Eric

By Dave Gore

 

Once upon a time a very long time ago there was a fierce and gigantic dinosaur, he was feared by everyone and when they saw him coming they would all run and hide, their bones would rattle as they shook with fear, their teeth would rattle in their mouths as he passed by.

 

Well he wished that he was like that, but he was just a small and timid dinosaur who would run away at the sight of his shadow, his name was Eric.

He would run and hide and shake in his shoes if he thought he saw a mouse poke its head out of its hole.He once stood in fear, not able to move, he was so scared that even his teeth and bones kept quiet and stood still, hiding in fear and hoping not to be seen.He would only take a breath in when his face had started to turn blue.

 

He stayed still like that for the whole of the morning, but then he started to have an itch just inside his nose, but he dared not move to blow his nose of scratch the itch.

 

His stomach then started to rumble and although he tried to keep it quiet, his stomach would not listen to him, it was hungry and wanted its dinner, the longer he waited standing completely still; the louder his stomach would rumble.

 

He had to take a chance and run as fast as his now shaking legs would move, he looked again at the creature standing in front of him and wondered if the creature could run as fast as him? 

 

Just then the itch on his nose decided that it had waited long enough, if his nose could not be blown or the itch scratched by Eric it was going to leave his nose.  

 

All of a sudden a gigantic sneeze exploded from Eric’s nose as he looked at the creature that stood in front of him.

 

It was only when he saw the creature do the same thing as himself, he realised that he was standing in front of a mirror and the creature that he was looking at and so scared of was his reflection.

 

Eric slowly made his way back to his house and when he had shut and locked the front door, he took the remaining keys that hung on a hook near the door and one by one he locked the other nine locks that he had attached to the door.

 

Eric walked to the kitchen to prepare his dinner, he was still shaking and his stomach was now rumbling so loud he decided that he would have a whole lettuce leaf today for his meal; he knew that he was being greedy but he would stay in tomorrow and not have anything to eat all day.

 

When Eric had eaten the lettuce leaf, he felt so full that he thought that his stomach was about to explode, he needed to rest as the morning had worn him out.

He walked to the lounge and sat down in his favourite chair, it was the only chair that he owned but he knew that if he owned another chair this one would still be his favourite.

 

Eric turned on the television that he liked to watch, he always had the sound turned off though, so that he could listen in case anyone knocked on his door, not that he would open the door if someone or something did knock.

 

No Eric would go and hide in his safe room, lock the door, turn the light off and pretend that he wasn’t in, then whatever had knocked on the door would go away.

The truth is nobody ever knocked on his door; because nobody knew where he lived or that he existed.

 

Because he had the sound turned off he had to read the text that ran along the bottom of the television screen, otherwise he could not make out what was happening.  

 

If the program he was watching looked like it would frighten him he would put his hands over his eyes and every now and then he would peek through his fingers to see what was happening.

 

He was ok today though, for the program he was watching was about hypnotism and how it could boost your confidence and make you stronger and not be afraid of things that were happening in your life.

 

He watched the program and was amazed at how the creatures who once were scared of their shadow now had the confidence to stand up against it and accept it as part of them, it was not a thing to be scared off but to be a friend.

 

At the end of the program an address was put on the screen where you could order a CD of the hypnotist who could make all these things happen, he did not have to be there with you all you needed to do was to watch it on your television and you would not be afraid anymore.

 

Well Eric quickly wrote down the address on an envelope, he put the right amount of money in and the address that the CD should be sent to, he unlocked all the locks on the door and making sure that no one was outside or nearby he quickly ran and posted the envelope.

 

A few days later a small package dropped through Eric’s letterbox, it remained on the mat on the floor for two more days, for when Eric heard the letter box snap shut he rushed from the lounge to his safe room, locked the door, turned off the light and hid in the corner so that whoever was there would not know he was in.

 

The only reason Eric plucked up the courage two days later to get up from the floor in the corner of the safe room and come out was, that he was so hungry that he was sure that he would pass out and maybe die if he didn’t come out and have something to eat.

 

It still took Eric another half a day to pluck up the courage to unlock the room and come out; for every time he went to unlock the door he thought he heard something making a noise.  It was only after the third time of trying to leave he realised it was the sound of his heart beating faster than normal that he was hearing.

