Tony Walker

He was gobsmacked, and feeling no sign of sleep paralysis, went up to the window.

The long garden beyond bathed in magical white glow.

Not a thing, as he felt a strange sense of new reality.

Was this really it?

Had his visitor really disappeared?

He knew not, and went back to bed with a curious sense of wonder at how his life would unfold from that moment on.

Whenever he went to sleep or closed his eyes, no trace could be found of either his friend or the cloaked man.

His nightmare now vanished, and he grew more into adulthood.

He savoured the days and thought of his previous encounters like some distant nightmare he had endured, and come out the stronger for.

Now, with the rest of his life approaching, he had decided to pursue a career in creative writing, and delved into his studies with a sense of purpose and determination.

One night, while preparing a letter of inquiry to a local university, the change began to happen.

He'd been dreaming of playing with his friends when, up ahead, a winged shape passed over the sun.

His friends had not noticed, but it was the first sign of his former night visitor.

He looked perplexed and awoke to see his friend again outside his room, the moon bright.

He was frozen, a return embrace to a way of living almost forgotten.

as he closed his eyes again as if on demand this time his handwritten journal of notes which he had kept up in secret since the incident was now in full view before him in a dark space he walked up to it the pages turning as if guided by an invisible hand and the writing began to animate of its own accord

letters suddenly flew off the page and formed figures his childhood friends many of whom had moved on with their own lives they suddenly blew apart again and the book transformed into a bridge he suddenly awoke to hear himself mouthing a strange language he had never spoken his face began burning and contorting and he grew fearful a strange feeling of unreality now shaking him as his body remained pinned

He felt like he was being turned inside out and suddenly felt the grip loosen as he rose to the bathroom.

He looked in horror as the face of his now adult self began merging with others, a painting in motion as he tried to hold on to the sink for dear life.

A churning sensation rippled through his entire body as echoes of the language raced through his head before a new visage appeared.