It was the middle of August when the wind howled through the cracks of a house made out of stones, straws and held together by arid mud. It had four windows, but you could peek through only two of them, while others were boarded with termite-eaten planks.
Surprisingly though, a vestige of a powerline kept the house lighted up and let you know that there still were traces of civilization nearby. Inside was filled with dust, spider webs, a table and on it, a battery radio that shed the silence from time to time. Tonight, it played a local talk show to keep companionship for the owner. A thin and bendy old man, who’s only passions in life were toiling the fields and picking up his orders after the mailman was a mile away.
Tonight, though, while for Sandman’s visit, a knock on the door made him rise from the bed. It was a bit over 8 pm, but the winter hours dragged the sun down early. The old man put on a coat and yelled out a “whoisit?”, to get only a rude silence.
Once the dim light from the inside hit the pale faces of his visitors, he felt his throat choking for a second, but it quickly let go when the image of tall, slim gentleman was clenched in a staring contest with a pair of pale children. Whatever horrific thoughts enveloped his mind were crushed by the circus in front of him.
-” Mmm, whatdoyouwant?”, asked the old man in a manner that made both parties raise a brow.
-” Excuse us mister”, a chilling unison voice came from the children- “ we are lost. And cold. And afraid”, they added looking back at the slim man, hoping to gain some sympathy. “Can we stay with you the night?”
The gentleman bit his under lip with his lengthy canines and filled his chest with the chilled air. “ Excuse me sir. I’m a travelling merchant and my car broke down. I was wondering if I could use your phone?” The sly tongue of the pale man slithered and spewed his honeyed words with the most enchanting tune ever heard.
-”Mmm, donthaveone. Weirdteeth by the way. And you”, the old man then turned to the kids- “wereyour eyes at?” He dragged a deep snoot, which echoed in the vast, dark, distance. The tiny copies of humans were left speechless.
-” The night is lying to you, mister. What you see as empty is only the lack of light from the outside reflected in our wide pupils.” Both of the men exchanged looks, and the gentlemen even tried to use this to his advantage.
-” Monstrous, truly. In fact, I’m quite afraid to share even this tiny space. Please, sir, let me in so I can be shielded from these demonic younglings.”
-” Hmmmmmmmm”, mustered the old man shifting his mustache left to right. “ Yousomevampiretypes?”
Caught off guard, both groups tried to reassure the old man, but the hermit slammed the door in their noses and closed the light. The gentleman slouched in his bent posture and after exchanging a silent look with the black-eyed children, decided to move on to another house, maybe through the left field, while the pale kids took the right, both hoping that the next threshold would open for one of them.