Chapter 1

Little Girl

'Daddy, why do I have to go to bed now? I'm not even sleepy yet...'

'Trust me Bayley, it's better for you if you go to sleep now.'

Smiling reassuringly to his daughter, Bayley's father kissed her on the forehead. Today she was unfortunate enough to catch a cold, as a result of playing outside in the frisky autumn wind without wearing a warm jacket a few days ago.

Clenching her plush dog against her, the little girl coughed. Bayley was seven years old, rather small for her age and everyone said she looked absolutely adorable. Big brown eyes, brown curly hair and a cheerful personality; the kind of child every parent wanted to have as a daughter.

Bayley's father had already read a bedtime story for her, listening to him talking about the adventures of a prince entering an enchanted castle to find his beloved princess made her feel slightly drowsy. But there was still one thing Bayley wanted to do before going to sleep.

'Can I still go give mommy a kiss?' the little girl asked.

'I'm afraid not, baby.' Her father shook his head. 'She's sleeping right now... and she really needs some rest. You can go give her a kiss tomorrow morning, alright?'

Bayley nodded. She understood. Before mommy got ill, she was always allowed to give her a kiss before going to sleep. Her mother had changed so much these last months... Bayley had always known her mother as a loving, kind woman who always had the time and energy to play and cuddle with her daughter. Every day when Bayley would get out of the school bus at home, her mother would be waiting for her with freshly baked cupcakes; then they would sit down at the table, enjoy the cupcakes along with a cup of tea and chat about what had happened that day at school. And at night, Bayley's mother would always tuck her in bed and read her a bedtime story. Bayley enjoyed listening to her. She didn't want to fall asleep, she wanted to listen to her mother's voice. When she finally became drowsy, mommy would always give her a kiss on the forehead, wish her a good night, tell her how much she loved her and then leave the room. Bayley loved her mother so much.

But one day, it all changed.

Bayley didn't know why, but her mother became weaker and weaker by the day. But her father seemed to know what was going on, judging by the worried look on his face he had on those days. When she would come home from school, her grandparents would be waiting for her while her mother was sitting in her armchair. She would still smile at Bayley and ask how school had been, but she didn't have enough energy to get out of her armchair to give her daughter a hug. It soon became Bayley's father's job to take care of his wife and his daughter; he was now the one who had to cook dinner, bring Bayley to bed, take his wife to the hospital once a week and go to his work to keep the household running. Bayley could often see that his eyes were slightly puffy, but she never asked why. She soon understood that her mother wasn't able anymore to make cupcakes and play with her. Bayley now knew her mother as an ill woman who was lying in bed all the time and taking pills to suppress her pain. But that never stopped Bayley from loving her.

Bayley's father stood up and turned on the teddy bear-shaped wall lamp. 'I will leave the light on for you, okay? Sweet dreams.'

'Sweet dreams, daddy.'

The big light was shut off and Bayley's father closed the door behind him. The only source of light now was the little lamp on the wall. Bayley had always been afraid of the dark, which is why her parents had purchased that lamp for her. She heard her father walking towards her mother's bedroom. For a while, she heard him talking to her mother in a calm voice, as if he was comforting her. However, the little girl couldn't exactly understand what he was saying; the walls in the house were pretty thick. Then she heard her father exiting the room and walking down the stairs, heading towards the living room. Normally she would sleep with ease if her little lamp was on, but this time, Bayley was unable to fall asleep.

It was odd... when her father was reading her the story she felt drowsy, but now she felt like she had taken a sip from her father's coffee, which she once did, mistaking it for hot cocoa. Staring at the ceiling for minutes and holding her plush dog against her, Bayley was wide awake. But it wasn't the fever that was preventing her from sleeping. Maybe, just maybe, if she would give mommy a very gentle kiss on the cheek, she wouldn't wake up. Yes, that could possibly work. Bayley decided to give it a shot.

She got out of her bed, still holding her plush dog; it would be her company while she would go to her mother's room. The door would often squeak loudly when she would open it, so Bayley tried to open it as slowly as possible. But as we all know, little children can be so naive sometimes; the door only squeaked louder when she slowly opened it. Bayley was convinced her mother must've heard her, but she decided to go to her either way.

