1

Rule #1: They’re always watching.

No matter where you go, no matter where you are, no matter who you are, they’re watching. The eyes watch you from every crevice, every street corner. You can feel them sometimes if you concentrate, feel that prickle down your spine as unseen eyes gaze upon you. Just know they’re always watching. You can’t get away.

.........................................................................................................................................

I’ve seen them as long as I can remember.

My earliest memory is of them.

In it, I’m just a toddler, sitting in my crib.

My mobile spins above me absentmindedly, distracting me as I wait for my mother to come and pick me up.

She doesn’t arrive.

Instead, a shadowy figure looms over the edge of my crib, watching me with glowing yellow eyes.

Swirling smoke takes the place of the rest of its features.

I should have cried.

I should have screamed for my mother.

I should have hidden under my blankets, trembling with fear as it closed in.

Instead, I laugh.

The creature steps back startled, and fades away.

I take this in with infantile curiosity, a smile lingering on my face.

I’m still smiling when my father comes, tears in his eyes.

They got my mother.

I didn’t know any different.

I look up at my father, wiping a tear from his face with a pudgy finger, and laugh.