Splendor

15 Years Later

     You hear the school bells ring, and you grab all your things as quickly as possible, slipping out of the class without being seen. You sprint through the halls, get to your locker, and grasp your backpack. Stuffing everything inside, you rush to the school doors. From behind you, you hear, "Stop them! Don't let them get away!" Hearing this makes you run even faster towards the roads, not looking back. You run to the only place you feel safe. The woods.

     Hopping the fence, you dash past trees and carcasses of animals, slowly rotting. Soon you come to a dead end, surrounded by boulders and giant sequoias. You hear shouting and stomping of shoes against cement. You look around to see if there is any escape. There isn't. You decide to slip into a tree's trunk, sticky and uncomfortable. Unable to see what's happening outside of the trunk, you hear quiet footsteps. "Oh, where are you? I know you're around here somewhere..." You stay silent, and you can hear your own heartbeat. The footsteps stop. You hear someone else's voice, dark, deep, and scary.

"Leave her aloooooone...." The person looking for you whimpers, and you hear them fall to the ground.

"P-p-please... don't h-hurt me..." They yelp, then fall silent. The sound of dragging and a large thump sends chills up your back and arms. A hushed giggle comes from above you. You feel a soft patting on your head, then from your shoulders, you're lifted from the tree's trunk. You see a pale, extremely tall man, with a black, wide smile, and black eyes, that look as if there are no eyes, just eye sockets.

"Why, hello there!" The man calls. He sets you down onto the ground, towering 10 feet above you. He wears a colorful polka dotted suit, and has a baton with a orange ball on top of it. His purple top hat and wide smile make you feel somewhat safer, oddly enough. "Are you alright? Those mean ol' bullies are gone. They won't be hurting you any more..." You greatly doubt it, but you let him continue speaking, perplexed by his missing nose. He dusts off your shoulders with his 7 foot long arms, with silky gloves, and such posture. You shiver, as you forgot your coat at the high school. "Are you cold? Here, have my jacket." He takes off his overcoat, and places it around your shoulders. You are somewhat tall, but it still drags across the floor like a huge blanket. He stares deep into your eyes, and he thinks of something. "You... you can not speak, can you?" You stay silent for a moment, so many thoughts running through your head.

Looking down, you reply, "Not very much." He sighs.

"It's people like us that have to stick together, you know. We're bullied too much, that's for sure." You sniffle, and he places his 2 foot wide, but warm hand upon your back. "Come, we shall drink hot chocolate in my cottage." You and him turn to the huge boulders, bigger than him . You look at them confusedly. He opens his other hand and out comes multiple balloons. They fly around your heads and then suddenly, POP!, and the boulders turn into a mossy, stone, enormous house, with smoke billowing out of the chimney. You clap your hands, impressed and puzzled, and you and him step into the house. The interior completely made of wood, and rainbow filled pictures fill the walls. Next to the crackling fire place is a door bigger than the one you entered through, padlocked and made of rusty metal. He notices you looking at it, then says, "Don't worry about that, that's the cellar. Cellars are scary, and nobody likes being scared, right?" You nod in agreement. He ushers you to a velvet chair, in front of a table with two mugs, steaming, and sweet smelling.

"Hot chocolate?" You say, pointing at the mugs.

"Indeed!" He pushes on towards you excitedly, and you take a sip. On contact with your lips, the cold evacuates your body and you immediately feel a sense of happiness. It's sweet, cocoa flavor resides after every sip, and sooner than you can even remember, it's all gone. "No worries, my dear, for I have infinite amounts!" He grabs your mug, waves his baton over the mug, and hands it back to you. More hot coco! You joyfully drink more and more, the man watching, until you can't drink any more.

You wipe your mouth, then look at him. "What's your name?" He tilts his head, with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Well, I don't have a real name. My brothers and I, or, well... One of my brothers has always been called 'The Dreaded Slenderman' So you can call me," he pauses for a moment, doing an air drumroll "Splendorman!" He grins happily and sips his hot coco. "And what's your name?"

"I... I don't know. I can't remember." You look down, sad.

"Aw, well, that's no way to feel! Let's just make a name you like..." You both think for a couple of minutes, and he presents multiple ideas. "Sugar? Jess? Rose? Glitter?" You finally say it doesn't matter and you can think of one later. You stare at him for a moment, and notice he hasn't broke his smile for a second.

"Why are you helping me?"

He looks at you, almost surprised. "Why, I had to! I couldn't stand there and let you get bullied. I had to do something..." He looks away. You reach out your hand and put it onto his.

"Thank you, Mister Splendorman."

He smiles even wider, "No need for 'Mister'! How about you call me 'Splendy'?"

"Ok." You smile. He grasps your hand, tiny compared to his, and lean your head on his arm. Through the window, you see fat, speedy snowflakes falling to the ground. "Looks like I might be here a while."

He puts down his baton and pats your head. "That's just fine with me. At least neither of us will be alone tonight." You slowly fall asleep, comfortable and relaxed against Splendy's warm, long arm. "Goodnight, my friend."