Twilight Echos

The boy in the red

Amusement, sorrow, dread, and curiosity. Those are the main things that people dream about. It's normal. People can have nightmares occasionally or weird dreams. That's also normal too. But this man's dreams aren't. They're the opposite of normal. His dreams are usually the same though. First, he would be in an unfamiliar place, holding an object that he hadn't even seen before.

Then the place will turn to something peaceful, then terror, then wonder, then the boy. The boy in the red. The boy would just stand off in the distance. Staring at the man. He wouldn't walk. Wouldn't even blink. The boy would just stare. Like he was waiting for something. With his small red suit and dark eyes. And finally, the end of the imagination. The boy would call his name.

"Thomas? Wake up, Thomas. Wake. Up"

Thomas yelped and jolted up from his bed. Even if he gets the same dream every day, he still doesn't understand it which makes him afraid of it. He grumbled a few words and rubbed his head trying to wake himself up. He did his usual routine and got ready for his job as a rat exterminator. He wore a black jacket with demon jeans, grabbed his can of rat poison with a gas mask, and headed off. As he walked downtown, he would greet the same old people.

"Good morning, Thomas" a young lady would greet.

"Hello, Thomas" a little boy would say as he waved his hands.

Thomas would give them a little wave or a nod and continue walking. He wasn't much of a talker in the mornings or any part of the day. All he would usually want to do is do his job and take a nap like any other sleep-deprived man would. He made it to one of his client's houses and knocked on the door. It took a few seconds for a man to open it. The man looked a bit around the same age as Thomas but with more pride and enthusiasm. Thomas couldn't help but stare at him for a bit in an expressionless tone. "You called for an exterminator?" He asked. "Yea. Thanks for coming. I've been hearing rats crawling through my walls almost every night and it drives me crazy. You can get them all out, right?" The man snickered.

Thomas kept quiet and went around the man to head inside. The man's high ego felt immediately challenged but he didn't mind. Thomas went through the house trying to find the source of the rats while the man wouldn't stop babbling. "So, what's your name? Got a wife? How long is this going to take for you to get these rats out of my house?" The man wouldn't stop asking so many idiotic questions and it almost made Thomas lose his mind. "And how long does it take for you to know that I'm not social? So shut it and let me do my job." Thomas snapped at the man and continued looking through the house.

The man rolled his eyes and kept quiet for a bit. Eventually, Thomas made it to the source and found a rat hole. He put on his gas mask and started pouring rat poison through the hole. The man was slightly fascinated by Thomas getting the job done quickly but also a bit revolted. "So, you just kill those rats like that? No compassion?" The man asked.

Thomas then stopped what he was doing and kneeled back up. He looked over the man with a grimace look. "Mercy. On rats. Do you hear yourself? Rats are evil little creatures that invade your privacy and steal what yours and take what you have. But at the same time. They're similar to humans. But they're not as cruel as humans. You see humans will do the same thing as rats would. Expect they would take what you've worked hard for without a doubt of remorse or guilt. They'll start scattering lies and make people believe that just for your life to be despair. They'll fool you and manipulate you into doing whatever they please just for the fun of it. They'll make your life a living nightmare until you don't even have a life to live anymore!" Thomas scowled at the man.

Thomas formed a subtle grin out from his client's shock and picked up the rat poison. "But do you know the only main difference between a human and a rat? If a rat annoys you so much, you can kill it and not go to jail for it." Thomas smiled mischievously at the man and left the house. After an hour or so, he went back to his house late at night tipsy as ever. He headed over to his fridge drank a few glasses of milk and threw his body on the couch.