- You have to let me inside the room!
Clara couldn't open her eyes right away. The intrusive light was hitting her in the face. Then she barely got used to it and was able to open her eyelids. In front of her was a long and gray path. Her two daughters were standing in the middle of the crowd. However, they didn't look as friendly now as they had before. They seemed to be arguing about something. Clara noticed that there was only one darkness on the sides, which seemed to absorb everything around, slowly increasing and approaching the Aftons.
- No! - Naomi shouted. - Dad said not to approach her, so don't approach! Don't you understand?
Vision continued to clear. Clara looked around. Behind, the path disappeared into this terrible darkness.
- "Where am I?" - flashed through her mind.
Swallowing, Clara suppressed a slight twinge of fear. It's just a stupid dream. What could happen to her? Especially with her children. But why are they arguing?
- What's the worst that can happen?! I've been wanting to see her closer since yesterday! Imagine, you would like to see Bonnie so much, you would also go for such a thing!
Her? Who is her? Clara realized that there was something else ahead of the daughters. She took a closer look and was horrified, involuntarily taking a step back. In the distance, in the middle of the path, there was a creature. Something dark, with bright, blue pupils. Some details were clearly visible. This creature had two tails on its head, like a little girl. Like Naomi's. And there was a hole in her stomach filled with sharp fangs. Clara fell into a stupor. Elizabeth was definitely trying to argue with her sister in order to approach the creature, and it was unclear why she wanted to go to him so much. The daughter seemed to see something else, something beautiful and attractive, but Clara's inner voice suggested that this was a deception.
- Elizabeth, do you remember what happened to Ennard? What if someone was standing next to him? Someone could have been hurt! You don't know what Baby can do! Listen to me as a sister!
- "Run." - a spontaneous thought flashed through Clara's head like a bullet. - "We need to run, save daughters!"
Fear turned into panic.
- Elizabeth! Naomi! - she shouted to the children, but they did not even move, continuing to argue. They didn't hear or see their mom. It was as if she was a spectator who was watching some kind of horror movie and could not interact with the characters of the film in any way. Except it wasn't a movie, and there was nothing separating Clara from the children.
- Girls! Girls, do you hear?! Come to me, to your mommy!
Suddenly Elizabeth slapped Naomi on the cheek. She almost fell off her feet, but held on.
Something was definitely wrong. Time began to slow down, and the creature grinned. It was holding something in its hand. Now, the woman realized that it was this thing that attracted her daughter. Without thinking twice, Clara decided to run up to her daughters and grab them, hug them to her, but... She realized she couldn't take a step. Her body was paralyzed, even her fingers didn't want to move. She could only stand and watch.
- Yes, you and I are not even sisters at all, since you behave like this! My really own sister wouldn't behave like that!
- What? - Naomi said softly. In her voice there was trembling, pain, fear and disappointment in a loved one whom she believed.
- Step back, please! - the redhead said, pushing her sister aside.
- No! Elizabeth! Elizabeth, come back! - Clara shouted. She was still trying to move, but the attempts were in vain.
Elizabeth approached the creature. It shifted its gaze to her.
- Well, please! Stay near her as long as you want! Why did I bother with you at all?! - Naomi shouted and walked off into the darkness. She disappeared into it, and Elizabeth remained with the creature. And then the darkness began to consume them as well.
A child's laughter came from the darkness. Then there was silence and... Scream! Insanely loud, but very short. At the same moment it stopped. This scream deafened Clara. She fell to her knees and began to sob.
- "My daughter... Dead." - the terrible realization drove the woman crazy.
There was silence, and then... Then a child's laughter was heard. But not so cheerful and harmless. It was an evil child's laugh. Elizabeth was laughing. Clara raised her head and looked into the darkness, but saw nothing.
- It's not over yet... - Elizabeth said suddenly.
3 hours and 15 minutes
Clara jumped out of bed. She was about to scream, but covered her mouth with her hand. The overwhelming panic was still holding her down. The phrase Elizabeth said could be heard even now. But everything began to quiet down. Having calmed down a little, Clara lay down on the bed again.
- Just a dream. - she whispered to herself. - A nightmare. The fear that manifested itself in a dream.
She exhaled. Trying to collect her thoughts, she realized that her husband was not there. Only now, she heard a quiet hiss somewhere below. The fear was disappearing by the second. The light of logic penetrated into the clouded mind.
- My daughter is here with me, in this house. - Clara kept repeating the same thing to herself.
