Do you believe in the Boogeyman?

Weird

The breeze flew in from the open window, it was pitch black inside the child's room. The only light was the pale moon shining. Every shadow seemed to come alive inside little Eric's room. The crib containing the small infant was the color of dried blood. Even the little tike could sense that something was... off about this scenario. 

He stood straight up using the sides to support himself. Thoughts about crying for Mother raced through his head, but Eric eventually decided against it. He called out to the creatures that crawl in the night where he wouldn't find them. A soft whisper slowly turned into a sharp yell when no one answered in return. 

Getting impatient, he climbed out of his crib and flopped down onto the floor. Eric waited until his eyes could adjust to the darkness before exploring his small bedroom. A squeak could be heard from one of the corners. The child wasted no time and went to investigate. Determined to find the noise, he carelessly pushed toys out of the way until he noticed his favorite stuffed animal, a pink, hastily stitched rabbit that was coming apart at the seams with only one black button eye, the other was gone due to the fact that Eric puts everything in his mouth... the right eye, sadly, did not survive.

Eric picked up the soft bunny and continued on. Slowly he crept across the floor, crawling towards whatever dangers were out there. In the darkest part of his room stood a small, pure white mouse. Eric giggled and tried to pick it up. Of course, he scared the poor critter, so it ran away. Luckily, a small mousy-sized hole was not too far away from the boy. Just as the small mouse is about to scutter instead the hole, a black hand reaches out and snatches the snowy critter so fast that neither of them had any time to react. 

Eric sat in shocked silence as the hand slowly retracted inside the hole in his wall. His Mother called Eric's name so suddenly that he jumped. He immediately exited the room and down the hall. Eric stopped and waited for Mother to call again, in order to pinpoint where she was hiding. Another shriek came from downstairs. He slowly slid down the stairs and onto a landing entering the living room. When Mother yelled once more, Eric knew for a fact that she was in the kitchen now. 

He cut across the living room, but as he passed the bathroom and the storage closet, Eric made sure that the doors were closed, just as Mother had taught him. The dark and scary kitchen was intimidating, to say the least. 

The tiles were cold on his hands and knees as he gently padded across the floor. In the corners, the shadows started to move and shift. They seemed to be reaching for the cute stuffed rabbit. The moonlight had disappeared. Eric could hear Mother's breath. It was from inside the storage closet now. He crawled back the way he came. The door was now slightly ajar.

That wasn't right.

He used as much strength as a toddler could and push open the door. He almost fell over right onto his face but caught and steadied himself. Mother was calmly sitting on the ground, in complete darkness, with her back facing the child. Eric made noises of happiness and bolted towards his caregiver. She slowly turned her head to look at him. 

Mother smirked and pulled Eric up to sit on her lap. A whisper was heard from the doorway, but Mother distracted him with a soft and sweet lullaby. Eric hugged the animal closer and felt the warm tug of sleep. The voices were getting even louder, the shadows moved and shifted even more sporadic than before.

This was wrong... but he just couldn't put his tiny finger on it. If only he knew. Behind them, the door slowly squeaked close. Encasing the two in absolute night.

Pure darkness was what awaited them.