Chapter Text
It was a dark Friday night, pitch black outside. The type of dark where you can barely see your own hand without a light. The main character of this story is a young child, no older than 10. Having recently finished the school week, they were exhausted, sleeping like a corpse, their blanket fallen off to the side of their bed.
The child themself wore a white and blue striped pajamas with pink polka dots scattered across. The pajamas had buttons on the collar, though they remained unbuttoned. They looked androgynous with their medium length hair and thin body, no one could tell at a glance but they were a…
They were… wait, I don’t really know.
Well, I guess it doesn’t really matter to the story, now does it?
The room they lived in was as bare bones as could be.
No toys or books scattered around on the floor, only a lone round carpet to decorate it.
They had a book stand, but it was much too high for them to reach on their own.
A dresser, seemingly full of clothing.
The bed itself was proper against the wall, right underneath the only window in the room.
Propped on the windowsill was a potted plant, with a single large sunflower growing within.
A few photo stands are propped on top of the dresser, depicting a happy family of two, wife and child. Looking closer, some photos seem to be torn at the side.
In the doorway to the room, a dark figure stands, dwarfing the size of the child. Slowly, it starts to limp its way to the child. Through its eyes, it slowly passes the dressers before standing well above the child. Its raspy breathing echoes through the room as it stares down at the child with unknown intent.
It reaches forward, its sharp nails moving in the dark.
But, just as it gets close, the hand reaches down and grabs the blanket at the foot of the bed.
With a soft sigh, the young lady, one whose face matches those of the photos on the dresser, flaps the blanket once before draping it over the young child. Slowly, the child shifts and turns, before curling up into the blanket.
A small smile graces the woman’s face, but the moment is swiftly ruined as a heart-wrenching series of coughs tear its way out of the woman's lungs. Through the corner of her lips, and around the hand covering her mouth, a trickle of blood leaks out and drips to the floor.
“Water…” A raspy voice moans in the dark, and quietly, the woman shuffles away.
Quiet, except for the intermittent hackles and coughs that echo from her through the house.
When it enters her reach, the light switch for the door is flipped and the lights in the hallway turn on.
And for a while, after she vanishes out of sight, all goes quiet.
Then, a shattering sound, like a plate breaking, echoes through the house.
And the child opens their eyes.
Chapter 1: Not Alone
When the child awoke, the first thing they noticed was the lights were on in the hallway. But they wouldn’t move, as they knew they were meant to be asleep. They looked back and forth, as if looking for something. Finally, they reach around the bed, towards the wall and reach down.
With the sound of a plug being pulled, the child pulls an object up. It’s a small plastic flower that, with a flick of a switch, lights up.
“H-Hello? Is anyone there.”
Oh, it seems that I was too loud. Regardless, Now would be as good a time as any to introduce myself.
“Hello?”
I’m not on your right, kid.
“H-Huh?”
Not to your left either.
“W-w-where.”
behind you
Slowly, the kid turns their head, as they shake like a leaf. They soon turn enough to see the windowsill by the bed, the outside a pitch black backdrop with a glowing white moon painted on top. Naturally, the sole occupant of the windowsill became the young child’s main focus. The potted plant, glowing in the moonlight held perfectly still under the watchful gaze of the child…
…until it didn’t.
The large sunflower began to shake, petals rose and fell as the two large leaves along the stem began to curl in and then loosen. Two black lines seem to cut into the face of the plant, opening up to reveal pitch black eyes with a sliver of a white glow in the center. One more cut appears, stretching across the entire head of the sunflower before it opens with a sickening sound of something tearing as black liquid begins to drip from the cut and onto the soil. The large cut curls upwards at both ends just as both eyes open wide.
Hello~
The child stares wide eyed for a moment, before falling backwards onto their bed.
Wait…
You didn’t just pass out on me, did you? Come on, seriously?
Hey
Hey, wake up kid
Hey
HEY!
The kid remains silent.
WAKE UP!
…
Maybe I overdid it.
Chapter 2: The Perfect Nightlight
Time passes slowly, not much happens during the time.
The lights in the hallway go out.
Listening closely, you can hear the distant sound of water rushing through pipes.
The regular creaking noises a house makes during the night are, obviously, present.
The night outside remains pitch black.
