"Reality is a selfish dream."

The snow blankets the endless night, the little flakes resting on the hard, cold earth. A squeal of delight breaks the silence and loneliness of the dark. The child scoops up a small mound of soft snow and marvels innocently at the flakes, resting upon her mitten gloves. She giggles and dusts the snow off, leaving a damp and cool sensation on her hands that she adores so. She wanders off into the village square, leaving the warmth of her home behind. Surprisingly, her parents do not rush out into the bitter cold, to call anxiously for her name, nor restrains her curiosity with vaulting care, whispering words that a parent can only say to her daughter for being disobedient. Not tonight.

The girl, wrapped up like some ridiculous dumpling, ambles her way to the deserted square. Most people have moved into their homes to escape the winter night. How foolish of them! The fountain, encrusted with icicles, its water long frozen, stands still, the worn stone as if inviting the girl's touch. And she does, exploring the ice-free areas with glee. Breaking off one of the icicles, she crushes the fragile precipitation under her hands, savouring the crumbling feeling. For her, this is the personal heaven she has been looking for, even if it is in the pitch black night and the wet snow.

"Going somewhere?" a deep, baritone voice asks, shocking her. She takes an impulsive step forward, slipping on a piece of ice. Landing on her back, she feels a sharp concussion, followed by stinging pain. Wincing she, tries to get up, but fails miserably, falling on the tiled floor once more. Before she can even utter a cry of frustration, she feels her thin bodice being swept up by gentle hands. Getting up, she turns to face the stranger, whose face is shrouded in jealous night.

"I…do I know you?" she inquires, her cyan eyes peering into the strangers face, as if trying to make out its expression.

Wordlessly, the stranger reaches out with his hands, stroking her hair, running them the honeysuckled wonder.

"What is a girl of this age doing here? There might monsters around!"

"I'm not scared," the girl answers defiantly, inciting a chuckle from the stranger. The cold gust blows by, whipping the girl's and the strangers' curly, short hair up. The girl seems to catch a small whiff of a metallic, salty blood in the wind…but shrugs that away, as she turn to face the strange man with cold but gentle hands.

"I should be going. My parents will be worried," she says sweetly.

"Of course. Run along, and don't get lost, or you might be eaten…" the man trails off. Softly sweeping her hand over the girl's red, blood-flushed cheeks, he sweeps off into the dark night once more, leaving the girl alone once more.

"I'll just be around the corner, if you ever want me," he whispers the words, carried by the night into the girl's ears.

Confused, yet curious towards this unexpected encounter, the girl hurries off into the night once more, running with lonely but sure steps, to the embrace of darkness once more.

Weaving through the streets, she reaches home in a few minutes, and discovers the door has been left mysteriously ajar.

"Eh?"

She steps cautiously into the dimly lit porch, careful not to awake her parents which would normally be their dreams by now. Taking off her shoes and socks, she tiptoes across the living room, up the stairs and to the corridor. As she walks nimbly across the wooden floor, she notices a familiar sensation, only that it is on her feet and feels very warm and fresh…

The girl looks down and sees dark, red blood.

Screaming, as slips onto the floor, dampening her sweaters that she has not taken off with the horrific liquid. Her breathing becomes erratic, drawing in sharp breaths. Her mind is in shock and fear. Managing to pick herself up, she walks across the corridor, the legs trembling madly as she takes a reluctant step to her parents' bedroom. Then another. The tension builds as she closes in on the door, the blood still seeping through the gap ever so slowly, staining the ground with horrible truth…

She reaches the door.

Her hands shake uncontrollably, as she reaches for the doorknob. She is scared, so scared of hat she will see, but she must, and as the door creaks open, her fears are confirmed…

Her parents lay in a pool of fresh blood, fear and horror written on their faces in an eternal scream. Their throats were literally ripped apart, showing flesh and bone. Their clothes are torn, and the girl can see, through, the mangled states their torsos are in. The blood is nearly splattered across the entire room, covering the gilded mirror and the windows. It is still snowing outside.

The girl breaks down completely, crumbling down to a heap on the floor. She doesn't care if the blood stains her anymore. She cries for her parents. For the horror of it all. She cannot bear to look at their miserable sights anymore, and tries to stumble out of the room. But she slips again, and sees message written in blood, across the floor.

"My love will kill you…"

Oh yes, my dear. I'll just be around the corner, waiting for you.