Then, she got out of bed and walked towards the stairs. She knew her husband was in the basement right now. It wasn't difficult to determine. With each step, the sound coming from there grew louder. The fear has almost completely disappeared. And yet...
Clara was stopped by maternal instinct. She decided to go up and check. The hand reached for the door. Softly opening it, Clara looked into the room. At the far end of it was a bed, in which a little girl was lying wrapped up. It was a great relief. There was a small bedside table to the right of the bed. There was a figure of a yellow dog standing on it, holding a miniature clock in its paws. They showed 3 hours 17 minutes. Elizabeth always wanted to have a puppy, but her parents thought she wouldn't be able to take care of the animal. There was an outlet nearby. A lamp in the form of a golden flower was stuck into it. There was also a window above the bed with golden flowers painted on the curtains. There was nothing else remarkable in the room, except for the trunk, which contained the girl's toys and some soft toys sitting next to her bed. And yet, Clara was glad that nothing had changed. Quietly closing the door, she moved on to the sound. Finally, the hiss led her to the basement stairs. This meant that the woman was not mistaken. Yawning, she began to descend. The basement smelled of burnt metal. When Clara finally descended, the light from the blowtorch hit her eyes. The figure holding the lamp in his hand did not even turn around.
- William? - Clara said this, covering her eyes with her hand.
The figure stopped. When the overwhelming light of the blowtorch disappeared, Clara was able to see an incomprehensible layout that looked like a bear. Next to the model sat her husband, whose face was wearing a mask. Soon, he removed it.
- Clara? What are you doing here, at this time of night? - the man was extremely surprised.
There were dark circles under William's eyes. This angered Clara. He didn't even think about sleeping, constantly immersed in his damned work! The wife somehow suppressed her anger.
- I'd like to ask you the same question. - crossing her arms over her chest, she replied.
The man got up and approached her.
- Honey, you know how important this is to me! A little more and...
- I don't want to hear anything! Firstly, you can wake up the children with your noise. Secondly, how much longer are you going to stay here?
- Clara, I'm...
- We're going to bed, William... It's for your own good. You can finish your work tomorrow. - the woman was stubborn.
The man walked away from her. It was obvious that he was upset. Then, he walked over to the toolbox and put the blowtorch in there. At the end, William approached the switch and the dim light of the bulb in the basement went out. He went back to Clara.
- Okay. But only for you and the kids. - William said.
Clara nodded. And together they began to climb up.
3 hours and 30 minutes
William couldn't sleep. He was constantly thinking about his invention. Of course, he knew that without sleep he would not be able to continue working. And yet... Schemes and plans were constantly spinning in his head.
The soft breathing of his wife distracted William from his thoughts. He turned to Clara. William took hold of the edge of the blanket and pulled it over his wife. Then, he leaned over to kiss her softly on the cheek. He hugged Clara and fell asleep, going into the boundless world of dreams.
June 14, 2016
7 hours and 5 minutes
William was woken up by an alarm clock and an annoying light beating through the curtain. It was not so easy to open eyes. Head felt terribly heavy, as if lead had been poured into it.
- Yeah... - William mumbled. - I really should sleep more often.
Opening his eyelids with difficulty, he discovered that Clara was not there. She woke up before him again and was cooking porridge in the kitchen. As soon as he got out of bed, he went to the closet opposite. The man found nothing new in it. Just T-shirts and pants, and a couple of business suits. This wardrobe was enough for him. Wearing his favorite purple T-shirt and black pants, William went to the bathroom to wash and shave. When the man finished all his business in the bathroom, he immediately went to the kitchen. The heaviness in his head disappeared, and William was in a good mood.
- Perhaps today I will finish the work. - he said to himself.
Entering the kitchen, William looked around. There was no one here except his wife, who was standing by the stove and cooking porridge. Clara had her back to him.
- Good morning, Clara! - William said.
The woman turned around. A smile shone on her face.
- William! You look much better today than yesterday!
Clara came up to him and kissed him gently on the cheek. The man smiled and hugged her.
- Where are the others? - looking around again, the man asked.
- They sleep soundly. - the woman replied.
9 o'clock
The whole family had already had breakfast, the mother went to work, the father sat in the workshop and finished his work, Michael went for a walk with his friends, and the kids stayed at home. But they weren't idle either. Naomi was sitting on the living room rug and playing. At first, her sister and brother played with her, but Elizabeth said that she remembered about one unfinished business and went to her room. Chris stayed to play with her, but he decided to get his toys, so he went upstairs. When he came out of his room and passed by the red-haired girl's room, the door opened softly. The boy did not understand anything at first, and when he wanted to ask if everything was all right with Elizabeth, he was suddenly grabbed and dragged into the room. The door closed just as softly.
