The Familiar

A young lonely boy is haunted by a creature that claims to be his friend. Taking the shape of those the boy is familiar with, but not quite right.

• Horror
• Short story
• Fiction

								
Everyone has a familiar. A person who looks like someone you admire or love. It could be your mother, father, sister, brother, or even a celebrity or friend. You get your familiar when you are a child, and you lose them once you become old enough. That age varies from child to child. What is familiar? It is like an imaginary friend but is very real. You decide what they say, do, or even feel. They think like you. Whatever you tell them, they do.  

 One cold Tuesday morning a child was playing by himself. He did not have a familiar yet, so he made his toys do what he wanted. He was small for his age and was very thin. His parents were businesspeople and had little time to spend with their son. He did not mind though, he liked being alone. He wished, however, that there was someone to talk to. Someone much like him. He sat on his carpeted floor, while the nanny made him lunch, he always ate the same thing, egg salad sandwich with orange juice and pickles.  

 He placed his toys into the toy bin that stood in a corner full of old and new toys. His parents flooded him with gifts to make up for the lost time. He had to shove his dolls and trucks into the bin in order for it to shut. He dusted off his light green sweater after cleaning the rest of the room. He prepared himself for the lunch call, where he would run down the stairs to eat and watch the birds in his large kitchen window. He sat on his bed and swung his feet back and forth, sitting, waiting. A large knock suddenly came from his closed wardrobe. He shot his head up in surprise and scooted back further on his bed.  

 “Hello?” he called, hands clinging to the comforter on his bed. No one answered for a long time. He was about to get up and head downstairs to tell his nanny when another knock rang through the room. His eyes widened and he swallowed hard, hurting his small throat. He decided to stand and approach the wooden door. He knocked back with small knocks that hurt his hand, turning it a little bit red. Another knock responded to him, and he was scared. He slowly reached for the knob and when the door stood open, he ran to his bed and hid under the covers.  

 A hand reached out of the wardrobe. It was pale and long, the fingers looked swollen, and red. Attached to the hand was an arm, then a shoulder, then a neck. These were also long and pale, and he could see a silhouette, but the face was covered by a heavy shadow. The “thing” wore a similar green sweater that was a tad too big, and red shorts that reached the knees of a pair of thin legs. It was the height of an average adult, just longer and thinner.  

 

“C-come out. Show yourself and I will show myself.” He squeaked, still shaking under his heavy covers. He peaked out of the blanket to get an eyeful of the creature only a few feet away from him. The thing stepped out of the wardrobe and had cold, dead, eyes. As if they were painted on, a thin pair of lips had cracks along them, and a long, thin nose. It was a boy, at least the child thought it was, but the look of the unsettling creature made him second guess himself. The hair upon the creature was short and gray, it covered the forehead, like it was wet and stuck to the skin. The boy removed the covers to look at the whole “person” in front of him.  
 “Who are you? What do you want?” he asked, fearing the answer. A small weak voice came out of the thin lips, showing yellow teeth and a gray tongue.  

 “I am your familiar, I am here to play with you. What do you want to play?” it tilted its head to the side, exposing its bird-like neck even more. It took a step closer to the boy and one step back when it saw the boy flinch.  

 “I don’t want to play; I don’t know you.”  

 “Yes, you do.” it said, voice becoming louder. “I look just like him, I look just like your friend.”  

 “I don’t have any friends; you don’t look like anyone I know.”  

 “I can change into someone else if you want.” And the creature's body began to turn and morph. Its once boy-like body grew taller and became fatter. Its head swelled and its stomach did as well. The sweater shrunk and changed into a dirty tank top. The shorts became sweatpants that had strange stains on the legs. Its face changed into one of a grown man, who was hairless and had a large fat nose and a pair of uncanny blue eyes. On the end of its nose was a pair of wire glasses. The body was now covered with black hair that looked greasy and dirty. The creature then smiled a terrifying grin that showed all its yellow teeth. Its eyes squinted small, and a hard chuckle appeared from its thick, pale neck.  

 “You see,” the deep male voice sounded, “I am your familiar. I look just like the man; can we play now?”  

 “No, I do not know this man, I’ve never seen him a day in my life.”  

 “Please, I just want to play.” It begged.  

 “Turn into someone I know, not a stranger.”  

 “As you wish.” and again the creature rumbled and shrunk into a new skin. This time it took the form of the boy's nanny. Long gray hair sprouted from the skull and the face grew thin. Larger blue eyes showed as well as a smaller nose that was still large. The skin quickly went from plump to wrinkly and the once fat stomach turned into a hump on the creature's back. The clothes turned into a yellow T-shirt with a pink cardigan over it, the now thin, shaking legs we covered by long pale blue jeans. The smile was smaller now, but the teeth stayed the same.  

“How is this?” The voice sounded frail and old. 

 “You kind of look like her, but I’m not sure anymore.”  

 “Of course, I look like her, I am your friend, I want to play with you and make you happy.”  

 “I guess we can, but I want to go eat first.”  

 He got up from his bed and headed to the slightly cracked door. His familiar crept slowly behind him, waiting for the door to be opened. They walked out into the dimly lit hallway and headed towards the stairs. The boy then had a strange thought. How would his nanny react to seeing herself?  

 “Oh, she won’t mind.” The boy shot his head up towards the creature and wondered how it knew what he was thinking. He did not want to know so he went ahead with the conversation.  

 “Can she see you?”  

 “She didn’t earlier, I am very good at going unseen when I want to.”  

 “How do you do that?”  

 “I hid in the shadows. I can disappear and reappear anywhere I want. I can run fast and can be incredibly quiet.” it whispered. The boy stood still and looked down the winding stairs, he did not know why but he got a chill on the back of his neck. He ignored it and walked down the stairs slowly. The familiar following close behind, grunting often to try to catch its breath. The pair made it to the bottom and the boy led the thing to the kitchen.  

 “I am so hungry; I don’t eat much in the morning.”  

 “I know, are you excited for your sandwich?”  

 “How do you know?” he asked, looking up at the tall creature.  

 “I know everything about you, I am your familiar.”  

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