Short Stories

Short Story #1

WARNING: Contains mentions of suicide, but not too graphic and detailed. Characters in this story belong to me. 

The woods were a dark and dangerous place to go at night. A dangerous spirit is known to prowl the woods killing anyone who is caught out at night. It takes the form of any creature it wants, killing you quickly or slowly. Sometimes it uses a dark mist to swallow victims whole. Anyone that goes into the woods is never seen again. But the only ones that go into the woods are the ones who don't want to be seen again.

With the legend on his mind, the young boy walked deeper into the haunted woods. Dead bushes snagged at his clothes and every now and then a stick would snap in the distance, catching him off guard. He sniffed and rubbed his non-bruised eye, why did people have to be so mean? The little boy felt a tug on his shoe, and before he knew it he was laying face down on the ground. He looked back to see a dead root sticking up out of the ground, it must have tripped him. Trying to hold back his tears, he curled up into a ball. His eye hurt and now his face and knee hurt. Life was unfair and he didn't want to live it anymore. He wanted it to be over. Tears began to run down his dusty face as he found it harder and harder to keep his emotions under control. "Why are you crying?" A soft male voice said above him. The boy looked up, and his unswollen eye widened. A gray spider hung from the trees above. It was giant, much bigger than the little boy. He tried to think of what to say, but he only managed to sob. The spider gracefully landed on the ground, watching the poor boy with all eight of its eyes. He continued sobbing as the spider delicately wrapped him up in webs. The softness of the webs and energy taken from crying soon had the boy sleeping.

When the boy woke up, he was free from the webs, and not in the same place he was before. He looked around, shaking a little, wondering where the spider had gone. All he saw was a man dressed in fancy clothes sitting under a tree. In his pale hands was a book, and he quietly mumbled the words of the book to himself. The man glanced up at the little boy, then closed the book. "Come sit with me for a little bit. I want to talk to you." His voice was soft, just like the spider's. The boy got up and hesitantly walked over to the man. The closer he got the more he realized how tall the man was, even though he was sitting. He was taller than any human the boy had ever seen. The man patted the ground next to him, and the boy sat down, shaking. "People only come into these woods to run away from something." The man said, looking at the boy. "So tell me, boy, what are you running away from?"

"Pain." The boy squeaked.

"Who hurts you?" The man quizzed, his book magically disappearing. The boy watched in awe, then looked at the man.

"Bullies."

"Is that what happened to your eye?" The little boy nodded. The man slowly nodded, then put a gentle hand on the boy's eye. The eyes and the hand of the man began to glow a soft gray and the boy's eye felt tingly. Once the man took his hand away, the boy could see out of his once swollen eye. He looked at the man, then hugged him. The man smiled softly, then carefully rubbed the boy's head. "Now, your parents are probably worried about you. Let's get you home."

The man walked the boy all the way back to his home. When they stopped at the door, the man turned to the boy and looked down at him. "Pain is everywhere we go." He said softly. "But it is the pain that makes safety feel so good. Let me know if those kids keep bullying you. You know where to find me." The little boy hugged the man's leg.

"Thank you, mister." He said, then looked up at the man, who gently rubbed the boy's head.

"You're welcome, boy. Now be careful." The boy nodded and let go. He turned to the door and knocked on it, then turned back to see the man. The strange man was gone, a gray mist floated away from where the man was. The door opened and the boy's mother scooped him up into a warm hug. She kissed him on the head several times, then took him inside.