Come As You Are
Evan desperately wanted to get out.
They shut him in here with all of the animatronics and their parts. It was dark and he couldn't see. He was scared.
Why?
Why couldn't they understand that he was scared of the animatronics? Why couldn't they just leave him be?
Evan continued to beg and plead to anyone outside to please just let him out.
Please…
"Please, what?" a voice asks. Evan froze. The voice wasn't coming from outside.
Someone was here with him.
Evan remained silent, his anxiety spiking to new levels. It felt like his heart was going to beat out of his chest. The voice spoke again, calm and reassuring.
"There's no reason to be afraid of me. I won't hurt you." Evan couldn't make himself believe it. How long were they in here? Why did they only wait until now to speak? The voice speaks again. "Why are those other children always so mean to you?" Now, Evan paused. No one had ever asked him something like this before; no one had ever cared.
"Be-because I'm scared of the animatronics…they call me a crybaby…"
"That's not very kind of them to do. Everyone's scared of something; people shouldn't make fun of others for that." Evan nodded in agreement. "Why did they lock you in here?"
"They said i-it was to help me g-get over my fear…"
"That seems counterintuitive." Evan didn't know what that word meant, but he decided not to ask. "Locking you in a dark room with the animatronics that you're scared of is only going to make you even more scared."
"I…I don't think that they're actually trying to help me…"
"No, they most definitely are not. Why do you hang around them? Do you not have a choice?" Evan felt his lip tremble and tears start to leak from his eyes again.
"No. They make me come here! I tell them I don't want to go, but they don't care! Now they're making me have my birthday party here and I don't want to!" Evan couldn't help but shout; he was so angry and hurt by his father's and brother's actions. Why couldn't they just understand…
"Who's they?"
"My father and brother…" Evan answered bitterly. "My dad is one of the guys who owns this place, so he just decided to have my party here. Because it's easier. And both him and Michael have invited a bunch of kids that I'm not even friends with to come and it's just not fair!" Evan began to cry again, his frustration and anxiety reaching a tipping point. The voice remained quiet until he had calmed once more.
"Do you have any friends of your own? At all?"
"…Just my stuffed animals…" Evan sniffled; he was hesitant to give his answer; most people he talked about this with would immediately make fun of him for it.
"What are they like?" The question gave Evan a light and pleasant feeling in his chest. It seemed like the voice actually cared! Evan went onto explain who all his stuffed animals were, as well as the many facets of their personalities. The voice would listen mostly but would occasionally chime in with another question or two.
It felt…good…to be listened to. He decided that he liked this person, whoever they were. They had been the first person in a long time to be really nice to him…
"Hey," Evan began, "Will you be my friend?"
"Sure!" the voice answered, "Although I don't know how much fun I will be. And I also can't be around very often. Today was just one of the few days that I happened to be here." Evan nodded and smiled.
"That's okay! We can still hang out whenever you can! And maybe one day, you can come over to my house to play!" Evan paused for a second, before reconsidering, "On second thought, maybe we should play at your house." The voice laughed; it was rich and melodic, like a song.
"Is it that bad at your house?" Evan gave a fervent nod.
"Yes! We'd probably have Michael trying to scare us all the time! Or we'd have to be super quiet so that we don't make Dad mad! It wouldn't be any fun at all!" The voice laughed again.
"That does indeed sound like it wouldn't be fun…" A beat of silence passed, before the voice spoke up again, more solemnly this time. "Do you love your family?"
"Yes." Evan was surprised by how quickly he answered. Even though they were mean to him, he still loved his family.
"Do you think your family loves you?" Now, Evan hesitated. Did they?
"I-I'm not sure. I think so. I don't know…" Michael had not always been so cruel to him and even Dad was nice to him from time to time. He was the one that gave Evan his stuffed animals…
"I am so sorry that's the case. A child should never have to question if their family loves them." The voice sounded frustrated "If you care about someone, you should make sure they know it. People's lives are too short. You never know how much longer you might have with someone…" Evan felt moved by the voice's words, although he did not know why. He was about to ask what the voice meant by that, when Evan heard someone outside the door.
"I hear a voice from inside! Hello? Is someone in here?" It was Uncle Henry! Evan was so relieved that he started crying again.
"Uncle Henry! It's me, Evan! I was locked in here!" Evan was finally going to get out!
"Jeez, kid! How long have you been in there? Let me get you out…" Evan heard the jingling of some keys, and then not too long after, the door was open. Evan immediately gave Henry a hug but stopped shortly after when he saw his dad just a little way behind them. Evan's dad always got mad whenever they got along with Uncle Henry; Evan had no clue as to why that was. Evan was about to walk away when he remembered the voice.
"Ah! There was someone else in there!" Evan turns and heads back inside the spare parts room. Using the light from the outside room, he looks around for his new friend.
But no one was there.
