The Never Beginnings

Chapter 6: Shadows and Stitches

Wendy had only gotten half way through her story when Nana had dictated that it was time for bed. As Wendy got up off the window seat, she felt an odd chill. Thinking it was just the night air she turned around and closed the window, but didn't lock it. She then proceeded to get ready for bed, brushing her hair, kissing her mother goodnight and crawling underneath the bed covers.

Drifting off to sleep, Wendy still couldn't shake the odd feeling she'd had. Somewhere between dreams, the feeling came back.

..............................................

Wendy opened her blue eyes and was met by a pair of very surprised green eyes. She gasped. The eyes flew back and hit the ceiling. Wendy bolted up in bed and stared up at them. As she peered closer she realized that, the eyes she had seen were in fact attached to a body. A boy to be precise. The boy continued to stare frozen in place.

Wendy tilted her head. This didn't make any sense! How was he on the ceiling? Not to mention, why was there a boy there at all?

She didn't get a chance to figure that out because Nana, who was not asleep, started to growl at the uninvited guest. The boy took one look at the menacing nurse maid and decided that it was time for him to make an exit.

Nana had other ideas. She leapt up from her rug and started to chase the boy around the room. Wendy watched with wide eyes as the boy seemed to fly around trying to escape. He leapt over the dresser on the far side of the room, and then proceeded to race across the ceiling. Nana in her haste to catch the boy, jumped over Wendy, knocking her to the ground.

Slightly disoriented from the unexpected movement, Wendy shook her head and tried to quickly untangle herself. Through the tangled mess of sheets, she managed to see Nana pounce on the boy. But, instead of landing on him, she landed on his shadow on the nursery floor.

The boy, who was in midair, came to an abrupt halt. There was a slight ripping sound, as though someone was tearing a piece of fabric. Then with one mighty tug the boy was set free and with a small yelp, out the window.

Wendy rushed up to the window and looked out. The boy was gone! She looked up, down, left, and right, but there was no one outside. She shook her head and stepped back into the room. Maybe there wasn't a boy at all; maybe it was all a very peculiar dream.

Wendy was brought out of her thoughts with a nudge from Nana. She placed her hand on Nana's soft head and began scratching.

"Oh, Nana. What am I to do? I am having dreams of flying boys sneaking into the nursery! Surely that can't be a good thing. But... it was so real, how could it have been a dream? You even knocked me out of my bed which should have woken me up. Then again, John and Michael didn't wake up with all the noise. So, was it a dream?"

Wendy wondered off and started to collect the fallen bed linens and she continued to muse.

"But the most peculiar thing was the eyes. Oh Nana! They were wonderful! I felt them looking back at me! They had to have been rea..." Wendy paused as she looked at Nana. Some sort of blackish cloth hung from her mouth.

"What have you got there, old girl? Is it one of my stockings? I shall be very cross with you if there are tooth marks in them." Wendy stretched her hand out to grab the cloth from Nana, but gasped when she touched it. It did not feel like one of her stockings. In fact Wendy was sure she had never felt anything like it at all.

Cautiously, she reached out again to finger the strange material. It was cool to the touch, like a crisp autumn wind. It was softer than silk. Like...running your fingers over the surface of water. The material was lighter than any she had come in contact with before. It weighed practically nothing. Wendy guessed that if Nana wasn't holding onto it, it would have floated away on the night breeze like a leaf.