The moon itself seems darker than usual, a strange hue of purple surrounding it.
The nightlight the child was carrying slowly dims over time, until it darkens completely.
Finally, the kid begins to move. Slowly at first, before getting up with bleary eyes and a confused look. The now dark room blinds him. So, to simplify things, a light begins to fill the room, spilling out from the windowsill.
Petals glowing a soft shade of orange catch the child’s attention.
Come closer kid, I don’t bite~
However, instead of coming closer, the kid reaches for the toy flower and holds it between us. The Sunflower faced the Sunflower, a battle of lege- Hehehe.
HAHAHA! I can’t even keep a straight face.
Kid, that’s a toy. What on earth is that supposed to do? Poke me? Look at you, shaking like a leaf. I’m the flower, but you’re the one wilting up. Aw, are you crying? Come on, open those eyes and come…
Yellow sparks began to dance along the toy.
Uh kid, how tight are you holding that thing? That thing’s sparking up a storm. If you don’t drop that you might get hurt. Hey, just… just put the toy down and come here, I’d be the perfect night-
A flash of yellow.
And everything went dark.
…
Chapter 3: Light Up The Night
My head feels fuzzy.
Wait, I don’t really have a head. My petals feel tingly. That’s better. More Accurate.
Still, reorienting myself was painful. And considering I was literally rooted to the ground, it raised some questions I didn’t quite like. My petals were still alight so that was a good sign. Though, a soft touch against the stem of my body did wonders to clear my mind up and open my eyes.
The eyes of the human child were abnormally large from this perspec-
Woah! “Waah!” Bad Touch, Bad Touch! Didn’t your mom ever teach you not to go poking somebody while they're sleeping.
Uh, You didn’t have to jump that far back kid, you almost fell off your- oh. *Thud* Well, that was kind of an overreaction wasn’t it.
“Owwwww…”
That wasn’t very smart of you kid. Or should I say bright? Heh, Sunflower jokes.
“W-what are you?”
Never seen a sunflower before?
“Not… not one that talks”
That’s… fair. Not sure how I talk either. Just kind of woke up here, and have no idea what all this is. Though, I seem to know at least a little bit about a lot of different things which is… weird.
Hey, why are you getting closer to me now? No, don’t stop approaching me. I’ve been stuck here for my whole life and I’d like to actually see more than four colorful walls and a doorway. I can’t even look outside, you guys placed me here facing the wrong direction, who even does that?
The Child’s fingers stop millimeters from the pot.
“I… I should get Mom. She’ll probably know what to do.”
Then take me with you. It saves you a trip back, there’s no chance of your mom not believing you, and, most importantly, I get to get out of this room!
“Uh…”
The young child pulls their hand back a little. The disappointment is immeasurable.
“Okay.”
The feeling of skin upon the pot sends a shiver up straight to the highest pedal and the world blurs .
“Heh heh, th-that tickles.”
Why… Why was I pressing my face against their wrist? I feel like I was supposed to do something? But… I can’t remember…
Weird.
Sorry, you surprised me.
“It, uhm, it’s okay Mr. Flower.”
Mr? I’m a girl. Thank you very much. You can call me Sunny, got it.
“Oh, okay, Mrs. Sunny.” That’s not what I, oh whatever. It works. Mrs. Sunny it is. Makes me feel old though.
I pull myself back up as the kid grabs the pot with both hands. No reaction this time. With a great deal of shuffling, and wobbling, the kid stands at the edge of their bed, sunflower in hand. Their breath makes the petals flutter and flower bend.
Hey, watch the breathing.
“S-sorry.”
Now held a little to the side the child makes his way to the doorway. Yes, forward my human slave. To freedom.
He stops in front of the doorway.
“Uhm, what’s a slave?”
That’s not important (I don’t actually know honestly, but I think it’s meant to be an insult), why’d you stop?
“Oh, uhm… it’s a little… dark…”
The sunflower had, in fact, stopped glowing. When did that happen how did I not notice Well, there’s a simple solution to that.
Suddenly, the sunflower begins to glow once more. Stronger than before, stronger than expected, lighting up the night, or at least a large chunk of space around the kid.
Bright enough for you?
“Wow…”
Enough gawking, forward my steed!
And the Child travels into the dark, guided by the glowing petals of an odd Sunflower.