His name was Seth and he lived under my bed.
When I was five years old we moved from my home in Orlando, Florida to the wild valleys and mountains of Lakeside, Oregon, because of the sudden money my parents had gotten from the death of a relative. The transition was easy for me. I was young, thought of it as an adventure. The house my parents had paid to be built was finished by the time we arrived there, practically sparkling with untouched beauty.
I was most excited by the possibility of what my new room would look like, unaware of the danger lurking inside. Though even now when I think back, I wouldn’t change one second of our first meeting.
I found him in my room, filthy hands flipping though my small selection of picture books. He was odd looking to say the least, blonde hair so dirty it looked brown with a black coat that curled and moved around his body so much that it appeared to be alive itself. I stood frozen.
“Who are you?” I finally questioned, holding a new teddy bear in my hand’s trying to appear brave. He froze before rotating slowly to look at me, giving me a better look at him. Crimson eye’s stared back at me, sunken down so deeply they looked about to disappear into his…skin? I guess you could call it skin. His ‘skin’ seemed to be sewn together but not with simply his own. I could see different colors of skin and even a part of his chin that I guessed was fabric.
“I believe the real question is,” He replied, his voice a deep tenor, emotionless and with an echo. “Who are you?”
“I’m Joyce.” I replied. I watched as he lifted his hands to replace my book and I shook as I saw his finger tips. Like his face his hand’s had the same ruined skin but what was scary where his finger tips. They were bones. His skin rolled back slightly as white gleamed from the very tip of his fingers.
“You may call me Seth.” The corner of his mouth moved up into, what I assumed was a smile, though resembled a grimace. His teeth were sharp and a dingy yellow color and sat crookedly next to one another, almost like a sharks.
“Why are you in my room?” I finally blurted out, after a few moments of silence. I observed as he began to look around frequently as if he hadn’t seen my room before. He tilted his head to the side as his eye’s returned to me.
“I believe you are mistaken,” He stated, making his way towards me. I began to back up in fear of how close he was to me. My back hit the hallway wall as he stopped in the doorway of my room. “This is my room.”
I sucked in a quick breath, my legs shaking at the suddenly lethal look in his eyes. I felt tears spread as I gathered my courage, or rather stupidity, to reply. “N-no! It’s my r-room!”
“It is mine.” He closed the door swiftly, causing my tears of fear to turn to tears of anger. I kicked the door crying out at the pain. I jumped up and down holding my injured foot, waiting for the pain to pass before I spoke.
“I’m telling my mom!” I ran, chubby legs carrying me as fast as they could outside. I approached my mother, who sat on the swing in front of the house, a book clutched in her hand. My mother was truly a beautiful woman, with curly blonde hair and sea blue eyes. It was unfortunate that I took after my father, straight brown hair and boring brown eyes.
“Mommy! Mommy! There’s a man in my room and he won’t leave!” My mother brought her book down to her lap, eye’s studying me.
“A man?” She asked voice a tinkling memory of wind. Her frosted eyes told me she was still trapped in her novel. I gripped her arm, trying desperately to pull her.
“Yes mommy! Come tell him to leave!” My whining finally affected her and with I sigh she stood and followed me. I hid behind her as she arrived at my door, and waited for her to speak after she opened the door and walked inside. I sat on the floor on the other side of the hall.
“Joyce?” Her voice coaxed me into the room and I quickly ran into her arms, begging for comfort but I froze as my eyes scanned my room.
Seth was nowhere to be seen.
“Honey,” My mother breathed out, picking me up and setting me on her hip. “You need to stop telling lies.” Tears of betrayal filled my eyes and I struggled out of her arms.
“I’m not lying!’ I yelled. She shook her head and exited my room, the door slamming shut. I turned around, arms crossed, with tears covering my face. I jumped as I saw black slivers of cloth moving from underneath my bed, and I watched as he appeared, seemingly growing twice as tall as he rose.
“I suggest,” He muttered, ruby eyes flashing a warning of destruction. “You do not attempt to tell anyone else of my presence here.”
“And if I do?” A moment of bravery and maturity attacking me. I whipped my tears away from my face, to stare up at him.
I felt the bony fingertips on my cheeks before I saw him appear in front of me. I tried to scramble away, but was unable too. In an inhuman move I was lifted into the air by only the raw exposed, bones of his fingers. I tried to scream only for it to be captured in my throat.
“You will listen to me.” His voice was dangerously low and I began to weep as visions of death and destruction filled my mind. Was he showing me these horrible visions? I could see no other way as to how they would enter my head. My vision cleared only to be met by his intense glowing eyes. “Do you understand?”
I whimpered out a yes. I half expected him to drop me afterwards, now that he had what he wanted but he didn’t. He gently set me on the ground and picked me back up after my legs failed me. He pushed the hair out of my face in what he probably thought of comforting, but I find frightening. He bent until his face was level with mine, while he placed his hands on my shoulder.
“I do not wish to hurt you, nor do I wish to scare you,” His face exploded into kindness, eyes melting into pools of lava before hardening back into rubies. “But I will if I have too.”
I nodded my head in understanding, tears still caressing my cheeks. He looked into my eyes for a frightening ten seconds before backing away.
Seth lived with me after that, hidden from the world. I was and am still frightened by him, but as we lived together we got to know each other. For example, Seth had odd habits that fit his odd looks. He liked to chew on sticks, dissolving them into a chunky powder. He also liked to eat pineapples whole. He would simply open his mouth and shove the prickly fruit down his throat.
