Theo shook his head. He was allowing his imagination to get away with him. This salesman looked harmless enough when you looked at him; but then again, didn't that serial killer in that horror movie yesterday look like a mild-mannered sheep?
"It is my ambition to charter a flight to New York for underprivileged kids" the salesman was continuing. "And any contributions you make will be most welcome."
His tone was definitely menacing now. Not so much menacing as very honeyed and sweet. It made him think of sweet little sheep in fresh meadows and of rosy pink clouds. Man-eating sheep and thunderclouds.
What was wrong with him?
"Um", he said nervously. "I don't want a bug spray, thanks. I have no bugs at home, fortunately." He tried to smile but faltered on seeing the salesman's face. He looked murderous. No, merely disappointed, that's all. The salesman heaved a tiny sigh, so tiny it could hardly be heard. "No, no one in this part of town has any bugs at all. Lucky for you."
"Unlucky for you, I know, but you can try someplace else." said Theo encouragingly.
The salesman looked even more melancholy. "Ah, but I don't want to leave this town, you see. Too many memories." He walked away, looking even more forlorn with every step.
Theo felt relieved as the salesman disappeared around the corner. The air of gloom which seemed to have lighted on him vanished. "It's back to business as usual, Flossie," he told his pet cat who was yawning contentedly on the rug.
He turned into the kitchen and failed to notice Flossie sitting up with a jerk and scratching herself very hard all over. She rolled on the rug frantically from side to side, like a million fleas were on her back.
A few days later, a small paragraph appeared in the local newspaper. It stated that a Mr. Theodore Windermere, inhabitant of The Larches, Newton Road, Tewkesbury, had died on Thursday due to accumulation of formic acid in his body. The newspaper noted a curious feature that the dead man's body had been entirely covered with 'bite marks', as though a thousand bees had stung him simultaneously. 'This is a fantastic description of the body, and no doubt a logical explanation will be provided', concluded the report.
No logical explanation was ever provided.
whoa! This reminds me of the stories of Edgar Allan Poe :)
ReplyDeleteOkay, I wrote this because I'd just read this really scary story which went something like this one, though with a happy ending.
ReplyDeleteHow unfair was that? scary stories are supposed to end with gore and all awful things to creep you out of your skin. So I wrote this(admittedly poor) version of how I think a horror story should end :P