Chapter 4

                Phil arrived at Seth's office; he knocked on the door and waited for permission to go in.

                                "Come in."

                Seth's voice called.

                Phil went in and saw Seth sitting at his desk wearing white gloves and reading a clay tablet, signs of weathering and broken-off pieces were easily noticeable as the piece was clearly archaic. Phil looked around and saw shelves of books pertaining to human psychology and the history of cultures, the room was filled with the smell of dust and musty old books similar to a library.

                                "Curious?"

                Seth asked as he saw Phil looking at the tablet he was investigating.

                Phil nodded with a look of curiosity in his eyes.

                                "It's a record talking about a land past the streams of Oceanus close to the Meadows of Asphodel, where the spirit of the dead resides."

                Seth explained and smiled at Phil cryptically. Seth then carefully placed the clay tablet in a sealed box. Phil's clear confusion can be seen in his face as he did not understand what Seth was talking about.

                                "So what seems the problem, Mr. Craft?"

                Seth asked as he did not want to explain any further. He motioned for Phil to sit down and smiled at him. Phil sat down and began to recollect his horrifying experience in great detail.

                                "It was like something was watching me studying my movements and psychological weaknesses, at first it took the form of my parents then it would morph into something horrendous it chants to be set free and its screams were deafening. During Mrs. Vilbar's class, I accidentally fell asleep since I was sleep deprived because of that experience, and had another nightmare, but this time I was at school. The feeling of danger as my brain screamed at me with blaring warning signs then the dream will present to you that everything was fine until it will strike again with more force is rather bone-chilling. It always ends up with me devoured or killed."

                Seth listened to Phil's recollection intently. He offered Phil a glass of water as he saw the boy pale and shivering.

                                "You see Phil, dreams are just stories and images our brain creates while we sleep. They can be sometimes fun, melancholic, bizarre, or in your case horrifying."

                Seth explained slowly.

                                "Your nightmares may be caused by stress, fear, trauma, or emotional difficulties."

                                "But teacher they always feel real to me, I can feel even the minute feeling of tentacles or caterpillars crawling on my body."

                Phil stressed out.

                                "Perhaps you are a lucid dreamer Phil. But in your case, your senses heightened inside your dream, so strong that it overpowers your brain that synapses fire invoking the minute feelings of touch and other tactile sense."

                Phil nodded but was not convinced. To him, it was not a dream but reality in itself.

                Seeing Phil unconvinced, Seth pondered.

                                "Hmmm. Maybe it's on the side of psychology or the realms of metaphysics. Perhaps your nightmares are memories you have sealed away, although unlikely the brain tends to exaggerate things, it fills the holes in your memory in a horrifying way."

                Phil nodded and thought that maybe this was the most likely cause. Phil had many memories from his childhood that were rather blurry and some of them he could not completely recall.

                                "Or maybe it is caused by a metaphysical phenomenon, where a higher being influenced your dreams so that you will set it free."

                Seth explained and smiled as he looks at Phil.

                Phil snickered as that was just plain bizarre and laughed at his teacher's joke.

                                "Well, Mr. Craft that is all I want to know about today. I hope that this discussion has cleared some of your doubts and please try not to disturb any lectures again."

                Seth stood up and beckoned towards the door giving Phil permission to leave. Phil stood up and thanked Seth for his time and for helping him understand his situation.

                After Phil left Seth's office he glanced at the box containing the clay tablet and muttered softly.

                                "So it begins."

                He walked towards his office window and looked down where he saw the figure of the boy that was just in his office and the girl he is with. He walked back to his seat after the pair walked out of the school's gate.

                Phil ran quickly excited to go home, he was feeling happy after the talk with his teacher since he had explanations and was not that worried anymore. As he was running down the hallway he noticed a girl standing at the school main door, her back was leaning against the wall, and was staring emptily like she was lost in her thoughts. Sonja was Phil's childhood friend, they had been together since they were just babies and were close like brother and sister. Lost in her thoughts Sonja did not notice Phil's arrival.

