Of Things Read About and Dreamt

Posted by Madd_Fictional on

In spite of the pleasant weather forecast prediction, a rogue thunderstorm struck Friday evening, the likes of which had not been seen since the days of Noah and the flood, ruining the plans of revelers looking to get a headstart on their wild weekend festivities.

Titus Shelton’s plans hadn’t been affected by the unexpected downpour in the least, as he had always been a bit of a homebody. Even as a child, he was perfectly comfortable being alone with his books, preferring the company of fictional characters, and losing himself within their fantasy worlds. Sometimes, he would even combine the characters from different novels and create better stories and more exciting worlds within his own vivid imagination. And now, this weather, considered ghastly by most, provided him with the proper backdrop for a perfect evening spent at home.

Entering the spacious high-ceilinged living room decorated in dark wood furniture, Titus strode across the carpeted floor, past the curio filled with odd knick-knacks, and the baby grand piano, to the inlaid mahogany bookcase. Running a delicate finger across the numerous title-embossed leather spines, he made a selection, and carried it to his favorite seat, the plump armchair positioned closest to the fire burning in the hearth.

He loved this chair because it contoured to his shape, offering maximum comfort as he read, which he did this night until he dozed off, and as happened on many an occasion, he brought aspects of the novel with him into dreamland. This particular book had been a gothic horror tale about an ancient nocturnal creature who feasted on the evil that existed in every human being since the original sin was committed. In the dream, he was alone in a dark, foggy petrified forest, being chased by a figure he could not see clearly, who traveled from shadow to shadow. Through dream logic, he knew his only hope was to reach a well-lit area, for the illumination would have provided a barrier against the darkness. But the creature was gaining ground…

There was a noise.

Titus woke abruptly, confused. Was the noise a part of his dream, or had it come from within the house? He pricked his ears, listening in silence for the noise to sound again. Nothing. When he tried to move his head, to verify that he was alone in the room, Titus discovered he was locked in a sleep paralysis.

The noise again! A scritchy-scratchy sound, like nails clawing at the inside of a coffin lid. Something was definitely inside his house…and it was coming for him! Rationality abandoned him as his mind, overtaken by his imagination, grasped at straws. He wondered if the book he was reading contained some sort of incantation and had he unknowingly summoned something from an ancient dark realm? And, in dreaming it into existence, had he brought this nightmare into the waking world?

Titus looked at the burning logs in the fireplace. Surely they cast enough light to keep him safe within, he thought. But the security of that thought was short-lived, for a fog impossibly began to roll into the living room, and when it touched the logs, the flames dimmed. Then, the temperature in the room dropped drastically, becoming so cold that he saw the condensation of his breath that was coming in frantic little gasps.

Although he could not see behind him, Titus imagined a creature slinking from shadow to shadow, drawing closer and closer…

He struggled in his mind, his brain commanding his body to stand up and flee to the safety of a place filled with light, but nothing moved, not even a pinky. He was still in the thrall of the paralysis, still locked to his favorite armchair.

More scratching noises, this time closer, and the cold air filled with a hot, sickly sweet, fragrant cloud of burning sulfur that singed the edges of his nostrils.

From the corner of his eye, he detected movement! Impossibly long white fingers crawled in a spider motion across his shoulders, and he felt a mouth crowded with sharp teeth kiss the tender flesh of his exposed neck.

“Oh, it’s you, Mother,” Titus breathed a sigh of relief, as the sleep paralysis finally loosened its grip. “Welcome home.”

©2021 Rhyan Scorpio-Rhys

7 responses to “Of Things Read About and Dreamt”

  2. Mother know best! This line always provokes an eerie image. Just as your story has. The suspense is built up well and the book, dream, and house come together as a dark realm that is either here, there, or everywhere. Even at the end, when the mother is revealed, I still wonder if the horror will continue. Maybe mothers evoke a certain terror inside all children (and adults). Your ideas and implementation are very diverse and wonderful. Please keep them coming. 🙂

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    • The very concept of a ‘Mother” can be a frightening can of worms to open. We’re indoctrinated from a young age to view mothers as protectors, teachers, and bearers of unconditional love.

      But mothers are human, which means they can be unpredictable, have a history of violence, frequently display irrationality, be controlling and manipulative, have a default attitude of anger, have undiagnosed mental health issues, use guile, guilt, or intimidation to get their way, and the list goes on. All of which makes for interesting character development.

      The fascinating thing about a child who grows up in a household run by a mother who exists outside the confines of the idealized vision of motherhood, is that they think the odd way they’re being raised is normal.

      So, what does that say about Titus himself? Is he normal? Is he even a reliable narrator with that vivid imagination of his? Food for thought.

      Again, your kindness knows no bounds. I thank you for your continuous praise.

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      • Exactly. When one knows no better or worse, the prevailing conditions and surroundings are apparently normal.
        Isn’t that a scary thought?
        My normal may be your abnormal, and your normal may not even be documented as yet. 🙂
        Titus is a character who is living in physical containment, but his mind is free to roam wherever. His reliability is limited to his circumstances and environment.
        Now this is the making of a suspenseful continuation. Do consider it.

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      • The truth of the matter is that there is no true normal, and most of us strive to achieve or at least give the appearance of achieving these society-approved benchmarks in an effort to fit in. And it shouldn’t really matter what our different normals are as long as those normals lead us to doing no harm to each other or the world in which we live.

        Titus lives in his luddite version of virtual reality, which his mother may, or may not, be feeding in to, perhaps to protect him from the world that exists outside his home, as we have no clue from the story, as presented, the rules of the universe in which this story exists. He might turn out to be a deranged mama’s boy psycho killer, or the hopeless dreamer who will bring about the change needed to save a society in decay.

        The possibilities are endless.

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