sʜᴏʀᴛ sᴛᴏʀɪᴇs

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝙱𝚘𝚢

Somewhere in the lush forests of Vermont lived an old man. The old man's house was isolated by the tons of thick pine that filled the forests. The old man was fairly wealthy, he could buy just about everything he wanted. But what he wanted most was something no one could supply. He wanted a son. Yet he was too old to be able to conceive a true child. So instead, he made his own.

He purchased the parts needed to make a true boy. He bought human hair, a heart, lungs, a stomach, skin and bones, and every other small detail. For months the old man started to build his son from scratch. He worked in the basement, so that if he had any spare parts he could easily pitch them into the furnace. He set every intricate detail in its true place without flaw.

After long months of dedication the boy was complete. He had dark smooth hair that was combed back and icy blue eyes. The boy seemed to be around 15-16 years old. The old man dressed him in a red sweater and dark gray pants, that he had made by hand. The man was joyous of his new creation.

He named the boy Elijah. Elijah surprisingly had respectful manners and behavior. Elijah would help cook, he read books, he cleaned and studied. He was proper and wouldn't show a hint of disrespect to the old man.

He refered to the old man as his "Papa" though he rarely spoke. If Elijah did speak then it would usually come out in a mumble or a shaky whisper. He was always quiet and reserved to himself, as if he was too busy thinking to truely focus.

Though Elijah was perfect at first glance, there was one missing quality from the boy. He never smiled. In fact, Elijah was almost completely void of emotion. No matter how happy or sad, angry or scared, his face remained blank. At times Elijah around roam around the creaky old house like the empty shell of a human.

The lacking ability to smile never bothered the old man, since Elijah was the only one to take care of him as he got older. As the months went on he found that Elijah didn't eat, sleep, and he barely had a pulse. Yet, Elijah would walk around and function with ease.

When Elijah could have his own free time he would spend it in front of a mirror. He would pull his face and stretch his skin to resemble that of a smile. But the smile never stayed no matter how hard he tugged and pulled. He became frustrated as to why he couldn't express something as simple as a smile.

Elijah decided to try something else. He had taken a pair of shears from the garage and walked into the woods behind the house. Elijah spotted a small bird that was perched on a low hanging branch. Elijah's quiet demeanor allowed him to get close enough to snatch the bird from the branch.

With the shears in one hand and the bird in the other, he squeezed the bird, causing it to become more distressed. Elijah squeezed and squeezed, his grip like iron, until he felt the bird crunch beneath his finger tips. The birds broken body twitched in his hand, causing Elijah to drop the bird to the ground in disgust.

Feeling a twinge if pity, Elijah took the shears and snipped the birds head from its body, taking out of its misery. He felt terrible as though he wanted to cry, yet nothing showed, not even a single tear. Elijah went back to the house, feeling more empty the before.

The old man started to grow weaker with the eroding house. Elijah's age never changed, he remained young inside and out. Soon Elijah had to help the old man with everything, and still he never made a fuss about it. Until one night, Elijah was putting the old man in his bed to sleep.

The soft light in the room was the dim lamp on the nightstand. Elijah had just got done helping the old man into his bed. The old man smiled at Elijah, proud of his creation. Elijah didn't reciprocate the positive emotion. He became envious of the old man's smile.

The old man slowly became weaker as the days let on. The old man becoming thinner and more sickly. Elijah watched ith morbid amusement as he started to help the old man less and less. He made sure the old man had the bare minimum he needed and used the rest of the time for himself.

There was something so interesting about the crumbiling old man to Elijah, even though he still cared for him great deal. Elijah didn't help the old man out of bed that morning, and he didn't make breakfast either.

Elijah was down in the basement, mending a tear in his sweater with a needle and thread. With a steady hand he patched the hole seamlessly. With the needle in his hand he stared at how easily it was able to sew the sweater.

Elijah looked in the mirror and held the needle up to his face before slowly piercing the corner of his mouth. Elijah felt no pain in his cheek, so,
he sewed again. And again. And again. And again. And again, until is mouth was stuck in a wide, bone-chilling smile. The corners of his mouth and the skin on his cheeks cracked under the pressure of the thread.

Elijah seems more than content with this, admiring his new feature in the mirror. He was so proud of himself, he hurried up the stairs to show the old man. But as soon as the man laid eyes on the sheer horror of Elijah's smile his face drained of its color.

The old man grasped at his chest as Elijah approached him. Fear caused the old man his stumble from his seat and fall to the floor, gasping for breath. Elijah stared at the old man, kneeling down to help him up. The old man pushed him away, which made Elijah upset. He tried to help the old man once more, but the old man soon succumbed to a heart attack.

Confused, Elijah examined the lifeless body before him. With the twisted smile on his face he dragged the old man's body down the stairs. The weak bones of the old man crunched when Elijah put him over the drain in the basement.

With a pair of hedge clippers he snipped the old man limb by limb. He dragged the servered parts to the furnace and tossed them inside, causing the embers of fire to flourish. He silently mourned the death of the old man, but relished the freedoms that came with it.

Once the man's body was incinerated he washed the pool of blood down the drain. Elijah's smile didn't falter as he looked at the pile of ash that once made up the old man. He just stared at the furnace, feeling his troubles burn away.

Soon after, a door opened upstairs, causing Elijah to snap out of his trance-like state. He stood from the furnace and made his way upstairs with his undying smile.

He figured it would only be proper to greet the guest face to face.