It was completely dark in the corridor, there was not a single source of light. The little girl tried her best to suppress the wild imagination of monsters jumping out of the darkness to grab her and harm her. Monsters weren't real, that's what her mother always told her when she was too afraid to go to sleep. No, the darkness wouldn't stop her from going to her mother. Bayley forced herself to keep going, tiptoeing through the corridor. Her parents' room was right next to her own room, so luckily she wouldn't have to stay in the darkness for too long. It was hard not to cough, but Bayley managed to ignore the annoying itching feeling in her throat.

Bayley knew that knocking on a door before entering someone's room was polite, but right now it wasn't a good idea to do that. The little girl carefully opened the door, luckily this one didn't squeak like her own door. It was quiet in the bedroom, perhaps her mother didn't hear her after all and was still sleeping. Just a little kiss on the cheek and she would go back to her room, that was Bayley's plan.

The curtains in front of the windows were opened, allowing the dim light of the moon to shine right into the bedroom.

Bayley wanted to scream in horror, but couldn't produce a single sound.

The moonlight revealed a tall shadowy figure, shaped like a human, standing next to her mother's bed. It was completely shrouded in shadows, which clouded the wall behind it black. With its impossibly green eyes, the figure stared at Bayley's mother, who was staring right back at him. Bayley wanted to run, to save her mother, to push that strange 'man' away, to call her father, but she couldn't; it felt like her limbs were paralyzed. All she could do was widening her eyes in shock and stare. Her mother didn't even notice her, as if she was hypnotized by the figure's eyes.

The shadowy 'man' slightly leaned forward, as if it wanted to kiss Bayley's mother. Until now, the little girl could have only seen the eyes, but it turned out the figure had a mouth as well. It opened its mouth; Bayley's mother mimicked this movement. Suddenly, a thick blue mist emerged from her mouth. It only fueled Bayley's horror even more. What is that?! The blue mist went straight into the figure's mouth, it was like it was sucking that mist out of Bayley's mother. She didn't produce a single sound, as if this procedure didn't hurt at all. For some reason, she looked... calm. A few seconds passed before the blue mist stopped coming out of her mouth. The figure closed its mouth and stared at her, still not saying a word. Bayley's mother let out a soft sigh and closed her eyes.

Just then, Bayley finally managed to find her voice back.

'Mommy!'

She dropped her plush dog, ran into the bedroom and climbed on top of the bed. She shook her arm, but her mother wouldn't response. Bayley softly gasped when she touched her mother's skin; it was as cold as ice.

'Did he hurt you? Mommy, say something!'

But still, Bayley's mother didn't respond. Her eyes were still closed, she didn't say anything. Bayley called out for her mother again, but nothing changed.

'Mommy...?'

Oh no... Was she...?

The harsh truth struck Bayley like lightning. Her mother was no more.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as Bayley cried hysterically. She couldn't believe it, she didn't want to believe it, she was hoping it was all an awful dream. But unfortunately for this little girl, this was the cruel reality. From now on, she had to go through life without her mother. Mommy was dead and she was never going to come back... and there was nothing she could do about it. Bayley looked up, tears dripping on the sheets.

The shadowy figure was still there, staring at her motionlessly.

'This is all your fault!' Bayley screamed with a shrill voice, her sadness turning into anger. 'Mommy is dead because of you! I hate you! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!'

But even the hateful words of the saddened little girl didn't do anything to get a response from the figure.

Just then, Bayley heard loud, rapid footsteps on the staircase and in the corridor. Her father was standing in the doorway with a startled look on his face.

'Bayley?! What's going on?!' he asked, alarmed by the cries of his daughter. Then he spotted the lifeless body of his wife. The shocked look on his face slowly turned into a sad one.

'Oh God... Oh no...' His voice had become much softer. He too realized that the woman he loved so much was no more.

Bayley's father got closer to the bed and lifted Bayley off from the bed, who was still crying hysterically.

'Daddy...' the little girl sobbed. 'It...' She wanted to point at the figure, but much to her shock... it was gone.

It had disappeared into thin air, as if it had never existed.

But how...?

'Sssh, it's alright baby...' her father whispered, holding his daughter in his arms. While he patted her head, tears started to emerge from the corner of his eyes. 'Mommy is in a better place now...'

Bayley buried her face against her father's shoulder, staining his shirt with her tears.

They only had each other from now on.