Emily's Night

The night was cold and still. There were no animals stirring. Clouds laced the dark sky, and the moon reflected off the icy landscape. The wind didn’t dare whistle through the branches tonight. Sound felt like an urban legend on this winter evening. Icicles adorned the light blue house.

Emily’s ashy gold hair delicately framed her small round face. Her cheeks were soft and her lips were tiny rose petals. She was sleeping silently until she was woken up by a tapping on her little foot. Emily blinked herself out of her dreams. She noticed a shadow slip under her door. So she sneaked out of bed, and put her fluffy lilac robe on. Quietly, she opened her door just enough to check if she could see the strange shadow again. The shadow then scurried along the hall and down the stairs. Emily tiptoed behind it, careful not to wake anyone in the house. When the shadow finally slithered under the front door, Emily slipped on her pastel pink boots and coat, and followed the odd shadow into the night. The shadow began to speed up once they got away from the house, and Emily chased it. They wandered through the shallow snow, weaved around trees, and climbed over the frosty logs.

When the two of them stopped running, they arrived at a clearing with a large frozen pond. Emily was tired after running for so long, and she was making clouds bigger than her when she breathed. She caught her breath a few moments later, and she noticed she wasn’t alone. The shadow lead to a very tall man. The man was very pale and his skin glowed like the snow in the moonlight. He was also very thin, no bigger than Emily. The suit he was in was pure black with a crimson tie.

Emily was nervous about the stranger. He gracefully approached her but she stepped back from him. Then he knelt down, picked up some of the frigid snow, and started to form it into something. Emily watched as icy powder flew off his work. When he finished the snow was formed into the shape of a bunny, Emily’s favorite animal. Then four more appeared from behind him with long black arms sticking out of them. The man made the bunnies dance around her, and Emily was in awe, until they stopped. Suddenly, the long flexible arms grabbed onto Emily’s wrists and ankles. She screamed and tried to wiggle her way out, but it was no use. The black arms creeped around her small body and lifted her up in the air. A large gaping mouth suddenly ripped out of the man’s blank expression, before Emily was silenced forever.

In the morning, Emily’s parents woke up and started preparing for their day. Her dad went to her brother and sister’s rooms to wake them up when he noticed that it was very cold. The front door was open. He quickly checked his youngest daughter’s room. Emily’s empty bed made him freeze. After a few moments of shock, he ran down the stairs and out the door, yelling his daughter’s name, still in his pajamas and robe. Frantically looking around the yard lead him to a small set of footprints. He ran back to the house to tell his wife that he was going to go look for their child, and to stay here with the others. A few minutes later, he put on his boots and coat, and he was running after Emily’s trail. He ran and ran, regretting that he ever left her alone for a second.

Finally, he reached the same clearing where Emily met the mysterious man last night. He looked around until he found what no one should ever have to find… He found his daughter’s broken skeleton and shredded clothes.