Fiend

Prologue

See the little girl. It can be any little girl, though you are probably picturing someone you know. She wears a dress, yellow like the leaves. In her hair is a ribbon, what color I will let you decide...

Are you picturing a blue ribbon? The mind is a very curious thing. We see what we want to see, and yet, at the same time, we do not. We see what we know, what has been taught to us. And, more often than not, we see what we have been told not to see—it is in this truth that I linger.

The little girl does not see me, and yet I see her. Who am I, you ask? I am you. I am the you that keeps sleep at bay on restless nights, that hears a small whisper in the hallway just outside of your bedroom door, or sees a slight stirring in the shadows beside the nightstand. I am lingering questions and the small knot in the bottom of your stomach when you are home alone in the midnight hours. I am the you that whispers dark thoughts into your mind.

The little girl lifts her head. A bunny hops through the tall grass. She smiles and chases after as the rabbit hops across the sidewalk and into the street. Seeing only the soft, furry animal, she chases after, her skinny legs carrying her over the sidewalk and out onto the asphalt. She does not stop to look, she just runs, arms outstretched and grasping for the creature.

Now let your mind finish the story. Does it end well? I thought not. That is who I am—the fiend in all of us. So, now that we have been properly introduced, let me tell you a story about myself...