After-Midnight Snack

Madeline opened her eyes and looked at the clock on her nightstand. It was two in the morning. The moon hung through her window. She sighed. It wasn’t time for Madeline to wake up for her job at the cafe yet. She closed her eyes again. She opened them up again. It was now two-twenty. That’s when she realized she couldn’t go back to sleep. Her stomach growled. She sat up.

“Well, if I’m awake, I might as well prepare a past midnight snack!.” she told herself.

  A midnight snack would be nice. It was past midnight, of course, but still. Something to fill her up a little bit. She dodged the ceilings that sloped in front of her peripheral. She crept down the short and narrow stairs and past the floral wallpaper. It was an old house. Old houses naturally had some sort of hazardous element to them. Luckily for Madeline, she was used to old houses. Besides, she got rid of the asbestos and the arsenic wallpaper. She also fixed the wiring around her house and cleaned the chimney. And warded off an angry spirit of an old woman who had been eaten by her own pet hamsters.

  Madeline flipped on the lights into the kitchen, chasing away the darkness. It was a small corner-like kitchen, but it had a stove-oven and a fridge. On the window sill there was a pink peony in a water cup. It was given to her by her niece. There was a small cafe styled table in the middle of the kitchen. She turned on some jazz music.

Outside, the trees made a sussuring sound as the cool night breeze blew. The clouds floated idly past the moon, partially blocking its ethereal light. An owl hooted. Crickets chirped. A dog howled. Then it was quiet. The street lights flickered. They flickered violently until a shadow passed them. Then they stopped. A man screamed.

  Madeline opened the fridge. She brushed back her pink hair. There was a full carton of eggs, a can of whip-cream, butter, a block of mozzarella cheese, and some vegetables and berries from her garden.

“An omelet and berries with whip-cream. Sounds decent enough.” she muttered to herself.

Madeline tied up her hair into a slightly messy bun. She assorted her ingredients and her equipment on the table. After that, she turned on the stove on a low heat. She then placed the pan on top.

  Outside, the shadowy thing slithered through the streets. It sniffed the ground and growled. In its teeth was a shred of cloth.

  Madeline started shredding the mozzarella cheese. Humming along to “Midnight” by Caravan Palace. She cracked six eggs and whisked them in a bowl, and added salt, pepper, and the cheese.

  The shadowy thing clambered over a truck. On top of the hill, it spied the lights on through a house. Madeline’s house. It spat out the cloth.

  Madeline started mincing the garlic, slicing the tomatoes, and the green onion. She mixed them together in a bowl.

 The beast slithered down the hill. A dog woke up from its slumber and saw the shadowy figure. It started growling.

 Madeline buttered the pan and poured half of the egg mixture. After a moment, she put in the vegetables on the egg and folded it over. She flipped it over and over, then did it with the other one.

 The dog growled at the shadowy thing. The shadowy thing crept closer to the dog, then gave him a large toothy smile.

 Madeline set the omelets on two separate plates. She then washed the berries.

  The shadowy thing saw Madeline through the window. Smiling, it slithered across the path.

Madeline sliced the strawberries. She put the blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries into two bowls.

There was a knock on the door.

Madeline finished with the whip cream topping. She smiled, satisfied with her work. Another knock. More persistent this time.

“Now, who can that be?” she asked herself.

  She walked towards the door. She unlocked it and opened it slowly. There it was. The shadowy thing. Its pitch black body towered over her. Its glowing white eyes stared into her soul. It was smiling at her with dagger-like teeth. Saliva dripping from the points.

“Tony! What a surprise!” Madeline chirped happily.

  Tony gave her a growl that sounded too much like a cat.

“Well, are you hungry? I couldn’t sleep so I cooked something up instead!” Madeline told him.

She stepped aside and let Tony slither inside her house.

“Do you like omelets? I tried out a new recipe.” Madeline asked.

  Tony nodded. They sat down across from each other and ate together. They didn’t have much of a conversation, but that was alright with Madeline. She liked eating quietly anyways.

Tony was the town’s guardian and he was good at it too. His job was to haunt the most wicked of people. Real monsters. He would haunt them until they confessed their crimes. Thanks to Tony, a man who attempted to poison the neighborhood children on Halloween is now in jail. Tonight, he scared someone off who was trying to break into an old lady’s house. Tony also had to convince a dog to stop trying to bite children.

He also really loves Madeline’s cooking. Especially when she tried something new.

Madeline had been friends with Tony ever since she was a baby. She was very much used to his unusual appearance. Besides, he wasn’t as scary as that creepy ghost old lady. Madeline had made a mental not to have more that one or two hamsters.

After Tony finished his food, he purred with gratitude. Madeline smiled.

“You are so welcome! Keep the neighborhood safe! We appreciate you!” Madeline replied.

  Tony purred again, then slithered out the door. Madeline stood up, gathered the dishes, and hummed along with the jazz music. It was a usual Monday night. This time, however, Tony didn’t have to wake her up. He was also a little late, so there was also that.