The Man at the Corner

There was a smiling man on the corner, his blank eyes sending shivers through Embry, his black suit and black hat funny looking under the bright sun.

He was smiling so wide, watching her.

"Mama, who is that man?" She tugged on mothers flowing yellow sleeve, her mothers floral perfume a comfort.

'What man?" she asked, absently.

"At the corner, see? He's there!"

Her mother turned to look, shaking her head at the empty sidewalk, "no one is there, you must have been seeing things."

Embry frowned, and took mothers hand, the firm clasp and bright red polish bright on their dark skin, accepting this statement with many doubts.

School shopping was boring, Embry decided, but she thought she caught flashes of that smiling face, and that made her jumpy.

She tried on the new clothes and felt funny and upset, watched. She tried on new shoes, and saw flashes of black in the corners.

She picked out her supplies and saw the flashes of white faces smiling.

She chose a pink lunch box with a pretty fairy that looked like her, and thought she saw white hands reach for things in the corner of the shelves.

Selecting a new back pack nearly sent her jumping back words, seeing him smiling from the corner, but looking straight on saw no one there.

Mother tsked at her, warning her if she wasn't careful she would break something, but she couldn't help it!

He was on a different street corner now, and she tugged on mothers hand and pointed, but he wasn't there when mother looked, the rustle of the shopping bags loud in the strangely quiet street.

"Sweetheart, there is nothing there, you are just scaring yourself now."

Embry looked back at the empty corner, frowning as mother tugged her home.

She played dolls by the window, like everyday, but it was creepy now, not as fun.

The spicy sent of peppers and chicken from dinner still lingered, and she could hear father making cookies.

It could not distract her from what was out the window.

The smiling man stood in the corner of their street, just barely lit by a street lamp.

She asked her sister, "do you see him?"

"Who?"

"That man there."

Amber looked out the window, her pink shirt bright against the dark window, but there was no one there.

"No man, were you watching scary shows again?"

Embry shook her head, but Amber just laughed and picked up a doll, directing play again.

It was the first day of school, Embry was in her new clothes, a light green sundress, and light green tennis shoes, heavy pink back back a new, unfamiliar weight.

No mother or father, Amber stood off with her own friends, her red shirt and blue jeans all new and crisp with her hot pink back pack dangling from her hand. She was laughing and talking so loud.

All the other kids around were talking and laughing, showing off for the others, Embry felt all alone. When she saw him again.

Smiling, smiling at her., all in black except his white face and hands.

She looked around but no one else seemed to see him, and she didn't really know these kids, brightly dressed in their new school clothes, looking so much bigger than she was.~````` Tentatively, she smiled back, and she thought she saw his head tilt.

If she was the only one who saw him, maybe he was a new friend, like the blue bunny?

When she looked back from her seat on the big yellow bus, he was gone again.

He always seemed to be there, on the corners of streets and parks and playgrounds.

Though she noticed now, he seemed to be getting closer, too.

In her back yard and at the corner of buildings.

He gave her the shivers, but no one else seemed to see him.

Just a made up friend.

She tried to name him, to make him seem not so scary, but all the names she tried just slid off of him.

Embry went to the bathroom, and passing her parents room she heard her name and stopped to listen.

"- just hildish imagination."

"But she's kept it up for so long, should we consider getting help?"

"No, it's normal. Amber had one too."

"But she seems scared of this one. . ."

"It's just going to school for the first time, it'll pass."

"All right, all right. I'm still worried."

"Don't be!"

She could hear laughter now, and moved on.

She took some assurance in this, the smiling man wouldn't be around forever.

It was bed time, Amber wasn't there, sleeping over at friends. She didn't like how empty and quiet the room was without her.

She held Ms. Ears, her soft gray fur rubbing against her cheek and shut her eyes, trying to sleep.

Shivers now, she blinked her eyes open and saw him, in the corner of her room, smiling, black clothes and white face and hands dimly lit by her night light.

She didn't like him in her room, so she squeezed her eyes closed, hoping he would vanish. She opened her eyes to check, he was at the corner of her bed.

She closed her eyes again and shook her head, sleep! He'd be gone.

She opened them again and his smile was so close to her now, she tried to cry for mother, but a hand covered her mouth.

She closed her eyes. . . shivers, she was so cold.

She opened her eyes, he was at the corner of the bed now, his face splattered in red.

She closed her eyes, why did everything smell metallic?

She opened her eyes, he was in the corner of her room now, still smiling, his hands dripping a dark liquid, all dimly lit by her light.

She closed her eyes. . .