Demon's Hide

Linnaeus the Living Statue

I lay in the bed and stare up at the ceiling where there are still glow in the dark stickers from when I was little. I used to be inseparable from my father, so when I stayed in the studio with him, I was afraid of the dark. My father put those stickers on the ceiling, assuring me that even in the darkest of place, there was always a little bit of light there. Sometimes, it was just hiding.

I sigh and close my eyes, hoping to find a peaceful night. I worked hard all day cleaning up, I thought for sure that sleep would come easy. To my dismay, it did not. I tossed and turned for hours. I punched the pillow and flopped around again. Finally, I could take it no more. I decided to get up and go to the kitchen for some food.

The floor is cold as I make way to the kitchen. I walk by the main art floor and stop. I walk back and stare inside. The Gentleman has become uncovered again. The sheet lays at the doorway as if it had been tossed there. I pick it up and walk back up to the Gentleman. I gaze up at him and then notice his hands are back to the left on top. I frown and go to toss the sheet at him again. His cane rises up, whipping through the sheet and twirling it, so the sheet wrapped around the cane. He then flicks the cane so the balled up sheet goes flying into the loft.

The cane cracks down on the ground and echoes. He leans towards me, his hollow face extremely close to mine.

"Holy shit," I whisper.

The Gentleman's hand cups over my mouth, and he shakes his head. He then stands erect again, and my mouth hangs open.

"How can this be?" I follow him as he walks around. He stumbles and trips before he realizes he can use to cane to feel out things in front of him. "Is this real? Am I dreaming?"

He turns around and lifts his cane, he pokes my stomach with it.

"Ow!" I growl and glare at him. "That hurt!"

He taps his finger where his nose should be.

"Oh," I gasp. "So...you're actually doing this?"

He nods. He then places his hands behind his ears and nods. He waves his palm where his mouth should be and shakes his head. He then pokes two fingers where his eyes should be, and he shrugs.

"So...you can hear, but you can't speak, and your vision is...crappy?" I ask him.

He nods again. He then holds his hand out flat and waves his other hand over it like he's holding something.

I look up towards his face. "Paper and pen?"

He claps his hands and nods excitedly.

I grab an art pad and a pen for him. I quickly rush back, handing them up to him. The Gentleman eagerly takes them and starts writing, holding the pad extremely close to his face. He bears down hard into the pad and then hands it to me. His handwriting is childlike but legible.

"I am sorry for scaring you, but that sheet smelled like shit."

I stare blankly at the page, not sure what to make of it. "I uh..."

He yanks the pad back, flips to another sheet and starts scribbling again. He hands it back to me. "Also, hello. You should be in bed, it is very late."

I smile at the pad then up at him. "I can't sleep, that's why I'm awake."

He shakes his head.

"How am I supposed to sleep now?" You ask him. "This is too amazing for words! How is this even possible?"

He takes the paper back and inches his face close to it while he writes. He then turns it towards me. "That's rather personal."

I smirk, he has a sense of humor. "Was my father magic? Did he do this?"