I? Okay, just ignore it. Might be worth checking though? Of course, what am I thinking? After taking a few deep breaths, I manage to bring my body out of the cordon. Raising his hand and placing it to my forehead. The temperature seems normal, so what's the matter? Am I seeing things again?
Blinking sleepily, I lowered my hand next to me and yawned. Okay, maybe it was just my imagination, anyway it happens not for the first time. But still, this feeling, it did not disappear, it would seem that it was something incomprehensible, alien, but not bad, if I was not mistaken. Just in case, I looked around my room, but I didn’t find anyone or anything in the darkness. I’m alone, and everything is fine, there’s no point in worrying about anything. Sighing, I lay down again and was about to sleep, but my conscience was tormenting me, so I sat down and looked around again. Double check, just double check. And of course everything was fine, there was no one, but only silence, it would seem that even the neighbors were sleeping.
Although no... my ears caught a faint sound, it was incomprehensible at first, and it seemed to sound like music in my head. Yes! That's right, music. It was as sweet as a lullaby and could have easily put me to sleep. It became clearer, and I realized that this was not just music, someone was humming it... but who?
I blink, trying to drive out the sleep, and listen. For some reason it was difficult, but I just realized that it was not in my room. Maybe the neighbors? Although no, it doesn't look like it. I frowned, not understanding, it seems to me again. But before I can ask any more questions, in my head, I notice that the music disappeared, as if it was not there, and the silence has returned again. Now I don't understand exactly what happened.
It still maybe showed up. Sighing, I lay back on the bed, hugging my plushie tightly for comfort. This helped, and I was about to fall asleep again, but some other sound brought me back to reality. Now it sounded from the room in which the children were sleeping, had they already woken up? Probably the same as me. I decided to check with one eye, lazily turning around on the bed so that I could see through the crack I left on the door what was going on there.
Because of my sleepy state, I didn’t see anything in the dark at the moment. So I had to squint to see anything. Fortunately, my eyes had adjusted enough to the darkness that I could see the shape of the sofa in that room, at least only the edge of it. Now I could hear quiet breathing and snoring from the children, which meant that they were sleeping. So what did I hear? It probably seemed like my consciousness was playing a bad joke on me. Shaking my head, I was about to lie back down and return to my dream, which was calling my name, but suddenly...
Movement cream eyes. And I freeze again, blinking in confusion. Now I was absolutely sure that it was from that room. Having mentally calmed myself down, I, holding my breath, slowly turn my head towards the gap, this time noticing something, right next to the sofa where the children sleep.
It was a silhouette. A person, probably, but I wasn’t sure because it was dark, and I only saw the blackness of the figure’s body. And attempts to take a closer look yielded nothing, but only pain for my eyes.
But what I noticed was that the figure was walking near the sofa, and collecting the children’s clothes that they had scattered while they were changing. He seemed to gather them together, and then take turns, carefully folding them nicely before placing them on the edge of the sofa, where the children could see them in the morning, and get dressed quickly.
This behavior surprised me, and I blinked in confusion. I wasn't sure if i need to be afraid or...? Then a realization hit me, for which I mentally slapped myself in the face. This is my mother, she probably came to finish what she didn’t have time to do in the evening, when she was busy calming down those two. Although, noticing how tall the figure was, I began to doubt it, and my brows frowned. Then another thought quickly replaced the first. This is definitely my dad, he’s tall. Perhaps he just wanted to clean up? What I'm saying seems illogical. Why would one of my parents suddenly decide to lay out chldren's clothes in the dark in the middle of the night? Aren't they afraid of waking up them? Although, the figure is even taller than my dad, so i think it’s time to worry...
My eyes widened, my hands clenched the blanket, and my heart ached in my chest from the anxiety that had gathered. Who is this? Bandit? Murderer? I don’t even know anymore, I don’t understand... I can’t move. I can’t do anything, I can’t scream, but I’m afraid. He wouldn't do anything to the children... would he? I hoped. My heart is beating in my ears as I closely watch the figure. I noticed that all the clothes that he was laying out were left on the edge of the sofa, then he moved to another part of the room where I did not see him, and I tensed, listening.
It was quiet, I only heard the quiet breathing of sleeping children. They are alive, thank God. Then the figure came into my field of vision again, straightening up and looking around. I shuddered, he was about to notice that I was looking and kill me, as all murderers do to witnesses. I was able to force my body to move, quickly turning on my side and covering myself up to my head with the blanket, holding tightly to my plush, and shaking. Not that it protected me, but I felt just a little better, squeezing my eyes shut tightly, mentally praying that it was all just a dream.
But my temporary safe state did not last long when I heard the door to my room quietly open wider, as if the one who opened it did not want to make an unnecessary sound. Goosebumps ran down my spine, and I froze when I felt the feeling that they were looking at me. Well, right next to me. It became increasingly difficult to breathe under the blanket and hotter as the air ran out, but I tried to breathe more quietly. Well, he will understand that I am not sleeping and will kill me instantly. This is the end, but I hoped that at least the parents and children were okay. I lie there and wait for pain and death to come, or at least something bad, which is always to be expected at such moments, quietly shaking...
But the pain did not come. I thought for a second that maybe this someone was probably enjoying my fear, but then something weird happened. A hand grabbed gently the edge of my blanket and slowly pulled it down, just enough to reveal my face hidden in the plush and allow air to flow back to me. The cool air on my face gave me goosebumps, but that wasn't a problem now. There was no pain. Someone's hands simply carefully straightened the blanket on me, and stroked my head gently, as if afraid to wake me up, and removing my disheveled hair that had fallen on my face. This... puzzled me. What does this even mean? What is he doing?
Now, the fear gave way to calmness and drowsiness, so abruptly that even I was surprised. Is it the air, or did stroking my face have that effect on me? Or maybe I just wanted to sleep. Although maybe because the energy in the room suddenly changed. Now I was curious to find out who it was, but as if on cue, my consciousness was taking me even further into sleep. But no, not yet, I had to find out, I wanted to find out, even if a small part of me didn't want me to.
Slowly as I opened my eyes, which threatened to close back. I tried to move, even if my body was against it. Just with one eye, so small... I slowly turn my head, blinking my eyes sluggishly, enough for me to notice what is behind me...
This is the same figure as before, only now it was sitting next to my bed. It seemed to me that I saw large... petals... around his head? And also... white pupils that glowed slightly, looking at me. But there is no threat in them, only care and friendliness. I blink once, and then again, sleepy. My mind was too blank to proside what i was seeing. And then my head falls back onto the pillow and my eyes close, with no chance of opening them again. Now I'll definitely fall asleep... but...
I know for sure that this someone is not human. I thought that, before the world completely plunges into darkness...