Schläft.

Schläft.

Sleep.

She heard the call as she closed her eyes, drifting into a heavy sleep. Tiredness- the kind that sinks into your bones and glues you between your sheets like jelly on a sandwich. She pulled her stuffed doll toward her and let herself go. As she floated off into sleep she felt a world of dreams surround her and found herself on a rainy street with nothing around her. The raindrops didn't even dare make a sound in the tense dreamscape.

Suddenly, a figure crept from the shadows with a long and lanky body. The shadows hid the details of the figure, but one large arm reached toward her. She tried to walk backward but felt pressure from the rain holding her in her place. Fear crept up her body as she found her focus trained on the figure in front of her. Finally, the creature moved toward her and she caught a glimpse of his face.

Horrid, unmoving eyes seemed to both stare into her soul and completely disregard her. Pencil thin eyebrows seemed to be sewn into the skin, rather than growing from it. Red, red lips curled upward to an extreme smile. Rosy cheeks and a round chin could have been endearing on a grandmother, but here made the girl think of other girls who must have been eaten before her.

As she stared at the face she felt a hand on her shoulder. After a glance down, she remembered the body she had left on her bed. Sensing a way out, she focused on the feeling of the hand on her shoulder and pulled herself awake from the nightmare.

Gasping, she sat up straight, throwing her blanket off of her. She looked around for her savior, but there was no one else in the room. Slipping out of bed she walked to her desktop clock and checked the time. It was nearly time for her to get ready for school, so she cut her losses for sleep and got dressed early.

When she returned to her bedroom, she saw a note lying on her bed. With her dream nearly forgotten, she read the message.

Your father and I both had to go to work early. Please walk to school today. Love you xoxo

x

Although she had walked to school before, nerves from her strange dream made her feel uncomfortable as she walked out the front door. She wondered how her parents had left without her seeing them, but dismissed that as she felt raindrops land on her head. Realizing that the door was locked and that she didn't have an umbrella, she took off toward school hoping to beat the worst of the storm.

Running through the streets she felt weird. As she continued toward her school, she noticed fewer cars passing by. Nerves began to creep up on her, and she felt chills and rain cover her body. She slowed her pace and watched the streets. Soon she had walked almost two blocks without seeing so much as a porch light to indicate life around her. As she focused on what was in front of her, she accidentally slipped on the rain-pattered sidewalk and fell into the empty street.

Everything felt eerily quiet and sickeningly familiar.

Schläft.

As she heard the word she felt the rain fall silent and the ground drifting away from reality. Her eyes fell closed but were ripped back open to the horrid dreamscape enveloping her. Suddenly, she saw the figure appear from the darkness. The long arms reached for her as the wretched smile glinted in shadow.

As the hands came closer, she felt something touch her physical shoulder again. A mixture of fear and hope resonated inside of her as she pulled herself out of the creature's reach.

She shot up in bed, confused and afraid. A quick check of her desktop clock proved that she had simply been dreaming that entire time, as it was once again morning. After turning on all of the lights in her room and hallway, she got dressed quickly and went to find her parents. As she neared their room she realized that she had still had her doll clutched in her hand.

Not wanting to look any weaker than she felt, she returned with the doll to her room. Before she could place the doll on her bed, she dropped it to the floor. She picked up a piece of paper from her bed and read it fearfully.

Your father and I both had to go to work early. Please walk to school today. Love you xoxo

xx

Confused and afraid, she cried as she left her house. Although it was dark, there wasn't any rain. The tears on her face were wiped off as she dove into the early morning, hoping that this time would be different.

It wasn't long before she felt the eerie quiet and alarming vacancy around her. Raindrops peppered the sidewalk and fell onto her head. Afraid to go any further, she sat down by the side of the road and put her head into her hands. Suddenly, but not alarmingly, she heard the call.

Schläft.

She attempted to fight the command, but the ground beneath her left and she found herself facing the same empty street. The smiling figure came from the darkness and stalked slowly forward. This time, despite the feeling of a hand on her shoulder, she decided to watch the creature. The figure came forward, the features of its face maliciously grinning at her, while its unmoving eyes stared intimidatingly.

Long arms and legs began to pick up their pace and move toward her. Before it could reach her she panicked and followed the pull of the hand on her shoulder.

As she shot up out of bed she kicked off her blanket and ran to her parent's room. She tried to turn the handle but couldn't get a good grip on it. She looked at her hands and saw that she was still holding her doll. Laughing at herself for being so silly, she was able to calm down and think. It was still fairly early in the morning, and it had just been a few bad dreams. She turned to leave, but as she faced the dark and empty hall behind her she dropped the doll and turned back to her parent's room.

Slamming open the door, she ran to the bed, shaking her father awake. After relating the series of events to him, she collapsed on the floor sobbing. She couldn't describe the terror that the strange figure made her feel and she could tell that her father didn't understand. After calming herself, she found that her father had placed her doll back into her hands.

Without looking at it, she squeezed it tight. It was the only thing that could possibly understand what she had gone through. She felt herself be picked up and placed back in bed. As the strong arms left her alone in the dark she heard the voice.

Schläft.

Despite her desperate attempt to hold onto reality she was once again standing on the silent, wet, and dark street. Facing her fear, she ran forward. Pushing against the paralyzing rain, she reached the edge of darkness. Fear seeped into her bones as she approached the creature's lurking form. The arms hung slack by its side and the smile stretched across its round face.

Suddenly, it lurched forward, nearly touching her. She attempted to step backward but found it impossible. Realizing she had few options, she tried to think of a way to survive. As she was thinking, she felt the hand on her shoulder trying to pull her back into reality.

As the creature reached for her again, the pull on her shoulder became almost too much to resist. In a moment of instinct and desperation, she shouted as the vision faded from her view.

"Schläft!"

The scream echoed from her lips as her bedroom came back into view. Her father reached the door just as she threw her bedding to the floor and sprinted to him. A hug and tears were shared as she sunk into his arms. Carrying her to a couch he let her cry until she fell asleep.

Returning upstairs, he walked into her room and began to pick up her bedding. Under her pillow, he found her doll face down on the floor and lovingly picked it up. He turned it over and looked at its sewn features; thin eyebrows, a big happy smile, red cheeks, and long limbs. The happy, funny doll seemed so innocent in his hand as he brought it down the stairs to give his daughter some peace and comfort after the long night she'd had.

He kissed her head and whispered to her like his German grandmother used to whisper to him.

"Schläft."

As he went back to bed, he saw a piece of paper on the bed. He read it as he climbed under his sheets.

Thank you for your help. Love you xoxo

xxxx

As he turned over in bed, he realized that he must have forgotten to leave the doll on the couch. Too tired to go out and do it now, he held it as he felt himself drifting into a heavy sleep.