Chapter Text
The TV was crackling with static. Loud static.
The little girl slapped her hands over her ears in discomfort.
“Mnn…too much…” she whined out.
She was home alone for the day. Her daddy worked long shifts and came home tired, and she never liked to bother him. So, she learned how to entertain herself throughout the day. Her favorite pastime ended up being watching TV. Turns out SpongeBob was highly addictive.
But now her relax time was ruined because for some reason, the TV just won’t work! It’s like some higher force decided today was not hers to enjoy, apparently. No SpongeBob? Day - ruined.
She knew she had to do something to make the static stop, because it was starting to hurt and really piss her off. She remembered the stuff her dad would do, like slap the box a couple times or wiggle the antenna. That usually did the trick without having to dig for screwdrivers and disassemble the entire TV box, something she was not nearly capable of doing and did not want to try out anyway.
She stood in front of the offending piece of machinery and started slapping the sides with as much force as her 5 year old body could muster. No luck.
Now she was slapping harder, but all she managed to do was make her tiny palms sting.
“Ow! Owowowow, okay I’ll try something else, this hurts a lot…”
She tried to reach for the antenna, but it was too far up. The television was sitting on a cabinet as tall as she was, and the box itself was quite robust. So, that was a failure.
Frustrated and still quite irritated from the sounds violating her eardrums, she put her hands on her hips thinking of ways to fix this before her dad got home. She didn’t want him to be mad at her thinking she broke it, but also didn’t want to burden him any more than necessary. She understood he worked hard to provide for them both after her mother’s death, and he hated asking for charity.
But most of all, she imagined how proud he would be of her when he came home and she told him all about how she did a big girl job fixing something so heavy and complicated. Then he would stop fussing about her for sure! And hopefully give her lots of candy.
Just as she was about to turn around and look for something to use as a step to reach the antenna, she saw a glimpse of something- no, someone peeking from the hallway into the living room.
That wasn’t supposed to happen. Daddy never gave out his key, and he hated the idea of anyone besides them being able to enter the house to begin with. Grandma was all the way across the country, or something really far, and she would know if she was going to come over. Not to mention, they lived pretty isolated from the local community. They were practically off-grid.
So there she was now, staring at the person (is it a person? People need keys) or at least their arm that she could see from her spot, alone in a surely tight-locked house, trying not to make a sound, and trying to keep her head from bursting from the still-screaming TV.
She had to do something though. Her daddy always made sure to drill into her head that, in case anything weird happens, call for help. Call the neighbors or go to them for safety, and if that’s not possible, call the police from the kitchen landline.
The creature(?) seemed to have no interest in moving, so she quietly scrambled for the kitchen on the opposite side of the living room. Once inside, she peeked towards the hallway and saw that she could no longer see it.
Panic seeping in, she reached for the phone. Quickly she realised she didn’t know the police number, or maybe she did but was too overwhelmed and panicked to dig it out from her brain. Fortunately her grandma’s number was right there beside the phone, where her dad keeps it as he also has trouble remembering things sometimes.
Dialing it as quickly as her trembling fingers allowed it while turning around to check if it is close, she took deep breaths when she heard the phone beep in that hopeful tune.
“Hello?” came a familiar but grainy voice from the other side.
“Grandma! Grandma it’s me, Blair, hi, hello!” the kid blurted out at once.
“Sweetie, calm down, what’s the matter? You sound panicked, is everything okay?” the older woman tried to help her out. “I can’t understand you if you don’t tell me what’s going on calmly.”
“There’s something in the house, granny! Or someone, but I think it’s something because if it was someone they need a key and I am home alone and locked!” Blair spoke shakily.
“Really? Have you seen what it looks like?”
“No, I could only see the arm and it looked like a normal person in a suit, but it was kinda big I think, and now it’s gone so I can’t see it anyway, and the TV is broken and fuzzing and it hurts so bad grandma what do I do?!” she nearly sobbed into the phone.
“Easy sugar, It’s gonna be fine. I’m here for you. You say it’s a sort of human in a suit? And can I assume it’s an old-timey looking suit?Like the one you saw at the museum?”
“Yes, exactly! Like the ones those people with funny hats and mustaches wear in old pics!”
“And the TV was showing static when it was there?”
“Yes! But what does that mean? Is the person making the TV break? The phone sounds fuzzy too, but not so much.”
“Sweetie, can granny ask you something? But you have to promise me you’re going to trust me one hundred percent that I only mean well.”
Blair swallowed. She was terrified, her dad worked so hard to keep her away from danger and she didn’t wanna die either. He would be sad if he was left alone and she would be sad if he was sad. But grandma Yula was a trustworthy person, she wouldn’t put Blair in danger, right?
“Yes granny, anything.” she finally decided.
“Good girl, Blair. Now, I want you to put the phone down and go to the living room. You are safe as can be, and you’ll see why.” her grandma said calmly.
“But- but grandma what if it’s there?!”
”That’s what we hope for. You trust me, right?”
”…Yes. I do.”
