Crazy

The darkness of the night stretched its weary tendrils through the once blue sky. The shining, burning sun had moved out of sight. The warm air flowing through the Earth lowered its comfort to the touch. The air was now cold, dropping in temperature further. The area was darkening. Stars began to sprinkle the sky like never ending sparkles. Glistening. Below the stars, houses stretched through the uneven terrain. Rough mountains reached for the sky, little dips between a few mountains created openings for buildings to sit. The houses remained close together, the roads smooth and paved. A city had been built. Within that city; inside a small house, a young child lived. The house sat along the edge of the large town. The walls were brick, the roof made of dark wood. Bushes and shrubs lined the outside of the calm haven. It was quite a beautiful sight, especially during the daytime.

The child inside had been consumed by the darkness of the night. Although, instead of being frightened by the dark, he was intrigued. The eerie, cold sense of the dark fascinated the young boy. His eyes inspected every inch of his room, unable to decipher which object was which. He sat upon his bed, staring out of his window and inspecting the dark sky. His jet black hair fell over his face, his electric blue eyes focused. The child was around ten years old, wearing matching Star Wars pajamas. His little legs kicked back and forth against his knowledge. Unlike most children, he was not bothered by the fear of a monster under his bed that could grab at his ankles any second. The thought did the opposite for the boy, the idea of a monster under his bed spiked curiosity. His head bowed down, staring at the crack beneath his bed intently. His door made a small creak, the lamp on his dresser clicking on and the room illuminating. His eyes darted to the door, spotting a woman standing against the doorframe with her arms crossed. The woman dressed in a light blue sweater, along with dark blue jeans that hugged her legs tightly, and light brown boots.

“Bedtime, little one,” she spoke in a timid voice, her chestnut brown hair flowing down her back in waves.

“Come on mommy! Ten more minutes, please?” the young boy begged, looking up at the woman, his mother, pleadingly.

“Nope, it’s already 9:30. You should have been asleep half an hour ago,” she stated, walking over to the boy and having him lay down.

“But I like staying up. I wanna be able to see the dark!” the child complained, a pout forming on his tiny lips as he roughly crossed his arms.

“It won’t be the end of the world if you don’t look at the night sky, Bailey. Besides, while you’re going to sleep, you get to look at the dark anyway,” his mother reasoned softly, tucking her stubborn child into his bright blue blanket.

“But mommy~” the child, Bailey, started before his mother cut him off.

“No buts, you’re going to sleep. Tomorrow we’re going to Aunt Kelly’s house, so you need to rest up,” she explained to Bailey. He did not understand why he had to go to bed so early anyway. “Goodnight, honey, sleep well.” she warmly embraced her annoyed child, then pulled away. She walked to his dresser and shut off his lamp. “Don’t let the bedbugs bite.” his mother added, closing the door to the child’s bedroom.

Bailey stared at his ceiling with his arms crossed, focusing on the dark ceiling. He could not depict anything inside his room, which gave him a sense of comfort. While he attempted to fall asleep, he vaguely heard voices from downstairs. He slowly slid out of his blanket, his small body laying flat on his carpeted floor, and began to listen.

“...Why don’t you just put a nightlight in his room? Maybe that will help with his obsession with the dark.” an older woman’s voice echoed inside of the kitchen.

“I’ve tried, mom, he just turns it off.” Bailey heard his mother speak with a sigh. “It makes things easier that he doesn’t get nightmares or is scared of the dark, but he has this weird...addiction to dark things. Like whenever we go to Lily’s house, he always gets excited when we’re about to enter a tunnel because it’s dark. He tries to take naps during the day to be awake during the night. He even pretends to sleepwalk, then go outside in the middle of the night so he can inspect the moon. It’s starting to concern me...” her voice explained worryingly to Bailey’s grandmother. His little heart raced as he heard his mother talk about him. He didn’t know how to react.

“I can tell you one thing, Sarah, that boy of yours isn’t right. I love Bailey to death. Believe me. He has something that no other child does, whether it’s a gift or a curse, I don’t know. Maybe you should talk to Kelly’s husband, Joshua, tomorrow when you see them. He’s a Psychiatrist, he may know a thing or two.” his grandmother croaked, making herself a glass of wine. Sarah sighed softly, sliding into a chair.

“Do...do you think that he might be like his father?” Sarah gently asked, her voice quivering to express her subtle fear.

“Dear Lord, I hope not.” Sarah’s mother expressed in almost a plea. “If so, then you’re in for a world of trouble.”

“I know, but...what if his condition is genetic?” Sarah questioned, her voice barely above a whisper.

“It isn’t, I don’t believe. Besides, he wouldn’t have any friends or wouldn’t talk to anyone.” her mother reasoned, sipping her glass of wine as she sat down. Her hair was a silvery gray and in a messy bun. Little strands of hair lined the sides of her face. Her eyes were bright green, matching her ivory skin tone. Before she turned gray, she had fiery red hair, which matched her skin along with her eyes.

“He doesn’t, mom. I’ve talked with the teachers, he stays by himself during recess, he refuses to pair during group activities, he throws tantrums whenever kids or the teacher tries to talk to him...he doesn’t even interact with Bonnie and Kevin anymore.” she sighed. “That’s why I’m concerned.”

“Bonnie and Kevin? Why wouldn’t he? Every little kid wants to be like their older cousin, right?” his grandmother asked, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“He used to, but now whenever they try to talk to Bailey, he just walks away or ignores them,” Sarah explained in a worried tone. “Now he has this sudden obsession with the dark and I’m just...I’m really starting to think he might be like Derek.” Sarah ran her fingers through her silky smooth hair. Her expression was anxious. Bailey listened to the entire conversation, his little body curled up against his bed as he tried to think about what he was doing wrong by being antisocial.

“I think you should talk to Joshua about this, Sarah. I really do.” Sarah’s mother expressed, her hands intertwining as she rested her chin on her fingers. Her elbows sat on the marble counter.

“I’m going to...I need to.” Sarah agreed quietly with a soft nod. Her hands ran through her hair once more, her heart beating stressfully. “I don’t want him to be like Derek...”

Bailey had heard enough. He climbed back into his bed, curling up under his blanket. He stared at his dark wall blankly, desperately trying to process what his mother and grandmother were talking about. He knew Derek was his father, but he never knew his dad. Sarah always told him that he passed away, but Bailey never understood what she meant. He silently shifted under his covers, attempting to find out why his mom was so concerned about him. Bailey thought he was a perfectly normal ten-year-old kid.

After all, what ten-year-old wasn’t antisocial, right? It wasn’t like he was Crazy...