October 1st, 2005, at 12:34am
Columbus, Ohio
The Dun Residence
Josh huddled close to the fire, shaking for his dear life. The poor kid felt as if he would get a hypothermia. This winter was going to kill him.
He huffed in quite some annoyance, wrapping the warm blanket tighter around his small shoulders.
It was late, way past his bedtime and everyone else's, but he couldn't sleep that night much like any others. He could almost never sleep. Ever.
Nightmares always invaded his dreams, making him wake up startled and shivering with cold sweat. They were gruesome images that tormented his young mind during the night time. Sometimes even in the day time when he's had his eyes closed for far too long or napping.
The ten year-old could also see and hear things. Things that were not normal and couldn't be seen with the naked eye alone. He guessed this because, no one ever believed him when he said there was something with red eyes in his closet and that the one always breaking the expensive china was a mischievous shadow.
And no one ever believed him when he said he knew their late neighbor, Mr. Jensen, would die of a heart attack one afternoon. And no one ever believed him when he said he could talk to his late grandmother, either, even when he told his father a secret only his mother would know. No one really believed him, and that frustrated Josh a lot. But now, he's gotten over it, the facts laying in his head.
Everyone deemed it as if he had some sort of overactive imagination; a phase that every child goes through and would soon pass. But Josh was now ten, he should've outgrown that phase, and he keeps going with the same things over, and over, and over again. Until it became too much, and people just shut him out. His own parents, siblings, and friends. They all just gave up on him.
Josh knows, though, that his parents and the rest of his family have considered taking him to a specialist, but deep down, Josh knows very well that none of that would work. For he, was cursed with a gift. He knew it. He just did.
For a ten year old, he's clever and smart and more mature than other kids in his grade. Sometimes even more than the bigger ones. Josh was proud of that, but it seemed no one else was. People got annoyed of him easily, and he got bullied at school often for "not acting his age". It was awful.
His parents found this worrisome, his siblings didn't care at all, and his family just didn't like him. They somehow knew the kid wasn't exactly normal. And they guessed right.
Josh sighed, thinking about all these things. His life already seemed like a melodramatic soap-opera, despite him being only ten. He rested his head on the pillow he set out on the floor, and embraced the warmth of the fire and his comfy blanket. His shivering had died down, he no longer felt dreadfully cold.
He closed his eyes, trying to find some sleep again. At least, he could sleep for a few hours before sunrise, and another new day of life. One that he oddly didn't want to wake up for. That was new.
A sudden image flashed before his eyelids. His eyes shot open, and he sat up, startled and breathing heavily. He closed his eyes again trying to recall the image, and it flashed again. It was a boy.
He didn't seem younger than 20, but something was wrong with him...
He didn't have any eyes. Only black holes filled the space of them. And his mouth...his mouth was open wide, as if he were screaming, and inside looked like a never ending black void. Though he had no eyes, it was clear he was frightened.
The image lay plastered across poor Josh's eyelids, making closing his eyes, even blinking, a horrible task for him. So, there he lay, frightened himself, in front of the fire. He knew for sure that sleep wouldn't reach him that night. Or ever again.
a/n: whooo! im so excited for this!! and even more excited for other spoopy stories to come! love y'all!! and remember to vote and comment!
