Inside the boy.

“Matmat, call your father, dinner’s almost ready”, Nicolas heard a lady call as he stood from afar.

“Where am I?”, he tried saying out loud but not a sound came out. He’s in front of a simple house, a barn was on its side, and the wide farmland at the distance gave him the idea that whoever lives here are farmers.

“Yes mother, I’m calling him now”, a boy replied from Nicolas’s back. He turned around and saw a little boy he figured he was about four or four and a half years old. He’s sure because that’s exactly what he looked like at that age, the only difference is the color of the hair.

The boy ran towards the fields and Nicolas followed him out of impulse.

“Father! Mother said it’s time for supper”, he cheerfully exclaimed as he ran towards a man plowing the fields.

“No need to rush Matthew, I’m just about finish”, the man replied wiping his sweat off with the end of his shirt.

“Wait? Matthew?”, Nicolas thought while standing by their side.

“Let me help you so we can get back home faster”, the boy proposed before trying to lift a pail full of water with all the energy he has but ended up hitting his head on a rock as he failed.

“Matthew, are you all right? Didn’t I tell you, you’re too young for this kind of work”, the man laughed tending to his son’s head as the boy cried.

“Playing a happy family? Hypocrites, after a few years let’s see, if your this happy”, Nicolas thought, cringing as he followed them rushing back to their house.

“What happened, Marco? Why is he crying?”, the lady asked rushing outside while carrying one of the plates with her.

“I told him not to help me yet, but he insisted so he… hit his head”, the man named Marco reluctantly avoided eye contact with his wife.

“Then what are you doing?”, the lady smacked Marco in the back of the head while taking the boy from him.

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“Ow, thank the gods that I love you, or else”

“Or else what”

“N— Nothing”, he squeaked and chickened out.

“What happened to our grandson?”, an older lady rushed towards them as the three went inside. Nicolas figured out that she’s the grandmother.

“What did your father do to you again?”, an old man followed.

“I told you, I didn’t do anything”, Marco explained.

“Yeah right, we can see that clearly”

“It was my fault mother”, Matthew uttered as he felt calmer.

“See?”, Marco wanted to celebrate his victory but his wife’s burning gaze was still directed at him. “Let’s just eat then”, he backed down like a sacred cat with its tail between its legs before finishing the table’s preparation himself.

It was a normal supper inside a simple house on a small table beside the kitchen sink. It was rather too simple for what Nicolas grew up with, but what made it envious was not the food but the connection.

It was never silent. Everyone has something to talk about too, the state of the crops, the last game Matthew played, and the traditional “back in my day”, stories of the old. Nicolas saw them as a family he never really experienced as he stood outside the window.

“Oh, I forgot my toy outside”, Matthew exclaimed after he was done eating.

“Where did you left it?”, his mother asked.

“I just left it at the barn, I’ll be fine”

“Be careful, it’s almost dark”

“Yes mother, I will”, he yelled as he ran outside. Nicolas followed him and they really ended up outside the barn.

“What’s that?”, Nicolas squinted his eyes upon noticing something in the distance as the young Matthew picked up his wooden sword beside the axe and the shovels.

“What’s that?”, he heard Matthew asking the same thing.

They watched as if the entity is drawing closer and closer.

Both of them felt a sudden distress when out of the blue it looked like it skipped some distance and is now two meters away from them. Nicolas saw Matthew ran back inside the house and he felt the impulse that he should also get in. Whatever that was, it’s bad news.

“What’s wrong Matmat?”, his mother asked as she noticed Matthew shutting the door hastily.

“There’s something outside—”, Matthew stuttered as he looked at the door.

Nicolas who’s also feeling anxious can’t help but look at the window to make sure what the entity was. He was startled when it somehow teleported in front of the door.

“What’s wrong son?”, Marco assisted, scrambling Matthew’s hair, his back facing the door.

It was then when Nicolas watched as the dark entity slowly permeated through the door.

“It— it’s inside”, Matthew’s eyes went wide as he stepped back shaking while his father looked confused to what was going on.

“What’s happening to you Mat—”, Marco did not even finished his sentence when he felt something cold entering his body, his eyes went wide before he dropped to the floor then had a seizure.

“What in the world is happening now?”, Nicolas wondered getting even more confused and worried while standing in the corner.

“Dear? What’s happening to you, Marco? Marco!”, Matthew’s mother came to rescue as she cushioned his husbands head on her thighs. It looked like it helped as the seizure began to dissipate.

Momentarily, Marco opened his eyes.