Eldritch

Sleeping On the Ceiling

It took a long time for Ana to get to sleep.

She was, after all, on the ceiling.

Her sister had dared her to do it, claiming that she had done it before. Ana didn't think she was telling the truth. But she fell asleep anyway.

Getting up was fun, letting herself fall but not hit the floor, buoying herself up on the phantom breeze she had conjured. Without touching the floor, she floated around the room to find her sister.

Sofia was easy to find. She was where she normally was, doodling on her desk, but the Guardian stopped Ana from approaching her.

"ɃȐɘͣɐꝁꝼӓş𝔱 Ɨʂ ȑɇɐɗƴ" the Guardian said, laying a smoky claw on Ana's shoulder. Ana brushed it off, ignoring the large black handprint staining her shirt. She had learned long ago that it would never come out.

"I'll tell Sofia," Ana replied, floating into her sister's room. As usual, she was drawing on her desk, the cheery yellow wood marred by her satanic drawing. "The Guardian says breakfast is ready."

Sofia's head turned 180 degrees, red eyes settling on Ana. "What'd they make?"

Ana shrugged, slowly flipping herself upside down. "I slept on the ceiling."

Sofia nodded, finishing off her drawing with a pentagram branded onto a goat skull's forehead. "It was fun, wasn't it?"

Ana shrugged again, walking on the ceiling out of the room. "It was okay. Come on."

Sofia got up and started walking. Ana sped up, beating her to the kitchen. "Fine," Sofia sighed, defeated. They both started eating, ignoring the all-seeing eye that the Guardian morphed into sometimes when he didn't want to speak to anyone. They finished eating and retreated to the living room, which had high walls perfect for seeing who could scare each other the most.