The Faceless Man

It was the year 2007. It was a time of no sorrows. The world was at my feet: I dreamt about sailing the seven seas on a huge pirate ship, about time travelling and solving cases with Sherlock Holmes.

One night, however, it all changed. That night I met the faceless man.

He was the guy I rushed by, chasing professor Moriarty. He was the man in the shadows, watching me protecting the weak. He stood on the cliffs when I was searching for mermaids.... He was always too far away to see his face, but I recognized the smell of death.

That night I had enough of it. He was hiding behind a tree again. So, I ran towards him and asked why he was always following me. He fled, so I tackled him.

I turned him over and removed the long black hair from his face. I stared at a huge dark spot. His whole face was litteraly gone! Not a single hint of what once could have been eyes, nose or lips to discover. Only one huge black hole.

The guy freed himself and ran off.

The next time I saw him, the girl I loved, had died the next morning.

Whenever I now dream of the faceless man, I know Death is at my door. He stands there whenever one of my rabbits dies. He stood there the night grandpa died. He waked me a few seconds before dad collapsed and died in my mother's arms.



Is he the Angel of Death or is he Death himself?





(Image found at: ectoplasmicpotato.deviantart.com)

The Curious Case of Little Follower

It was the year 1999. Easter was almost there, so grandma decorated the whole house with a sea of flowers. 

Great-grandpa -who lived in- had died a few weeks before. She put a teddy bear in his now empty chair: a duck wearing a checkered ribbon. Knowing I would visit, she also put some teddy bears in the sofa for me to play with.

When mom, my siblings and I passed by, I immediatly hopped to the living room. I saw the little duck sitting in great-grandpa's chair. I've always been sensitive to other people's feeling. I knew that was great-grandpa's seat and I knew grandma always did her best to decorate the house. Putting that teddy bear in that chair was her way to honour great-grandpa. That's why I decided to play with the bears on the sofa instead.

All of a sudden the duck behind me started to move. Before I realised it, the little fellow was sitting on the ground next to me. It followed me everywhere I went. I was so excited: an actual moving teddy bear! 

I took the little duck and showed it to everyone in the kitchen. "Look! It follows me everywhere! Isn't it cool? I'll call him Little Follower." 
They all laughed, thinking my imagination had gone wild: I was the only one in the living room when it happened.

Everytime I visited my grandparents, I played with Little Follower. I walked around and that duck followed me everywhere. 

One day one of the grown-ups saw Little Follower indeed moving around, following me. They were shocked: that teddybear moved on its own! 

"What can we do about it?" "Is that duck evil?" "Would it hurt Kain?" I heard them worrying during an emergency meeting. Grandpa pleaded to let Little Follower stay with me: "I don't think that duck would harm him. Just look at those two. They are best friends!" The others agreed. I was allowed to keep the teddy bear, but only if the fellow would stop moving. 

That day Little Follower stopped following me.

A few weeks later, I was allowed to take the duck home. I put him in my bed. Since that day I hear his little footsteps walking around in my room at night...  




(Image found at: wall.alphacoders.com)