- Let me go! - Chris shouted. - I don't want to die!
- Calm down, I'm not going to kill you right now! - his younger sister shushed him.
- Elizabeth? - Chris began to calm down.
- And who did you want to see, the undertaker? Be quiet, otherwise Naomi will hear us. - Elizabeth asked again.
She was still holding her brother by the scruff of the neck. When he calmed down, she threw him to the floor.
- What happened? - Chris asked his sister, rubbing his bruised forehead.
- Do you remember what day tomorrow is? - the red-haired girl answered the question with a question.
- Of course! Tomorrow is Naomi's birthday! - the older brother did not understand.
- Well, there! We need to prepare a gift for her! - Elizabeth was angry.
- We can do this a little later...
- No, we can't! We won't have time! Or have you figured out what you're going to give her? - sister was completely angry.
- Well, I don't know... - brother hesitated. - Probably some doll...
- That's not it! - Elizabeth exclaimed.
- Or a stuffed rabbit!
- No, that's not it either! - the girl persisted.
- And what will you give her? - Chris decided to ask.
- I do not know... - she finally calmed down. - I want the gift to be shared. That is, from the two of us!
- And what will we give her?
- We need to think...
The brother and sister started thinking to give them to another sister. This silence lasted about five minutes, and was interrupted only by sounds from the workshop. Suddenly, a smile shone on Elizabeth's face.
- I know! - suddenly she exclaimed.
- What? - Chris asked.
- We'll give her a music box!
- Hmm... And what, a good idea! But where will we find the box?
- I saw a small kiosk, where they sold all sorts of trinkets, including jewelry boxes! - Elizabeth replied.
- Do you have any money? - blue-eyed asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
- We can ask dad. Still a good reason! - said the girl.
- Let's try it... - Chris agreed.
9 hours 10 minutes
William wiped the sweat dripping from his forehead. Finally, he redesigned the mechanism behind the new circuit. Now it was necessary to test it for operability. The man picked up the small control panel again and dialed the necessary combination. The signal should have reached in a few seconds. Nothing happened... William exhaled and dialed the combination again. Nothing again... Then, an irritated man came up to the table and grabbed the diagram.
- What's wrong with you?! - he exclaimed.
He looked at the diagram for a few minutes and suddenly noticed something strange. Looking closely, he saw that one of the mechanisms in the diagram is located so that its base overlaps the other, and that one is another and... Finally, he understood!
- Of course! - the man exclaimed again, but this time joyfully.
William drew this part of the diagram yesterday, when his eyes involuntarily closed from lack of sleep. That's why he was so blind! Clara, oh, how grateful he is to her! If she hadn't come to him that night, he would still be sitting here, unable to see the obvious thing. Joyful, William took up a screwdriver and began to fully unwind the mask parts. Then, he took the missing tools and began to correct the error. And he will have to fix a lot...
- Dad? - Chris's voice was heard.
William, who did not expect the children to come to him, turned around and saw Chris and Elizabeth in the doorway.
- Dad, are we bothering you? - Chris asked.
- Oh, no, no, come in! - William replied.
Elizabeth went first, and then Chris. Finally, they approached their father.
- Is something wrong? - the man asked.
- Actually, yes... - Chris replied.
- Tomorrow is Naomi's birthday and we want to give her a music box, and I saw a kiosk nearby that sold these very boxes! Dad, can you give us some money, please? - the daughter explained everything and looked at her father.
For about five seconds, William stood in a stupor and looked at the children, processing all the information that Elizabeth had given him. Finally it dawned on him.
- Is this kiosk nearby? - he asked.
- Yes. - the girl answered.
- And you want to buy a box for Naomi there?
- Ple-e-e-e-e-ease! - the children said in chorus, putting their hands together and moving them a little, as if they were praying and making puppy eyes to such an extent that it seemed they were going to cry.
William hated it when kids did that, because it was his weakness. He just can't refuse them in such situations.
- Okay... - William couldn't stand it.
- Hurray! - the children shouted in chorus again.
A smile appeared on dad's face.
- How much are these boxes worth at least?
- Oh... I don't know... - Elizabeth hesitated.
William left the workshop and went to his bag. The children followed him all the time. The man took out his wallet and pulled out two $1 bills.
- If it's not enough, I'll give you more. - William said.