                                "What are you thinking so deeply about?"

                Phil asked as he ruffled Sonja's hair. Surprised Sonja whisked Phil's hand away.

                                "Hey stop that, I was not thinking of anything."

                She humphed and stomped angrily.

                                "Let's go it's getting late."

                She said as she picked up her bag and reminded Phil.

                Walking home, Sonja, curious about what happened during the talks with Seth asked Phil.

                                "So how was it? Were you punished by teacher Hogty?"

                                "No, we just talked about the meaning of my dreams and what might have caused my nightmares."

                                "That's good that you were not punished then. Well, are you okay now?"

                                "Yeah, I feel fine now."

                The two talked as they walk home. As they were nearing their houses Sonja asked abruptly.

                                "Uhm, Phil, what do you like about Jess?"

                Surprised and a little confused about the question Phil answered.

                                "Well she is attractive and beautiful and she's also cool she also has a great personality." But mostly boobs and her butt Phil added on his mind as he quickly glanced at Sonja's flat breast.

                Sonja did not notice Phil's glance as she stopped and looked at the ground lost in her thoughts.

                                "Sonj, what's wrong?"

                Phil asked nervously thinking that he might have offended Sonja.

                                "N-n-nothing is wrong."

                Sonja stuttered as she saw the nervous look on Phil's face.

                                "So what do you like the most from her?"

                                "Her boobs."

                Phil answered reflexively. Noticing his mistake he looked at Sonja whose face was a little red and was met with a kick on his shins. Phil winced in pain as he fell down the ground clutching his shins.

                                "You boys are the same!"

                Scolded Sonja, as she angrily walk away leaving Phil on the ground teary-eyed from the pain.

                                "Wait for me Sonj. Her personality is what I want to answer."

                Phil shouted as he tried to stand up and walked awkwardly attempting to catch up with Sonja.

                                "Shut up!! Don’t come near me you freak."

                Sonja ran quickly and arrived at the door of her house she looked back and watched Phil struggling to walk. she then stuck her tongue out and mocked him as she slam the door behind her after entering.

                Dejected Phil walked two houses from Sonja's house and entered.

                                "I'm home."      

                Phil sighed quietly as he greeted the empty house. Both of Phil's parents were currently working and would only come home in the middle of the night. Phil sat down and massaged his shins slowly he looked down and saw his shins were a little bruised.

                                "That short gorilla, I could not believe she kicked me full force."

                Phil deeply sighed as he stood up and start preparing for his dinner.

                                A block away from Phil's house under the shadow of a great weeping Cypress tree, an old man with a cane with a raven skull as a handle was watching him. His eyes filled with longing as he saw the boy on his own, he closed his eyes for a few seconds and opened them. His eyes were now filled with annoyance mixed with clear anger; he brandished his cane and pointed the handle towards the dark shadow cast on the trunk of the weeping Cypress tree.

                                "You will never have him."

                The old man proclaimed clear hostility in his voice. The shadow twisted and turned as maniacal laughter filled the place; a creature crawled out from the twisting shadow. An eye that was oddly human and body made from gaseous substance thicker than tar filled with mouths that were lined with dagger-like teeth.

                                "We meet again old man."

                The plants surrounding the creature died off as the creature spoke, its voice like nails on a chalkboard mixed with sounds from a record player playing backward as multiple mouths speak at the same time.  The creature paused and looked at the old man with its singular eye.

                                "You cannot stop me, old man and you know it. You tried to seal me but look I am still here."

                The creature laughed.

                                "The day of my liberation is nigh and no one, not even you can stop it. Hahaha..."

                The creature's mouth laughed together and glee can be seen in its eye. The old man swung his cane towards the creature bisecting it directly, but like smoke, the body of the creature dissipated as it laughed and looked at the old man.

                                "We shall meet again old man, and by that time I am free."

                The old man was left standing alone; he furrowed his brows and looked at Phil in the distance again his eyes now filled with worry. He turned his back and left vanishing in the shadows.