The Strangest Dream (part 13)

Just then, the room chilled. Evelyn looked up and saw nothing but a dim light coming from the half-moon window, and it was closed, so she didn't know where the cold was coming.

Thinking it was probably nothing she looked back down to the picture, the edges started turning black like veins on a leaf twisting into thin charcoal roots inner twining around her fingers. Evelyn dropped the picture and brushed the darkness off of her hands, pushing the book away with her foot, then stood up and stepped back.

She tilted her head and stood there, trying to figure out what she was looking at. It was a large black mass, almost like a bubbling tar coming up from the floorboards spreading out, then rippled up, gathering into one central spot on the floor. Evelyn covered her mouth so she wouldn't scream. The dark creature came up through the ground rising so high in front of her, then retreated itself into the furthest part of the room, bracing itself with its limbs on both sides in the corner forming something vast creeping up the back wall. Terror struck her, and at that point, she knew she had to get out of there.

She then heard clicking and deep distant moans. As she moved slowly, overstepping to the side to pick up her doll, it looked like a head was protruding and stretching out of the top of this mass with no face, as if it was following her every move. She then ran down the stairs, but the door was locked, she couldn't see it, but she felt it getting closer.

Shaking the door frantically, she heard her mother scream, "NO, WHAT DID YOU DO!" Those words echoed through the walls as the room started to spin, and she fell back.

"MAMA!!" "Yes, my angel." Her father was sitting on the edge of her bed. You seemed to have wet the bed. He told her, "Your mother is drawing you a bath."

"Is she mad at me?" She asked. "Not at all, Angel, accidents happen." Evelyn soaked in the tub, listening to her parents talk while they took the sheets off her bed she smiled because they were laughing together. She put her head halfway under the water, so the sound was muffled, and she started to blow bubbles. Evelyn heard a clicking sound under the water, and it frightened her, now sitting straight up, looking at the ripples they reminded her of what she saw upstairs in the attic. "MOM, DAD," she yelled out, and they both answered, "Yes." "I'm done."

Autumn came into the bathroom and got her dressed in her Sunday's best. "We're going to church," Autumn told her. Evelyn was surprised, it had been a while, but she was glad to go. Daddy looked so good in his fancy suit and tie, and mommy looked like the bee's knees.

They sang hems, and the preacher read from the Good Book. Still, he seemed to be aiming his gaze at Evelyn, he raised his voice and pounded on the podium talking about how god is NOT always a forgiving God and how there are children who have sinned that will unforgivingly go to hell!

On the drive home, her parents were quiet. They didn't know what to think about that day's sermon. "I don't think children can go to hell, they are too pure," Autumn said.

Clyde pulled up to the house to let the girls out before backing into the garage.

As Autumn opened the truck door, she told him that she didn't know why he would even say such a thing. "What?" Clyde asked, "That part about god not being forgiving, Our god is always forgiving!" She shut the door, saying that she never liked that preacher anyway. Clyde just chuckled then backed in the truck.

They all went in, and Evelyn went upstairs to change.

Autumn called out, asking her what she wanted for dinner, she said "It's your special day, so you get to pick dear," Evelyn didn't know what she meant by that so she hopped into the kitchen to ask her. "Did you forget? It's your birthday, my darling." She started jumping for joy and yelled out: "BISGETTI! my favorite!"