Noha was in the living room of the house where he lived in his childhood, everything looked the same as always, his mother's comfortable green sofa, her tea table, and the pictures he liked so much on the white walls of his house. The television was on with a program no one was watching. Suddenly, his mother, father, and brother walked back and forth taking all their things, they had suitcases, but no one noticed Noha who was still sitting on the rug in the middle of the room. Every second that passed, Noha could feel the anxiety taking over his body, his heart beating very fast.
'They're going to leave without me.'
'Mom, where are you going?' he said in a desperate tone, but his mother didn't answer.
'Dad, where are we going?' he shouted, but his father didn't answer either.
'Why won't you tell me anything? Don't you want me to go with you?' No one seemed to hear him. 'Please don't abandon me! I don't want to be alone!' he cried out between sobs.
'I promise to behave, Mom, please, Mom, don't leave me,' he sobbed at the feet of his mother who was heading towards the door.
'Mom, please don't leave me!' he sobbed with hardly any voice left, but no one seemed to care about his pleas, his brother only stared at him.
Moments before leaving, his father and brother left as if they were leaving nothing behind, but his mother, at the last second, turned towards him and looked at him with such disdain that all the air in his lungs vanished, he could feel himself suffocating.
Noha woke up agitated, with tears running down his cheeks, his heart pounding, his mouth dry, and he felt like crying.
'Damn it, it's been years since I had those dreams.'
While trying to clear his head, something caught his attention. He saw a shadow escape through the bedroom window. A scream caught in his throat, he ran as fast as he could to the bathroom, closed the door, but couldn't calm down. What the hell had he seen? In the mirror, he could see his face was a mess. Maybe he had imagined everything after waking up from that horrible nightmare. After falling asleep in the bathtub for a couple of hours, he decided to take a shower, brush his teeth, and face his room.
When he opened the door, he noticed that everything was the same as always, there was nothing to fear, it had been his imagination playing tricks on him again. He felt tired, so he lay down on the bed and little by little fell into a deep sleep.
***
Friday arrived quickly. Noha felt better, his wounds had healed, and he was able to sleep more than he had in weeks. He could say he felt like himself again. Kai soon sent him the information about the job they would do that night. They would work as waiters at an important party in a mansion outside the city. Kai assumed this mansion belonged to one of the richest families in the city. Noha didn't care where the job was, he just wanted to earn some extra money.
The mansion stood on the highest part of a hill, with an imposing but serene air. A stone road guided the cars to the mansion, where a path of lights embedded in the ground welcomed you. The mansion stood out for its sober architecture and large windows through which the warm afternoon light filtered. It was surrounded by an impressive garden, full of bushes and almost dry trees due to autumn. Behind the mansion, you could see an immense, somewhat gloomy forest. Before 4 pm, they were already at the mansion with about 20 other people who would be doing the same job as Noha and Kai. Noha had experience in this type of event, so he was calm and confident.
Before starting their work, one of the mansion's employees read them numerous rules, of which Noha didn't hear even a quarter. He couldn't concentrate, he simply wasn't interested. He just had to act friendly and serve drinks. What did he care about the house rules? He didn't intend to meddle where he shouldn't or talk to anyone, so he just pretended to listen. The rest of the afternoon went by normally. The employees changed their clothes for elegant black pants, a white shirt, a black vest, and a black bow tie. Noha, as usual, had his hair tied in a half ponytail, while Kai did his best not to look disheveled on an occasion like this.
'Your hair is beyond saving, we'll all get kicked out because of that mess,' said Noha while adjusting the bow tie around his neck.
'Not all of us are a cute boy with magazine-worthy hair,' Kai excused himself.
'I'll fix it for you, but next time, you have to do something,' Noha snapped while carefully combing Kai's messy hair.
Suddenly, someone arrived in the employees' room, walking with firm steps.
'What are you all doing here? The party is about to start! Everyone outside now!' shouted the man, while the employees who had been relaxed until a moment ago began to leave the room quickly.
The work was as stressful as expected. Little by little, the mansion filled with people who seemed to be very important. For hours, they served drinks and attended to the guests. The employees went back and forth with trays full of the most expensive liquors anyone could imagine. At the end of the day, they were all very exhausted.
'Noha, you can take your break, I'll be outside with you in a moment,' said Kai while carrying some boxes to a storage room.
'I'll smoke a cigarette and come back to help.' Noha took his cigarettes out of one of his pockets and headed towards the back door of the huge kitchen.
It was probably late, but Noha didn't know, he had forgotten his cell phone along with his clothes. He calmly smoked a cigarette while looking at the sky and feeling the cold wind burn his cheeks. From where he was, he could hear the people in the mansion and the music playing inside. When he was about to light his second cigarette, he heard a noise coming from the forest, it sounded like screams.
'Mom! Where are you? Mom? I'm scared, please help me!' It was a child's voice.
Noha couldn't help but feel his stomach churn. What was a child doing alone in the forest? Without thinking much, he headed towards the forest, trying to follow the child's cries.
'Hello!' Noha shouted as he walked into the dark forest.
'Hello, where are you? I can help you!'
He continued to hear the child calling for his mother, but he couldn't quite make out the direction of his voice. Without realizing it, he had walked too far and couldn't see anything. Suddenly, someone or something grabbed him by the shoulders. Noha screamed and tried to break free from the hands touching him. He could feel a somewhat viscous liquid between his fingers. When he was able to turn around, his eyes couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was a totally disfigured creature screaming with a child's voice. For a moment, Noha was about to vomit, but this creature was chasing him. For a moment, he wondered if his imagination was playing tricks on him, but his hands still had the texture of that strange liquid.
Noha ran with all his might and reached a place where he could see the moon. There was also a small cabin. As soon as he thought about running to the cabin, he heard the child's voice again, very close. Desperate, he ran as fast as he could. When he was about to reach the cabin, he tripped over something, fell to the ground, injuring his almost healed wounds. When he looked up, he could see a blue-eyed man looking at him curiously while holding out his hand.
'You have to stop tripping over me, you'll get hurt,' said the man while offering his hand to Noha.