Full Story
You there. Yes, you. The one reading this. Allow me to introduce someone. It’s a boy with messy and wavy blonde hair and big smile. Not that he’s smiling now but… He is in his room playing with plastic dinosaurs over the carpet. He adores his dinosaurs. I’ll let you in on a secret; his favorite dinosaur is the stegosaurus. But he doesn’t seem as excited as he normally is. I think I know why… You see this boy was bullied at school today. He was denied the right to play in the park and then his classmates threw rocks at him.
His parents don’t know about the bruises on his back. It’s night already and he’s going to sleep. He’s quite tired after all. He’s crying over his Dino plushies. Poor thing. Poor miserable thing. I shouldn’t say that — It’s quite tragic, this boy. His name is Samuel, a not so fortunate boy who comes from a fortunate family. Mother and Father treasure him very much, but the wheel of fortune has chosen a bad turn for little Sam.
Unbeknownst to him, today is the day his life ends.
You and I know this but little Sam, playing alone at half mast, does not. I’m not quite sure how or when it will happen, but it will. Now, don’t look at me with disdain, although in a different manner, I am just as powerless as you. You see, I’m sure you have a good head on your shoulders and if it were up to you, you could probably save this child. But you can’t. And unlike you, I can intervene… but I’m not sure to what end.
I’m certain it would be best for the two of us to watch this catastrophe in silence. Or would you like me to help little Sam survive? The prospect of hope is what drives all things forward after all. Should I not let him die? Hmm. Very well then, I’ll wake him.
“Mum?” No Sam, I’m not your mum. He begins to freak out at my sight. Perhaps I should have clarified some things to you, listener, before going on with this plan of ours. You see, I’m not a very pleasant being to look at. I could easily be described by the world Devil, although I’m certainly not that. My face is that of the skull of a goat and my horns carry mischief. The fire in my eyes is that of hell and my cloak is darkness. My name is Capgras, little Sam, and I assure you that you are important to me.
Here, have another dinosaur. I flick my bony fingers and like a magician, spawn another plushie. Your mum and dad are not here Sam. They have disappeared.
“What? But I want my mummy!!” He tells me. Well, if she’s not here, we can look for her! I’ll help you get around this place. Sam looks around and realizes that since his parents had vanished that was also no longer his house. Aside from the bed with Dino sheets, he found that he was inside a grotto with light coming from the holes in the stone ceiling. The grass was pink, and the water was a nice, clear cyan.
“Where am I?” Be brave little Sam, be brave. I know this place like the doorway to hell. And I can tell you that in this grotto, rests two monsters. One took your mother, the other your father. If we want to recover your parents, we must defeat them!
“But how?” Good question. I know for a fact that there is weapon capable of cutting through any evil! It’s in this place too. Sam and I are decided, and we walk through the small bits of land withing that luscious cavern. At the end of the cavern was a dark staircase leading deeper down. The steps are made out of wood but there are hundreds of green arrows painted onto them. All of them pointing towards the top, where Sam and I are. My demonic self-standing behind the boy, accused by the stairs.
You are not alone, my boy, go in.
I whisper that in his ear, and we descend together. As we do so, the arrows shift as if they must at all times point at him. I wonder what he was being accused of. And by who, exactly? Inside the concrete basement of the grotto there was a blue door. At that door’s surface, were the hands of a clock but the numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 were missing.
This is problematic, Sam. The weapon is just behind this door, but it seems locked by some kind of enigma. I believe we must solve this charade to move forward. Sam crosses his arms, deep in logical processing. He looks down and by the toenails of the door, he found the missing numbers.
“I got it!” He begins putting the gold pieces in their places and completes the clock. The door seamlessly turns into curtains, allowing us to pass through. “That was very easy!” Incredible little Sam, an outstanding move. “I know, I’m smart.” Indeed, you are.
We cross the curtains and enter a cinema theather. All the rows were empty and from the looks of it, the movie was about to begin. Sam and I hurry to the seats on D13 and seat down. It pains me to admit it, but given my large size, I had to take seats D11 and twelve.
“Where is the weapon, Capgras?”
It must have been here somewhere. Did I miss something?
The movie starts and it was black, white, and silent. It showed a ballerina standing with her back to a massive wall. She was dancing elegantly to her own rhythm. Once the camera did a close up shot it was possible to engrave her facial features into your memory. She had the face of a doll but there was a nasty nosebleed. Her eyes were made up of rings within rings, forever deep. Even thought it was black and white, I knew her rings were golden, and her hair was red like the blood from her nostrils.
And even though it was mute, Sam heard her speak as she mouthed the words:
His gun is love soaked.
That which is broken can
only pretend to be whole.
You must never leave it, Samuel.
After hearing what she had to say, I admit to being somewhat lost. After all those words weren’t meant for me, they were meant for Sam. He seemed oddly cooperative and understanding of her. The camera panned out and many swords were seen on the wall, radiating like the feathers of a peacock behind her.
Little Sam, we have another hurdle. How do we know, which sword is the correct one? They have so intricate designs and shapes. If we are lured astray, we may pick a weapon incapable of slaying the beasts that took your parents! We must choose carefully!
“I don’t know…” He leaned forward to spy on the correct sword.
“Hmm… Oh! That one!” I look back at the screen and trace his choice from the tip of his finger. After picking it, Sam realized that the sword was already going through his chest. Not in a violent way, it was simply there now. Post mild shock, he pulls the sword out of his chest as if nothing had happened. And in truth, nothing did happen.
It was a thick, cartoonish blade with a little stegosaurus at its hilt.
“This is the one!”
Splendid work! But how did you know?
“It’s gotta a Dino in it, so you know it’s good!”
Of course! I should’ve had more faith in you little Sam. Without a doubt, a sword chosen by you, had to be the right one! Let us be on our way now.
