Short Stories and Writing Prompts

Writing Prompt #13 - Nightmares

One last stitch, I told myself. Easier said than done. I was sewing a dream, and dreams took total concentration and dedication.

I've been sewing this dream for months now, right after the faerie took his order. I was ecstatic, of course, because dreams were expensive. But I knew what I was getting into, and what I was getting into was bad.

Even as the most feared being, I've had many customers come to me. They feared me because of my power. I was the last of the Dream Stitchers, a special group of fae. Even being fae like most of my neighbors, they still were scared of me. Everything about me looked normal. Except for my eyes. My eyes gave me away. They looked unusual. They can search for dreams, search for nightmares. They can see what a person truly wanted, and that's what I sewed when asked. My eyes can also see people's worst nightmares, and that is also what I sewed when asked.

That's why people feared me. I can see what they desire and fear the most, and I can use this to destroy them. But, I wasn't like my ancestors, who used their abilities to torment. I just used mine to make a living. But, that didn't stop me from using my the fear from my customers to an advantage. I always got what I wanted. I always got the exact payment I requested. And I got peace and quiet from all the drama of the outside world.

Nightmares were easier to sew. They took about a few days, and didn't cost very much. Most of my payments were for nightmares. Only the wealthy came for the dreams.

I remember the day when the faerie ordered the dream very clearly. It was an...odd order to say the least. A type of dream like that, I had said, would take months to make. But he seemed patient, told me to take as long as I needed. I was in no rush.

I looked up as the bell above the door chimed and a faerie walked through. I smirked. He was new. I can use that to my advantage.

"Why hello there, sir," I greeted him. "To what do I owe the pleasure." I gracefully stood to my feet, my previous work forgotten. I could practically smell his fear, and my smirk widened. This was going to be easy.

He cleared his throat, and took a step forward. "I'd like to purchase a dream,"  he said smoothly.

I tilted my head, my nostrils flaring. "Of course. What would you like its details to be?"

"Euphoria."

My smirk turned into a sinister smile. Different. His eyes widened slightly and he took a step back as he made eye contact with me. He knew I was different. My eyes gave it away. Traitor eyes.

This was new. Most of the time, customers asked for multiple things in the dreams, and they were usually more specific than that. But, it didn't matter. Dreams with more details were easier to sew, being as you could create a story. This was more abstract, and required more skill to be able to sew it.

"No problem," I responded. "But you do know, that a type of dream like that, would take months to make? Why do you need this dream anyways?"

He wasn't even bothered by that. Most clients would want the dream finished as soon as possible. Weird. And, they would also tell me what they needed it for.

"That won't be a worry. It is very important that this dream is done to the best of your abilities. Please contact me when you are finished." And with that, he turned and walked out of the door, skipping over the second question entirely. He was able to hide his fear easily, compared to other customers.

I liked him. I'm going to figure out why he wanted such a weird dream as soon as I finished it. Despite taking a long time to make, dreams are easily destroyed.

I snapped back to reality as I pricked my finger on the needle. Right. I have to finish this. I looked at the dream, and thought about how to finish this up properly. One wrong stitch, and it would be useless.

I angled the needle, and put it in the correct spot. I pushed it into the dream. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. It was correct. I went to tie it off, and as soon as I finished the knot, the dream came alive in my hands.

I smiled. It was finally finished after six months. This was one of my best dreams yet. I skillfully held it, and put it in a jar marked 'Euphoria.' I looked toward window, everything outside peaceful and calm.

I couldn't wait until my client came back. I'm going to find out why he needed it. Look into his soul if I needed to. Besides, I always got what I wanted anyways.