Crunch. He bit into the last leftover parts of his strawberry lollipop and shoved the stick into the pockets of his pants. Where were his parents? He has already been at the swings for fifteen minutes. They should’ve come looking for him two hundred and forty seconds ago.
Frowning, he started his way back home. It didn’t take him long to realize that something was off. The garage of his house was open, with a black SUV he’s never seen before parked right outside. From a distance, he watched as his parents greeted the family in the car. The man that went out was lanky and had dark brown hair, and behind him were his wife and child.
The man was grinning, and so was the mother but not the kid. He glanced over. His own father and mother were grinning, too, as if it was a match to see who could keep the smile for longer. The boy’s stomach churned in distaste. It disgusted him to see the superficiality of these adults. From a distance, he could narrowly hear the conversation.
“Oh, I haven’t seen you in so long.”
“I know, right? Your daughter has grown. Your son and my daughter are about the same age, aren’t they? I’m sure they would love to get to know each other”
“His name is Lucas, yes I’m sure they would be such good friends.”
Suddenly, there was a burst of fury in him. How could his mother make that presumption about him? Nails digging into his palm, he calmed himself down as he continued looking at the adults conversing. Soon enough, his parents invited the strangers into his house.
After an internal fight, Lucas gave up and marched back to his house haughtily. Standing behind the door, he knocked loudly three times. His mother opened the door for him. Before he could begin climbing the stairs, his mother patted him on the back and gave him a look that told him to stay. He sat down next to her, opposite the man, having no other choice.
“And you know what happened next? The woman tried to bribe me with a Gucci bag! Just for the house. I know it was crazy. But of course, I took her right to the police station.”
Lucas wanted to shake his head at the pure stupidity of the story, but hearing his parents laugh, he paused. He didn’t understand. Couldn’t they see the obvious display of wealth? Even then, the story wasn’t even funny. Lucas desperately wanted to leave.
Before the silence could sink in, the man spoke again, “so is there somewhere we can move the baggage?”
“Yes, we have already cleared out two rooms upstairs for the night. You can start moving in if you want. And what’s your daughter’s name again? Annie?”
“Moving in?” Lucas questioned loudly, turning to look at his mother. She shook her head at him, noting for him to keep quiet before looking back at the man.
“Well, Annie, is there anything you want to eat?” Lucas' mother's voice was tender and kind, unlike the voice she always used with him. Before Annie could answer, the man shook his head. Annie’s eyes scanned her father before slowly nodding, agreeing to the reaction. “Well, I will take you to your rooms. It’s right up the stairs on the right.”
Lucas halted on the stairway, “That’s my room. I have private things in that room. Can I at least go grab them?”
The man laughed at his words and patted him on the back, “Lucas, isn’t it? Let the adults handle this. I will return this room to you in a month. Don’t you worry. And you’re just a child. ”
“Sir, can I please get-”
His mum gave the man an uncertain look; he sighed and nodded in response, giving the boy silent approval. Lucas didn’t hesitate to run in. The adults spoke as they waited for Lucas to collect his things. But when he came out of the room holding a box full of stuffed animals, model planes, models, and other toys, his mum stopped him, “Lucas, you don’t take everything out of your room, only take the essentials. A toy plane is not essential.”
“Fine,” Lucas grunted, putting some of his toys back onto the shelves.
“Don’t mind him, he’s just a child,” his mother told the man.
That night, Lucas couldn’t fall asleep. Stuck on the mattress in his parents' room, every single time he closed his eyes, he could see the man looking at his toys, messing with his toys. He tossed and turned the entire night. The following day, he got up at six just to avoid the visitors, but when he went down the stairs, there was already noise in the kitchen. The man was already up in the kitchen by himself, pouring milk into his glass cup.
“You are using my cup.” Lucas tried to gulp down his anger. Grabbing a banana, he lifted his school bag and walked out the door, slamming the door shut.
The same pattern followed the next three days. Lucas hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep, and his parents were too busy talking to the visitors to care for him. He seemed to be forgotten.
On the fourth night, Lucas went downstairs to get milk before going to bed when he watched the man talk to his mum about all the different apartments he was selling. At that moment, a black gas surrounded him, and his blue eyes turned red. Horns grew out of his head, and his teeth were sharp like a dinosaur's. The only thought that he could process was that this man-monster would eat his mother alive. But just as he ran to her side, the man turned back. His face pulled in the exact same smile, “Hello Lucas?”
A shiver fell down his spine. He didn’t know what form was scarier. Man or monster. Then he ran. He ran up the stairs and under his covers. That night, he barely closed his eyes.
The next morning, he got up even earlier, at five. He couldn’t face the thought of seeing the man again. As he walked out of his parent’s room and passed the man’s bedroom, the door opened. The man walked outside, “Good morning.”
As he opened the door sharply, the door hit the bookshelf. Like dominoes, one book toppled over the other, and it slammed onto Lucas’ favorite model plane. Hitting the ground, it shattered.
Lucas’ fists immediately clenched, and he bit his lips. His veins seemed to be bulging out of his body. Kill him. Kill him today. He will never bother you again.
“Hey, kid, you alright? It’s just a model plane. I will buy you a better model plane than the ones your parents gave. Is that fair? Hey, kid, are you listening?”
At that second, his anger and hatred could no longer be suppressed. Looking at himself in the mirror, he punched right into the glass. Bam! The glass shattered.
Picking up a large shard, he lunged onto the brown-haired man, and he stabbed and stabbed. Frantically and desperately, he stabbed as if the man was a murderer, a usurper, a tyrant. He wanted to break him and shred him to pieces.
Stabbed and stabbed and stabbed. Until he had not a breath in his body. Until the man’s face was no longer recognizable. Until the flesh could not be told apart from the blood.
Then, the piece of glass dropped onto the ground, and he stumbled to his feet. He froze as he looked at the mess in front of him. His body began to shake. He sank to the ground. His bloody hand desperately searched for a strawberry lollipop. But before he could, his consciousness became blurry, his vision plummeted, and he melted into the earth.
Jerking up from his bed, Lucas found his body to be shaking. Sweat laced his forehead, but he could no longer remember the content of his nightmare. Shaking his head, he laid back down.
He arrived at Annie’s house the next day and met his friends with huge smiles.
“Oh, I haven’t seen you in so long,” Lucas said, pulling Annie into an embrace.
“I know, right? Your daughter has grown. Your son and my daughter are about the same age, aren’t they? I’m sure they would love to get to know each other”
“His name is Max, yes I’m sure they would be such good friends.”