Selina had googled bogeyman, boogeyman, and boogieman. Her search led to the most outrageous descriptions of monsters, none of them resembling Elias, and worse, none of the articles mentioned how he could be killed, defeated, or driven out. Bogeymen, it seemed, were to be suffered. The only thing one could do in their defense was stop being afraid, but if she did that, Elias would remain hungry and never leave.

"I'm taking you to stay with Keira and Nathalie for a while," she said to Lowie when she picked him up from school.

Selina had been close friends with Keira and Nathalie ever since she and Keira had shared a room in the maternity ward. They had immediately clicked and their children being the same age made hanging out easy.

While Selina's former friends, all carefree twenty-somethings, were doing exciting, jump-from-bridges kind of stuff, she and Keira had teamed up to figure out how to fold and unfold baby prams. Turns out there's no easy way to do that, but with Keira around, it was just something else to laugh about while consuming the thousandth cup of herbal tea. Once they had emerged from the nursing ages, Keira's wife Nathalie had pried the tea from their hands and insisted they broadened their horizons while she watched the children for a change. A lasting friendship was forged.

"With Olivia and Fred?" The twinkle in Lowie's eyes was endearing. Keira and Nathalie had twins and Lowie loved to play with them.

"Ahum."

"Cool. How long?"

"Well, I'm going to paint the living room. Remember the colors you helped me pick? Olive green and ..."

"Turkey."

"Turquoise. It's going to be so pretty."

"Mom," a gravity sunk into his voice, "there's a monster under my bed."

"I know," she said, trying not to let her insecurity falter her step, "I'm going to make sure he goes away. That's another reason why you have to go to Keira's for a while."

He squinted an eye at her. "You don't believe me."

"You don't think I can take him on?"

"I think you're making fun of me." He rolled his eyes at her.

"I'm not." She stopped and tugged at his hand. He looked up at her and they watched each other in earnest. "I'm not."

"His breath is ash." Lowie shuddered at the memory.

"His eyes are bluer than Elsa's dress," Selina said.

"You have seen him." Lowie squeezed into her hand, the way she did when she wanted to encourage him. "You'll have to be careful, but I think you can take him, mom. If anyone can, it's you."

Her eyes teared up, so she righted her shoulders and quickened her pace. "Yeah ... of course."

"My sword is at the bottom of the chest."

"I'll keep that in mind."

A few hours later, she dawdled on the landing, now reaching for the doorknob to Lowie's room, then dropping her hand to her side ... and reaching out again. She pushed her hair back and twisted it into a low bun. Her heart pumped blood to her head like a fire hydrant under pressure. It was so quiet on the other side. Maybe he left already?

The knob was icily cold in her palm and a shiver coursed through her frame. Of course, he wasn't gone. He was quietly lurking. That's what bogeymen did.

He wouldn't harm her, he had said. That was not what bogeymen did. He would only scare her and eat.

It was only fear, her fear. He had suggested she had some control over the visions that would engulf her. They were hers. She didn't wanna see any more harm come to Lowie, but as soon as that thought crossed her mind, it reeled with all possible misfortune that could hurt her child. Her chest tightened. Fuck. And she wasn't in the room yet.

She better got it over with.

She better redirected her attention to something else. Something frightening ... heights or snakes ... the bogeyman. She could focus on him. On his claws and his nightmarish essence. Bile rose up her gullet and bit in her throat, but she turned the knob, ready to face the blue-eyed beast.

Beautiful, blue eyes that saw right through her.

Another shiver ran down her spine as the door swung inside the room and she faced the rug underneath the skylight, the walls and ceiling in midnight blue. She didn't immediately detect a presence in the room and zoomed in on the bed, then inspected the dark gap under it, and the woodboard floor surrounding it, looking out for the sharp nails that would come crawling, but they didn't come.

She squatted and peered underneath. Nothing. All was quiet.

Could he be gone?

She thought about the days she spent in here, turning the sad, vacated attic room into a dream. She had not encountered Elias Zwarteveen that day. Yet, he had said he had lived here for a long time and made it sound like moving was something out of the ordinary for a bogeyman. Where had he been hiding then?

Could he be invisible?

Could he be staring back at her right now without her seeing him? Her heart almost stopped at the idea and she leaped on top of the bed, quickly tucking her feet under the sheets like a frightened child. How had it come to this? She could run and sleep in the other room, but she had given her word. And more importantly, he had agreed to leave after seven nights. Did yesterday count? It counted, she decided, thinking back on the terror he had put her through and his gleeful face devouring her anxiety. It so counted.

Six more nights and he'd be gone. She pulled the duvet to her chin and waited. The stars above the bed were pretty and became even prettier as the light dimmed outside and the attic room was wrapped in nightshades.

He wasn't coming. She was alone with Buzz Lightyear on the sheets and a galaxy of stars on the ceiling. She was so proud of this room. She longed to drift asleep in it.

"Selina," A breathy voice coed, "you came back."

Goosebumps erupted over her body. His voice was not unpleasant. If she didn't know who it belonged to, she might label it as sexy. Also, there was excitement in it. As if he was happy to see her. Sick bastard. Sure he was. She looked for his claws to curl from under the bed.

"Selina-ah ..."

Where was he? She searched the darkness for the cold glimmer of his eyes.

"You look ... exquisite." A breath of air swept across her face, so cool it made her quiver. "For me?"

She wore a blue striped nightshirt, nothing special, but it looked nice on her, the pastels popped against her tanned skin, and the cut, an elongated button-up shirt that covered her knees was elegant in its simplicity. She did not wear it for him. It was her favorite nightwear. Cool and comfortable.

He was looking at her, but still, she couldn't see him. She didn't answer, anticipation squeezing her throat, her hands gripping the bedsheets.

"I'm hungry, Selina. So very hungry." His voice dripped with innuendo as if he was making her a very different proposal. What was wrong with her? Why did she think that? She knew what he was hungry for, what he wanted to eat, and it was not pussy. She squeezed her legs together, aghast with her train of thought. She didn't think that. She didn't just squirm.

"You're not scared enough, Selina. Are you mocking me? Should I try harder?" She swallowed. "What is the thing you fear most?"

A shift in the air warned her. He was coming for her now. She knew. She peered towards the ledge, her heart thumping in her ears, but instead of the claws she expected, something eely slithered across the cotton. She backed up, hands fisting in the fitted sheet.

No, not snakes ... but yes, snakes. And she had brought that horror on herself.

WC 1352 words
TWC 7244 words