Blue

Chapter 10: Bad dream

Ellie walks towards her bedroom, comfortably in her long and fluffy, white pyjamas and her hair now finally untangled and neat.

Blue disappeared shortly after Ellie named it, but not before she made a few very clear rules; one: leave her family out of this, and two: don't appear when she's showering. Blue nodded, understanding what she wanted it not to do – even though it didn't promise her, which made Ellie a bit doubtful – and waved goodbye as it told her to go to bed. She did not want to follow its orders, she felt to stubborn to do wat it wanted, but even she saw (after looking at her antique clock) that it was way past her bedtime; it didn't matter whether she had school next day or not.

"See you in your dreams!" it greeted happily and Ellie didn't really know what it meant by that, but the theories she has made her feel uneasy. As she saw Blue getting smaller and smaller and more transparent, she once again yelled her rules to it, daring it to disobey her, before it disappeared. It felt empty, but also much lighter. Almost as if a huge weight, so heavy that it almost crushed the apartment, has finally been lifted, releasing all tension it had in the small space and returning to its normal comfort. It took a few mindless minutes and a long, stretched yawn before Ellie made her towards the bathroom to change in her pyjamas and make herself ready for bed.

*****

Ellie moves the blankets of her bed a bit to the side, opening a small space of mattress for her to sit on. Turning on her nightlight, letting the bright light light up the entire room (except for the cursed dark corner) as she walks towards her bedroom window. Ellie grabs a hold on the curtains, but before she closes them she looks out of the slightly opened window. It's pitch black outside. Nothing and no one is on the street, as far as she can see with the dimly lit street lanterns from her location on three high. It's funny how much darkness can conceal. Ellie knows there are houses on the other side of the street, with parked cars on the driveways and well-kept gardens, but none of it is visible. The houses are dark, everybody is probably asleep, as should she. She secretly wonders how many Craemonibusses are hidden in the darkness. How many of them would be able to see her right here, right now. Okay... not the best thought to have in the late night before bed! Especially not when she just started to get comfortable in the dark again. Ellie shakes her head, trying to rid herself of the unnerving and slightly silly thought. She shivers as she cold November night air creeps its way in her warm bedroom through the small gap in her open window, ever so slightly reminding her of the chilly cold of Blue's black mist.

Ellie yawns as she closes her window before closing the curtains, not allowing any cold to enter her room. She turns away and eyes the dark corner in her room. She walks towards it and waves her hand in the dark shadow until she reaches out for the wall. Nothing solid (except for the wall), no cold; Blue isn't here. Good. As interesting and strange as she entity is - and Ellie still has a lot of unanswered questions – she does not want it to watch her sleep. That's just all kinds of wrong. Ellie lazily walks towards her bed with her bare feet, the warmth of the apartment under her making the floor warm. Once she reaches the blanket-less spot on her bed she stretches her muscles (making very strange and unnatural tired noises as she did so) and takes a seat on the soft mattress. Ellie sighs. What the actual heck just happened today? It started so peacefully, with a nice and warm shower and the always sleep-inducing art history class from Mr Abrams. Then she made a wonderful poem about the Queen of Failureland and after lunch she saw Blue at the park during photography. That's when things went south for her day... and her sanity. Ellie ponders. Did she actually just make a deal with the devil? A devil? Blue? How on earth can Blue be a devil? It seems nice... unless that is how it lures its unknowing victims in! But Blue is so stupidly bad at its job, almost like an innocent and lost little, frightening puppy. How can it be evil? Ellie silently groans, rubbing her eyes with her balled fists. She needs more sleep for this strange reality, this nonsense. She puts her blanket away a bit more, making some space for her legs. She lifts her feet off the warm ground and turns to the side to let her legs rest on the soft mattress. She wiggles a bit in her spot, trying to get comfortable, as she throws her blanket over her body, tucking herself in like a burrito. As she's finally fully comfortable Ellie struggles to get her hand out of her tightly and warm burrito-shaped house, but as she manages to free her hand she reaches for her nightlight and turns it off. She re-adjusts herself and her blanket and turns around, silently breathing as she drifts off to sleep.