Paper Aeroplanes & Other Stories

★ ☆ Iridescent ★ ☆

Robbie splashed some cold water on his face and looked at his reflection in the mirror; he was tired, he hadn't slept properly for days.

He'd insisted he would be fine left home alone when his parents went away for their anniversary, but it was a lie, he wasn't fine, and he wasn't alone.

The icy chill he felt on the back of his neck while brushing his teeth. The footsteps in the middle of the night and the constant feeling of being watched reminded him that he was never alone.

"One more night," he told himself, rubbing his tired eyes, "one more night and everything will be okay."

And then he saw It for the first time. The thing that had been watching him for days, waiting for the right moment to show itself.

"Come with me, Robbie?" it said, its voice soft and dreamlike.

Robbie took hold of its outstretched hand and followed without question. And suddenly he wasn't tired anymore; he didn't feel sad, and his heart didn't feel heavy, he was light and free.

The following day, he'd sat on the corner of the bathtub and watched his mother collapsed on the floor, crying over his empty, soulless body. And he knew it would only be a matter of time before he was holding his mother's hand and asking her to follow him to the other side.