Laughing Jack

~It was a nice summer day. My five year old son,James was playing outside in the backyard of our suburban home. James has always been a quiet boy. He plays by himself ,mostly,he never had many friends,but he always had a wild imagination. I was in the kitchen feeding our dog,fido,when I heard as if James was talking to someone in the backyard. Not sure that it could who he was talking to. Could he have made a new friend? Being a single dad,it's hard keeping an eye on my son,so I decided to go outside and check on him. When I went out into the backyard,I was a bit confused because James was the only person back there. Was he talking to himself? I could've sworn I heard another voice. "James! It's time to come inside!" I called out to him. He came inside and sat down on the kitchen table. It was about lunch Time so I decided to make him a turkey sandwich. "James,who were you talking to out there?" I asked. James looked up for a moment. "I was playing with my new friend." He said smiling. I poured some milk and continued,as any good father would. "Does your friend have a name? Why didn't you ask him to have lunch with us?" I asked. James stared at me for a moment before replying. "His name is Laughing Jack."

"Oh? That's a strange name. What does your friend look like?"

"He's a clown! He has long arms and baggy pants with striped socks. He always smiles!"

I realized my son was talking about an imaginary friend. Especially when he has no real kids to play with. Probably just a phase. The rest of the day went like usual and it was starting to get late so I put James to bed. Tucked him in,gave him a kiss,made sure to turn on his night-light before I close the door. I was pretty tired myself so I decided to go to bed not long after.

~I had an awful night mare. It was dark. I was in some kind of a run-down amusement park. I was scared,running through an endless field full of empty tents,broken rides, and abandoned game huts. The whole place had a horrible look to it. Everything was black and white. Prized stuffed animals all hanged from ropes at the game huts,all with sick grins on their faces. I felt like the whole park was looking at me even though there wasn't any living thing in sight. And then suddenly I began to hear music play. Sounds of Pop Goes The Weasel was being played on a squeak box that echoed into the park. It was hypnotizing. I followed its tune to a circus tent,almost in a trance unable to stop my legs from moving foward. It was pitch black,the only light that came was from a single spot light. As I walked towards the light,the music slowed down. I found myself singing along,unable to stop. "All around the mulberry bush,the monkey chased the weasel. The monkey thought 'twas all in fun.." The music stopped right before it's climax and suddenly,the light shot on. The light was practically blinding. Disturbing figures started to walk towards me but I cannot move my legs. As they came closer I realized,they were children! I looked at each one and I noticed that they all were horribly disfigured. Some had cuts all over their bodies and some were severely burned,some were missing limbs and even eyes. The children were clawing at my flesh,dragging me to the ground and tearing inside me. As the children tore me apart and I faded away all I could hear was laughter. Horrible,evil,awful laughter.