Hellbender

prologue

Assuming all his forms and shapes,  dripping wet with slime, the thing cried at the little girl.

'Let me go,' he pleaded piteously  to no avail. The girl did not stir.

'Let me go,' the thing repeated. He was now soaked wet with tears and his hands were blooming into sweet purple buds as he grew more and more agitated.

The girl did not stir, and stood there. She paced around him, noting all of his odd features.

By now the thing was completely drained of his energy. He sat down,  defeated. The girl went behind him and punched him in the back. The thing jumped up almost instantaneously.

He screamed, a shrill scream that echoed painfully in her eardrums. The girl started crying and vied to shield her ears from the noise.

She gripped the stick in her hand tighter, suppressing the anger and the sadness that had been long pent up inside of her. The girl was most vulnerable when she was emotionally affected.

Battling to keep the tears in, the little girl abused the thing some more.

She whipped it and whacked it with the stick first. Afterwards she pulled out a knife from her left sock and stabbed the thing.

The little girl found great joy in hurting the thing. She carved some stunning calligraphy on it, cursing her hidden talents for not revealing themselves to her sooner.

'It is because of you, lovely lettering,' she muttered to herself, 'that I am bot famous today. Because of you, I am not famous now and I never will be.'

He heard the hint of disappointment in her voice. The thing took the chance to tell her his proposal.

'Do you wish for fame? Do you wish for power, riches, immortality? Do you wish for anything at all?' the thing questioned. "Set me free and I shall grant you anything-"

The little girl tilted her head. 'No,

'what you took from me I can never get back.'