Today I was sitting at the counter with my cup of orange juice, attempting to finish the Halloween story I'd promised to my friends and fans.
I had just locked the door and was taking a break before I cleaned up from the morning crowd.
I had nearly two hours to spare before I had to reopen for the lunch crowd.
All I had to do was clean up the tables, change the menus, and restock anything that needed restocked.
So, since school is over with, and there's nothing to study for, I thought what better use of my time than to write some amazing stories for my fans.
So there I was- on a roll, scribbling faster than my mind could process my thoughts. I didn’t know if what I was writing was making any sense, but I didn’t care. I was on a roll, and that’s all I cared about.
I hadn’t looked up for nearly fifteen minutes, and had accumulated nearly fourteen pages of scribbles.
I was mid-sentence when I heard a loud crash behind me. I jumped, startled out of my train of thought, and snapped back into reality. I spun around.
To my horror and disbelief, right behind me stood a tall man. A very tall man, nearly 7ft, dressed in a black suit with a black top hat in his hand. Behind him, the windows showed the darkness that had taken over the town. It looked as if midnight had come before noon.
"Please, would you be so kind as to donate?" He said in a firm voice that seemed to have come from far away. He held the hat out toward me, expecting me to put something in it. But I didn't.
"Uhm... who... are you?" I said to him, raising an eyebrow.
Five children stood behind him and they glared right at me. Their eyes looked black and hollow. A tingle ran down my spine, and I had to look away because the sight was incredibly creepy.
A dozen thoughts ran through my mind:
Who is this guy?
What is he doing in here?
How did he get through the locked doors?
Why is it so dark outside?
Why are these children staring at me?
Why are they not blinking?
What does he want from me?
Why am I just sitting here?
Why am I not running away?
Is he going to hurt me?
Is he even real?
Am I dreaming?
I couldn't answer any of them.
But he could. And he did.
"I'm Ceaser. I'm here to collect donations. Locked doors? Ha. I'm far too intelligent for that level of mechanism." He scoffed and continued. "It is dark because everything comes alive in the dark. The children simply have no vision. I told you what I want. I am here for donations."
I stared, just simply stared.
The tall man started laughing.
"You are just sitting there because you are in total shock and do not believe what you are seeing. Your mind is so small and fragile that you never in a million years would have thought something like this would happen to you. You are not running away because you are frozen. And no I'm not going to hurt you, yes I'm real. You made me real. And no, you are not dreaming."