Life with Seth was fairly easy and quiet. He never hurt me or scared, on purpose that is, he ignored me half the time and I ignored him. He liked to read my books, wearing thick glasses that seemed to be made out of black bones. He never left the room either, or at least I never saw him do it. Excluding one time.
When I was at the tender age of fourteen, I spent most of my time outside my room, obsessed with school activities, obsessed with finding myself as many teenagers are. I was walking home after one of my volleyball games. It was evening, light still shining in the sky. I was rounding a corner but froze when I saw a very familiar swirling black coat.
It was impossible that he was out and about. He had never left before and I knew he wasn’t stupid enough to walk outside with the way he looked. I changed my direction to follow him, calling his name. He appeared not have heard me or if he did he was ignoring me.
I followed him, but not extremely close or extremely fair. I caught sight of his coat every time he turned a corner; until I caught him enter a house. He phased though the door as if it wasn’t there at all.
The house looked and old and under kept, obviously a house of someone who couldn’t take care of it. The house either belonged to someone old, someone disabled, or someone who just didn’t care. Goosebumps rose on my arms as a signal I was about to do something stupid.
I walked to the door, watching to see if anyone walked by, and turned the door knob expecting it to be locked. It wasn’t. The door swung open slowly, with an eerie creak that reminded me of every single scary movie I had ever seen. I walked quickly and as silently as I could though the wide open house, opening doors to find closets and such, until I came to the last one. I opened the door to a bedroom and gasped, falling backwards in horror at what I was seeing.
Seth stood above an elderly woman as she lay in her bed either sleeping or dead. A thin see through filmy white smoke connected them, which flowed from her chest into his mouth. I watched as the line disappeared and Seth leaned his head back and the same whiteness flew out of his mouth and up into the ceiling. I screamed again, crawling backwards, alerting Seth of my presence.
His eyes had changed colors somehow, as he looked at me, into light blue shade. I stared at him and he sighed shaking his head, grabbing at my arm despite my attempts to stay away from him. Suddenly we were back in my room and I ran as far from him as I could in this tiny box, facing him when there.
“What in the hell happened back there!” I yelled at him. What was Seth really? How much did I know about him, besides the fact he lived under my bed?
“I sucked her soul out.” He answered simply, face an emotionless sea. I stared at him in confusion and he continued on. “I am a Soul Reaper. Put on this earth to help people who have trouble sending there souls to the after life.” My head spun and I shook it.
“What in the world are you talking about?” I finally asked. He stared up at the ceiling as he started to speak again.
“What did you think I was?” He asked me. “Did you just think I was put on this earth to stay with you? Or perhaps you thought I was one of those romanticized vampires, you enjoy reading about?” My face blushed with bright red. “This is why I am here. This is my job. I do not wish to speak to you about it, and I am only doing it because I have grown fond of you.”
After that, I never breathed a word of it to him again. Randomly I would catch glances of him in the streets, but never followed. Life went back to normal, until my eighteenth birthday. The day I was leaving for college.
“Are you going to come back?” He asked mood sober as I packed. My room was now bare of everything, and I knew Seth well enough to tell he was upset.
“No. My parents are selling the house, and getting a divorce now that I’m leaving for college.” My mood deflated as I thought about it. My parent’s marriage was a lie, and they told me the only reason the stayed together was for me. But now that I was leaving they said they needed to do the same.
“Then this will be the last time we see each other?” He glanced at my face before moving away. I had grown so close to him over the years. I thought of him as a friend, and I hoped he thought the same of me.
“Most likely.” I stopped packing, hands holding on to the old Teddy Bear that I had held so dear, so many years ago. Seth approached my slowly, face leveling with mine.
“You don’t have to leave.” His voice was stern and to the point. I looked into the face that I had, dare I say it, come to love. His bony, decomposing hand finding a place on my cheek. “You can stay here. With me.” His second hand captured my other cheek, eyes searching mine.
“I have to leave.” I answered softly. His eye’s hardened and I expected him to step away but he didn’t. He did something much worse.
His lips pressed against mine, with such great force I was sure they would be bruised. I could feel every part of his lip, every stitch sewn to his skin. It was a disgusting experience, considering how dirty he was, and the fact that as the kiss became deeper I saw an image of his disgusting teeth. It may have been the most filthy, nasty moment of my life, but I enjoyed it. It does, after all, take two to tango.
He pulled away, resting his forehead on my own, hands still caressing my cheeks.
“Will you stay?”
“No.” He flew backwards, amazing anger on his face. He glared at me before picking up an end of his coat.
“Then this,” He threatened. “Is goodbye!” He disappeared in the darkness of his cloak, always the one for drama.
I haven’t seen him since that moment in time. I’ve grown up now. I’ve finished college; gotten a job as a psychologist, have a husband and a beautiful four year old daughter. I’ve moved on from Seth and that part of my life, but I still wonder. What would my life have been like if I had stayed with him. I loved him but, he’s not human. He couldn’t give me everything I have now.
“Mommy?” I look down to see my daughter, a version of me but with blue eyes thanks to her father.
“Yes, sweetie?” I picked her up, holding my sweet girl on my hip. She interlocked her fingers into my hair.
“There’s a man in my room.”
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