As we exit the cinema, I tell him that now that he has a weapon, he should not fear being accused by those stairs. Or by anyone, for that matter!
We take the stairs, but they continued to point at him.
“Hm… well I have a Dino sword and they don’t so!”
Well said little Sam, blowing raspberry at the stairs was a truly epic move.
We return to the pink and cyan grotto and make our way to the other end of the cave. It was time to find the monsters. Now I know what you might be thinking. But I wouldn’t imagine that a malevolent thing like me could be capable of charitable deeds. You don’t suppose that it is in the nature of fire to moisture its surroundings. Do you? Well, the plan remains the same, I’ll tell the boy how to defeat the monsters once we get closer.
“Capgras?”
Yes Sam?
“Do you like Dinosaurs?”
Hmm… I suppose I don’t dislike them…
“If you had Dino toys, would you play with them?”
I am not into toys as much as you are. But it is nice enough to know that you can be happy when you play with them yourself. That is all that should matter.
“That’s okay. My colleagues don’t like Dinosaurs either. Or toys. Or me. They hurt me instead of my toys, so I think that maybe they hate me more than they actually hate Dinos…”
That’s preposterous Sam! Why would they hate you? You’re just like them and I know you’ve done nothing wrong or deserving of wrath. Sam shrugged in silence.
“You don’t like those things either and even though you’re really ugly, you’re still nicer than them.”
I am humbled, Little Sam. You too are a very brave and kind boy.
“My mom says that too! She doesn’t like Dinos but she is a fan of foxes!”
Foxes are quite adorable. Sam, does your mother tell you how much she cherishes you?
“Cherish?”
Love.
“Like eight times a day!”
That is quite the amount. And your father?
“He likes bats. But he smokes a lot, so he stinks.”
That’s not what I meant.
“He likes me too. He always looks at me with big eyes.”
So, he never lets you out of his protective gaze. Those are good parents, Sam.
Listen up now, we’ve reached the end of the journey. Behind this gate we will find the monsters. But we are at, yet another crossroads. The bronze gate before us is locked by a green pad. How will we guess the correct four number combination?
“Hmm.” Sam puts his sword down to take a closer look at the pad. “Capgras?”
Yes?
“What’s written here?” He tries to show me the lock.
You don’t know how to decipher it?
“I’m not very good at it yet…”
I’m sure it will come to you in no time. Let me see.
It says the number of treasures you have. That should be a clue!
“What’s a treasure?”
A treasure is something incredible precious to you. Something that you adore with all your heart. It can be anything in the world as long as long as you love it. What do you treasure, little Sam?
“Friends…”
Oh. If that’s so… then put in the number of friends, you have. The first number he selected was zero. The second one was zero. The third one was zero. And the final one was three.
A combined total of three friends, little Sam?
“Mom and dad are my friends.”
Yes, they are, Sam. Your parents are your friends. But what about the third?
“It’s you!”
Oh, dear. Little Sam, you flatter me too much.
The bronze door shifts inwards, allowing passage beyond the grotto.
“You’re weird Capgras. But even if you don’t like Dinos, I am your friend. Because you’re weird like me. The other kids don’t take the same candies as I do. And they don’t go to same places I do. So, they make fun of me. And they hit me. But I know they’re jealous of my Dino collection. If they were nicer, I’d share with them. Maybe I need to be alone while the other kids play together. Mom and Dad said I shouldn’t care about them. But that’s really hard so I can’t do what they asked me to do. You think that’s why they left me?”
No… little Sam, I… don’t think that’s the case. You must never forget that their people who cherish you. I, for one, will always be in your corner.
“Ok… thanks Capgras.”
Heads up Sam. We have arrived. This is it. Our final destination. An endless plain of dusty soil. There was no grass and nothing else. And the sky was grey and somewhat cloudy. After we cross, the door disappeared behind us meaninglessly.
“Are those the monsters?”
I am afraid so. There were two beasts on that plain with us. The first was a large, blindfolded fox with human arms for paws and eight tentacles for a tail. The second was even larger than the fox. A bat of moss and ash, which crawled on its belly. It had three vertical eyes with a vicious gaze, far more violent than the ballerina.
Worry not, Sam. Our plan is fool proof! All you have to do is attack them with your sword. Go after one and I’ll distract the other. Have no mercy on them, remember that they were responsible for taking your parents from you!
Sam said something about taking his parents back home but at that point it was too late. Everything failed and collapsed, and we were more miserable than ever. Maybe it was my fault, I admit. Or maybe this is why we shouldn’t have gone through with this idea, listener. Before there is an enemy, there is a traitor. And before there is a traitor, there is a flaw. Now the flaw might just be life itself. An awful place where everyone and no one is to blame. At that point, what is one even supposed to do? Suffer?
“All done Capgras!”
Well, done Samuel. You’ve slain the monsters and freed your parents. I flick my fingers and whisk their bodies away. On that dirt plane was now a mound. And everywhere except the mound were an infinite number of thin white crosses. And on the mound, itself was a large tree. But the log and the roots were made of arms. The branches and leaves were made of forearms and hands and the fingers swayed.
With my shadow over him, the boy kneels before the tree and his tears flow naturally.
I wasn’t completely honest, but I did not lie about the end. The end of life.
And this is it, Samuel.
This is Hell.
Called by the sudden panic of the neighbors, the police had stormed the house. There was no signs of invasion. Upon reaching the master bedroom, the officers reported seeing the child in the middle of a traumatic stroke, twitching, foaming, and crying. Writhing himself against the two bloody bodies of his parents which he had stabbed a total of forty-seven times. No one knows what the cause of such a psychotic outburst was. The boy was taken to a psychiatric ward, in which he would remain until his 11 years of age, where he committed suicide.