 

He left the safe room and stood just outside ready to run back in if he needed to, all was very quiet as he listened again and again to make sure there was nobody else in the house apart from him.

 

When he was sure that he was alone in the house he made his way to the kitchen, because he hadn’t eaten his stomach was now rumbling loud like a train travelling fast over the track, luckily this time Eric realised that it was his stomach making the noise and not someone in the house.

 

He took a whole carrot out of his fridge but because it was quite big he cut it in half, he didn’t want to be greedy, and after all he had eaten a whole lettuce leaf two days ago. 

He washed the half of the carrot that he had prepared for his meal; putting the other half back into his fridge it would be a meal for another day.

 

He then sat down on the other chair that he owned; this was not really a chair but a wooden box that he had found one day while out picking a blackberry for his pudding.

 

It took Eric a while to eat his meal, because half way through eating the carrot he wasn’t sure if he could manage a whole half, his stomach was getting full, but in the end he did manage it.

 

On his way back to the lounge he noticed the package lying on the mat, so that noise I heard was the letter box snapping shut as the package was put through, he felt silly for hiding in the safe room, but there again you could never be sure, he said to himself.

 

He had forgotten all about it, he picked the package up and made his way into the lounge, the television was still on as Eric had not had time to do both things at once.

 

 

Running fast to the safe room and turning the television off was not possible for Eric, for it would have taken him another two seconds to get inside and lock the door, if he had stopped to turn off the television.

 

Eric opened the package and removed the CD from its sleeve; he put the CD in the player and sat down in his comfortable chair to watch it.

 

The hypnotists face flashed up on the screen, this made Eric jump, but he settled back down in his comfortable chair and watched, the trouble was he had no idea what the hypnotist was saying as the sound was turned off.

So Eric very bravely got up from his comfortable chair and turned the volume up, just a little so he could hear what the hypnotist was saying.

 

The hypnotist explained that all you needed to do was sit quietly in front of the television and keep your eyes pinned to the screen, Eric thought I don’t think that I want to pin my eyes to the television screen, that would hurt, then he heard the hypnotist say no just sit where you are and stare at my eyes.

 

Eric was relieved that he didn’t have to pin his eyes to the television screen, so he relaxed in his comfortable chair and stared into the hypnotist’s eyes.

 

Eric started to feel sleepy as the hypnotist’s eyes seemed to be coming closer and closer towards Eric; Eric was starting to feel afraid, was the hypnotist going to attack him?

But Eric could not move, as the eyes of the hypnotist got closer and closer, until it felt like the hypnotist’s eyes had joined up with Eric’s.

 

Eric was hypnotised all he could hear was the hypnotist’s voice telling him that he was big and brave and that nobody could hurt him, the hypnotist then said when I have counted to three you will wake up and never be afraid again, he heard the hypnotist count to one, then two and finally three and Eric woke up.

 

The CD had finished and the television was now just showing a white screen. 

Eric removed the CD and put it back into the sleeve, he placed the CD next to the television just in case it hadn’t worked and he would have to watch it again.

 

The funny thing was Eric now felt more relaxed he also felt braver; why he felt as brave as a kitten.Eric decided to celebrate his new found bravery, so he unlocked his front door and stepped outside into the bright sunshine, there beside him was standing his shadow.

 

This time Eric did not turn and run as he had always done before when he saw his shadow but stood there looking at it.  “Hello shadow” he said, but of course his new found friend the shadow did not answer, that did not matter though to Eric as now he had a friend.

 

Eric and his new friend didn’t always see each other, they only seemed to meet during the day and then only if the sun was shining, but Eric now had a friend that he could now talk to and play with.

The game Eric liked best was hide and seek, his friend could never find him, in fact while Eric was hiding he never once saw his friend searching for him as he hid behind the large bush in the garden.

 

In the end Eric would have to come from behind the bush so that he could be found by his friend.  

Eric though would always find where his friend was hiding though; his friend wasn’t very good at the game, for even if Eric closed his eyes and counted to sixty most of the time when Eric opened his eyes he found his friend lying on the ground next to him.

 

His friend always disappeared later in the day and early evening, but Eric knew that he was sure to see him again soon.

 

Eric still ran and would hide and shake in his shoes if he thought he saw a mouse or any other large and dangerous creature, but he now had a friend that he could always rely on, his friend the shadow.

The End

© 2013 Dave Gore