Eridan15

ERIDAN 15The Boy and the NigthmareDavid KelečićShort story“Do you want me to kill him?”The boy sat on the cold pavement, beneath the last lamp post in the village. It was latesummer and the increasingly longer night were not warm enough to wear short sleeves.If it were day, a stream of black ants would be running along the road, the ants collectinglight straws to take them deep underground. The boy, however, never went there duringthe day and at night the only thing he could see was his shadow, cast by the last lamp onthe cold street. That place had been his other home for many evenings.The Nightmare knew that the boy had not been thinking about anything in particular.Like a dark cloud, a conscious shadow, she would go through the village over the sameroad as it had for centuries. The boy would wait for her there, at the end of her journey.Even though he was a lot younger than her, they repeated the ritual long enough that sheconsidered him a part of her nightly routine. Both were creatures of routine and it wasa similarity she appreciated.She approached him from the darker side, where there was less light. The boy wasalways considerate and sat slighty further away from the lamp so she could have moreshade. The light did not bother her, but she felt that this was the way it is supposed tobe. They were all matters of habit.The boy did not react to her arrival even though he could feel her coming close. Shecoalesced part of her darkness under the pavement and sat by the boy. It was politeunderstanding that they developed towards each other over the years: he would movefurther away from the lamp and she would sit next to him. At first she found it unusual,but she could understand that it was important to the boy. It was human. It was a ritualthey did together and the Nightmare appreciated rituals.She waited observing the night. The boy was the only one awake in the village, at least onher route. A long time ago, a single house was located at the spot under the lamp post.It was at a time when she was still acquiring her habits. There was food at the house, thefinal dreams in the village where she could satisfy her hunger. While the dreams and thehouse have been long gone, long even from her perspective, her nature compelled herto pass that way. And so she repeated every night until one time a lamp post appearedthere and some time later the boy who sat underneath it.Watching him, he seemed more burdened than usual. She felt a plethora of dark thoughtsand heavy dreams gathering within his youthful body. The Nightmare fed on such dreamswhile roaming, but the boy never slept neear her. It did not matter for her, however,because she always reached the last lamp full. She prefered to merely sit by his side and33