- Thank you! - the children answered and went to the exit.
William returned to his work.
Surprisingly, Naomi was not in the living room. But the toys haven't gone away.
- She must have gone to her room. - Chris suggested.
- What if she heard our conversation?! - the girl panicked.
- Calm down, she didn't hear us...
- Are you sure?
- Yeah-yeah...
Elizabeth stuffed the money into the pocket of her skirt, and Chris opened the door. Finally they went outside.
- Well, take me to this kiosk. - the older brother turned to his sister.
9 hours and 15 minutes
The children had to run through two roads. And now they are standing in front of the doors of this kiosk. It was a small building made of wood, on which there was a sign with the inscription: "Kiosk with miracles." Through the large windows, you could see the counter, on which there were all sorts of things: photo frames, door handles, flower pots, including jewelry boxes. The children went inside. The bell that hung near the door rang, notifying the owner that visitors had come to them. A young guy immediately approached the cash register, who came out of some door, apparently his room.
- Wow, who is it that has come to us! - seeing the children, the guy grinned.
Philip Thompson is a young guy who has his own kiosk, which brings him good money. He is 25 years old. He has pale skin, red hair, snow-white bangs, blue eyes, a light green-yellow cap and a white shirt with a black tie. He has a light blue soul of Tolerance.
- Hello! - the little Aftons greeted.
- What did such little kids want to buy?
- Tell me, please, do you have any music boxes? - Elizabeth asked.
- Of course! Here they are! - he pointed to a shelf behind him, on which there were a bunch of various boxes.
- And what is your name? - Chris asked.
- Philip. Phil Thompson. - the seller gave his name. - What's your name?
- I'm Elizabeth, this is my brother Chris. - Elizabeth replied.
- Elizabeth, then... Beautiful name. - Phil complimented.
The redhead blushed a little, but thanked him.
- And which one should we take? - Chris asked, looking at the shelf with the boxes.
- Which one do you want? - the salesman asked them.
- Our sister's birthday is tomorrow, she loves to play guitar and loves ballet! - the red-haired woman told.
- And she also loves hares and purple! - Chris added.
- And strawberries! - the redhead added.
- Hmm... - the seller began to think. - I have one suitable.
He took one of the boxes from the shelf. It was purple in color with various beautiful patterns. In addition to the patterns on the box, the faces of bunnies were painted. He opened the box and a melody rang out all over the kiosk. The children immediately recognized the melody. It was the melody of "Fur Elise" by Ludwig Van Beethoven. Only it was a version of the music box. There was a place in the box where you could put all sorts of jewelry, for example. In the middle stood a small figure of a ballerina. Well, as she stood. It was spinning clockwise. The ballerina was very beautiful and stood in some kind of pose. She raised her arms up and one left leg and bent it. Inside the box was painted with strawberries and in some places there was even a guitar painted. All favorite things in one.
- Yes, she's perfect! - Elizabeth exclaimed with delight. - What do you think, Chris?
- She was just created to be a gift for Naomi! - Chris was surprised.
- How much is this box worth? - Elizabeth looked up at the salesman.
- How many do you have? - Phil grinned.
Elizabeth pulled both bills out of her pocket
- Well, fortunately for you, I'm kind today, so I'll take half of your money. And to be honest, this box is much more expensive. - the seller answered and took one bill.
- So why don't you charge us what this box is worth? - Chris asked.
- I just liked your little sister. - Phil looked at Elizabeth and replied.
- I think we should get out of here as soon as possible... - Chris whispered.
- Don't be afraid, I won't do anything to you. - the seller laughed.
- Well, well... - the girl looked suspiciously at the guy.
- Is there anything else you need? - Phil asked.
- Thanks, but we don't need anything else. - Elizabeth answered with a polite, barely forced smile on her face, and the children went to the exit.
9 hours and 30 minutes
When the children came home, they found no one on the ground floor. The house was quiet, except for the sounds from the workshop. Naomi was in her room. Elizabeth put the remaining money back into dad's wallet.
- We need to hide this box. - the girl said in a whisper, afraid that she would be heard.
- Come to my room in my closet! There are a lot of clothes, and I don't think Naomi will rummage through my things trying to find her gift. - Chris suggested.
- Okay. - Elizabeth gave the box to Chris, and he ran to hide it.
Soon Naomi asked her sister and brother where they had been, and they replied that it was a secret. They said she would find out about it tomorrow. Naomi didn't ask any more questions about it, and the children continued to play. She'll find out soon enough.