Bedtime Stories for the Faithful

The Wolfer

 The boy slept soundly in his bed, but only for a minute before the night grew darker. The moon crept into his room by the window, and in his dream, he was reminded of the trolls and goblins and monsters that lie where he cannot see.

The moonlight gently woke him and beckoned him to the window, where he saw deep into the woods. And it was unlike when he was awake. He saw further, clearer as a headed figure stepped into the tangled thicket.

They ventured far where most creatures slept silently. They passed horrific monster after horrific monster, getting worse as they traveled deeper.

Then to a cave where a boney man dressed in black sat on a stone, the hooded scoundrel grunted and called them forth. The bone-man stepped up with a lead in his hand that stretched far into the cave. He held out his hand and in his palm, the hooded fiend placed a gold coin.

Suddenly, the boy was startled awake, greeted by burning sunlight and his little sister. "Wake up! Wake up!" Ophelia cried. Her pink cheeks and strawberry hair were a greater welcome than John's dream. "Father's home! He's home!"

John quickly rose out of bed and dressed before running out to the dinner table where his father sat. "Johnny boy," his father chortled through a scruff orange beard. He hugged his son and sat him next to him. "You'll be as big as me one day. Just you wait."

"Father, I had such a dream last night," John confessed as his mother brought them their breakfast. "A man was paying a gold coin for a monster in a cave."

His father froze just as he was about to eat. "Did you see this creature," he asked but laughed before John answered. "Sill me. Doesn't matter. Just a dream." He twirled his fork in his hand as he stared off in the other direction. "Eat your breakfast."

"What's the matter?" John asked.

"Nevermind," his father sighed and sadly picked at his breakfast. "Say, why don't you and I go to the pier today? I know you've been dying to go to that diner again."

So John's father took him to the pier, and they had a fun adventure on the boardwalk. His father took him to the diner where they had ice cream. Then they had chips at the shop. And his father let him ride on the merry-go-round.

On the way home, a man bumped into John's father and did not apologize. The two kept moving while the man, slick and ill-faring, stared as they left.

At home, John's father had his mother prepare John's favorite meal. While sitting at the table in anticipation, the children could hear their mother shout in the other room.

"There's nothing we can do now," his father claimed, leading to his mother's tears.

Dinner was silent except for the clink of silverware. Then once it was over, their mother washed them up and sent them to bed. "Ophelia will sleep with us tonight," she said and carried his little sister to their bedroom. John was left with his father who stared over John's bed with a look of grave misfortune.

"John, you have always been good," he said, "gooder than any man. But even so, not all men had a shred of goodness in them. Know that I have loved you best I could."

"Yes, Father," John agreed, a tad confused. "Can you explain what that means to me in the morning?" he asked and yawned, wrapping himself in his knitted blanket.

His father sighed heavily. "Of course." Then he shut the door, and the house grew dark so it could rest.

While sleeping, John could hear a heavy pant. And the air grew colder than usual when he heard a clunk! John got out of bed, with his blanket over his shoulders. He peeked out of his door but saw no movement in the kitchen or den.