“Good, good. Now, wipe those tears off darling, and go play with your new friend.”
How did she know Blair was still crying? She couldn’t see her at all. Grandma was a very mysterious woman, but she’s never been wrong before.
“Okay granny. Hear you later.
”Hear you later, baby.” she chuckled.
The phone beeped rapidly. Blair put it back into place and tiptoed her way to the kitchen door. She peeked around the doorway and saw someone sitting in front of the television, which was still displaying static. Seems like she’s not fixing it anytime soon.
She strained her neck trying to see the person better. They had the same suit on as the intruder, so it must be it. It also had long brown hair tied in a low ponytail, and a newspaper boy hat on. She was facing its profile, but despite that…she couldn’t see its face. No, it had no face.
She gasped, but quickly held her breath hoping it didn’t hear her. But supposedly it’s harmless, so she exhaled and straightened her posture, trying to not appear intimidated. If she got eaten by a monster, she would at least be brave about it.
The creature did not move from its position, keeping its face glued to the screen. She stalked towards it, keeping a distance when she stopped and finally spoke.
“Um, hi?”
The creature did not move for a second, and she thought it didn’t hear her. Everyone always told her she spoke too quietly, so she tried again. As she opened her mouth, the being in the armchair turned its head the opposite way. She was taken aback as its neck snapped towards her this time, and she was greeted with a pair of big brown eyes and a strained, toothy smile.
“!Olleh”, came a sound. Its mouth did not move, but she was sure it said that. However she had no idea what it meant.
“W- what?… Hello? Um…’O-leh’?” she stuttered. “Can you speak English?”
“.Sey .Won thgir ti gnikaeps m’I”, it answered.
She still couldn’t make out anything, so she tried something she learned from her dad when she had her non-verbal episodes.
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand. But, I can ask questions and you can nod or shake your head to answer, I can get that better.”
The creature nodded. This was going somewhere.
“Did you get in here with a key?” A shake of the head was an answer.
“Alright. So, are you not human?” A nod this time.
She thought for a moment.
“Do you know my grandma? She’s a kinda short woman, has a weird accent, and she’s really wise and always talks to me when I need it.” Another nod. This surprised her, in a good way.
Blair turned to the TV.
“Did you do this?” she asked, pointing to the still buzzing box. A nod, one that seemed a bit guilty this time.
“Oh. Well, I hope daddy won’t be too mad. He will be home late today, but I think he will like you. You seem nice.” An eager nod, but she didn’t know what it was supposed to mean. Oh well.
“Well. We can’t watch the TV, but you have to be bored, right? Do you want to go to my room and draw? The sound hurts and I don’t have a TV there.”
Suddenly the TV clicked off. Finally, the room was silent.
She jumped from her place, and looked at her new friend. It just kept smiling.
“I guess we can draw here too, then. I’ll go get the colors!”
Hours passed, and the front door unlocked.
“I’m home, baby!” came a gruff, tired voice.
“Daddy!” Blair screamed, and ran into the man’s arms.
“I missed you so much! How was your day? How are you? Are you tired?”
The haggard man ruffled her short fluffy hair. “Yes sweetie, I’m tired. But I’m good now that I’m home with you!”
Blair beamed at this. “Daddy, I need to show you something! Come quick!” she yelled, dragging her father towards the living room.
“Okay, okay, easy. What did you want to show me? The drawings? They’re nice as always, you have some real talent!” the father said, looking at the floor littered with childish drawings his daughter made this morning.
Blair was confused. The living room was… empty. Her friend was nowhere to be seen. But how? Its was just there!
“Um… yes! Yes, I wanted to show you the drawings daddy!”
“Well they are nice, but I need to go change now. I’ll be back in a minute to keep you company and make some dinner, you must be hungry surviving off of snacks and leftovers all day.”
Blair nodded wistfully. “Okay, I’ll be here” she said. She waited until her father left upstairs, and started looking around. It really was gone.
Minutes later, her father came down.
“Alright baby, up for some jams? Some tunes maybe?” he joked, reaching for a random vinyl record. Blair giggled; she thought the way her father spoke was silly at times.
As he put the needle down and started the record player, a shrill scratching sound rang through the room from the player.
“Oh what the-” the man yelled, scrambling to pull the needle up and stop it. “What the hell was that?! I’m so sorry baby, I know this bothers you a lot” he kept apologizing to his daughter.
But Blair just stood stunned. She was surprised, but she had a feeling this didn’t happen out of nowhere.
“Now what the hell happened, that was creepy…” As the man mumbled to himself, she turned to look out of the kitchen window. For a moment, she swore she saw a patch of a suit disappear behind a tree.
She smiled. Deep down, she hoped to see the creature again. For the first time in a while, she felt safe with someone that wasn’t her family.
The living room now echoed with the sound of Hotel California, one of the classics her dad liked a lot. She watched him sway to the tune and hum, and started humming too.
It was a nice day after all. And most importantly, she fulfilled her promise to her father. She was safe and sound, and he was happy.
So, she was happy.