What .. is ...

Long time ago, I had a dream. There was a little boy. He stood there, less than 12 feet away, facing me. Standing at about 3 feet in height, he couldn't be more than 6 years of age. His complexion was of milky shade, which matched his golden brown hair so naturally. He was dressed in a striped round neck T-shirt, lines of white and navy blue running horizontally across his small body, with a pair of navy blue shorts which came down to his knees. Clutched around securely with his left hand was a medium sized teddy bear.

He doesn't seem to notice me.

The little boy was looking around for something, or someone. The fringe of his hair bounced about as he turned this way and that. With eyes open wide, he gazed at the sight before him, taking them all in in a very innocent manner. His search didn't seem to be fruitful but, apparently, he wasn't about to give up yet as well. He continued peering here and there faithfully, his attention broken only by his occasional glances at the teddy bear in his hand. Suddenly, his eyes brightened up. As he stared fixedly ahead, his face beamed with excitement and anticipation. Instinctively, I turned to the direction which he laid his eyes at.

A little distance away, was the silhouette of a man. I had to strain my eyes hard just to make out the outline of his figure as he had his back turned towards the light. The man was of medium built. As far as I could tell, he had a nineteenth century sense of fashion. A stovepipe hat was nested atop of his head proudly, straight and erect, and on his left hand, he held onto a lean walking stick planted at an angle to the ground.

"Mister! Mister!" The little boy called out eagerly as he broke into a little run. Rhythmic thuds echoed across the space as each of his tiny steps brought him closer to the man.

The man took a step forward.

Ding...

A faint tinkle of a bell.

"Tell me boy, what is the sum of nine and eight?" asked the man.

His voice is rather warm but, authoritative.

"Seventeen!" Came the reply almost instantaneously. The boy did not have to stop and think to solve that."Eight plus nine gives you seventeen, Mister!"

"Well done!" The man proceeded with another step forward.

Ding...

"How about the root of sixty-four? Do you know the answer to that?"

The little boy was still running towards him. Almost there now. "It's eight. Eight is the root of sixty-four, isn't it, Mister?" answered the bright little boy, albeit with a little uncertainty within himself.

Smart.

"Correct again, you little Einstein!

Ding...

Again, the bell tinkled softly as the man strode forward. Just then, the little boy finally managed to catch up to him. He halted in front of the man; his face reddened and little droplets of sweat forming around the forehead. Nevertheless, the little boy did not show any signs of exhaustion. Rather, he looked elated, almost to the point of jubilant, to have found this man whom he had been looking out for all the while. A smile is fixed upon his face as he looked up and met the man's gaze. He reached out with his free hand.

Lightly, he tugged at the man's arm,"May I have a candy please, Mister?"

The man smiled warmly. Gently, he withdrew his arm from the boy's tug, bent down and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder,"Of course! But before that, tell me, what is my name?"

The little boy's mouth parted slightly, in a gesture of wanting to speak but stopped short of doing so at the very last moment. He continued to look at the man squarely in the face. Little by little, the curves of smile disappeared from the boy and at the same time, shadows of doubt began to crept into him. He focused on the face before him. It was of no use. The little boy looked more and more quizzical the longer he tried to make an impression out of the man's facial features.

"Well?" The man pressed for a reply.

The boy seemed lost now. He thought hard but he just couldn't locate that fragment of memory which his familiarity to the person in front of him laid hidden. His shoulders shifted uneasily under the man's hand as the confidence gained from his answers earlier evaporated. In a resigned manner, the little boy hung his head low and sought for solace from the teddy bear in his arms instead. Quietly he muttered,"I'm sorry"

"I don't know your name, Mister."

The man remained knelt before the little boy. The air turned still and heavy, as if it was weighed down by the boy's failure to answer the final question. Moments passed in silence between the two; time itself momentarily frozen by the chill emanating from each of their disappointment. The warmth stemmed from the reciprocal show of affection earlier had all dissipated by now.

"YOU WHAT?! HOW DARE YOU NOT KNOW!!" the man hollered at the boy.

Huh?

In an instance, the hand on the boy's shoulder tightened and turned into a grip. The little boy winced as pain shot through his arm. The man had changed. As he gripped the boy's arm, he shook him violently; the little body rocked by the brutal force exerted. He let out bursts of fiendish screams into the boy's face as he unleashed his true, violent nature.

"HOW COULD YOU NOT KNOW?! HOW?! HOW!!"

Stop it!! You're hurting him!

"I'm sorry, Mister! I'm sorry," the boy called out in pain in between his cries. The teddy bear had been dropped. With the free hand, the boy tried to pry away the man's hand that was holding his arm in a grapple. The face that was shining brightly just now had turned untidy, drenched wet by the tears that were pouring out relentlessly.

"I'll know the answer next time, Mister! I promise you!" pleaded the boy through his jerking sobs.

"Next time? THERE WILL BE NO NEXT TIME!!" The man finished his line with an inhumane roar.

In a spate of fury, the man threw his walking stick aside and rose, lifting the little boy off the ground effortlessly as he did so. He dangled the boy before him by his arm. The little boy let out a helpless, painful scream. His little legs kicked about wildly in a desperate bid to free himself from the man.

Damn you!! Let go of him!

Without compassion, the tormentor grabbed the boy by his left leg with his other free hand and hung the boy over his head, so that the boy was hovering above him. The man broke into a maniacal grin as the little boy twisted and writhed in his grasp. Slowly, the grin grew wider and wider; the outline of his lips thinning and curling upwards at the same time. Dark red blood trickled down his chin as the skin that held his cheek together was torn apart by the parting of his mouth. As his mouth opened, the rows of teeth, planted on a soggy mass of red came into view. His gums. Soaked bright red and swollen beyond recognition by the bleeding around the roots of his teeth. The opening into his mouth was now as large as an eight-inch plate.

You're not going to do that!! No!

Slowly, the abomination lowered the little boy head-first towards the oral cavity that was the entrance to his digestive tract.

Don't do it! Please!!

The boy gave a horrified scream as he felt the hot breath rushing out from the hole to greet him.

NOOOO!!!!!!

It was dark. A faint blurry streak of eerie light danced hurriedly overhead as the light escaping from the groove under the door was reflected by the rotating blades of the ceiling fan. Suspicious shadows were all about the room, always eager to cast their menacing stares. The only sound that filled the room was my thudding heart, as it pounded furiously away at my chest. Droplets of cold sweat had had poured out all over my body and the mattress was damp beneath my back. Without hesitation, I reached over and felt for the switch to my table lamp.