Mr. Bixby

Weeks passed between attempts to get little Saul into the closet. The clown would bide his time. He didn’t want to rush what would have to be one of the best meals of his lifetime. Little 8 year old Saul was by far the juiciest, most tender child the clown had ever laid eyes on. It had been a year since his family moved into the old house. Even longer since he’d had a meal this delectable. Every night he would watch him sleep from the crack in the door frame. Every night he would salivate; anticipating that moment when he’d finally come to the closet and become his meal. Tonight he would try again.
The clown pushed on the door from the inside. It creaked open ever so slightly. The young child lay in his bed snoring. He whispered, “Saul. Wake up. Come and play with me.” Saul stirred in his bed, but not enough to the clown’s liking. He pushed just a little more on the door. Its squeak was just barely audible over the sound of the fan blowing in Saul’s room. It was a warm night. Perfect for a good meal. The boy seemed to be listless in his sleep. He stirred some more. Now was the clown’s chance. Today he would get his prize. He pushed on the door one more time and it swung open. The clown stood there in the threshold holding three balloons and a cone of cotton candy. The smell of popcorn and funnel cake began to fill the room. The sounds of the circus were behind the clown, low, but audible. The moonlight finally lay upon him, showing him brightly in the night. His suit was colorful with three large pompoms down the middle of the torso. His hair was a wild red, matching the large nose on his face and the floppy shoes on his feet. His skin was white like costume paint. In his mouth were several rows of sharp, pointy, crooked teeth.
“Saul.” He quietly called out in a sing-songy voice. He was ready and raring to play. He only needed the kid to wake up and join him in the pitch black of the closet. He had no real power or strength to feast outside of it. It was his curse. Saul let out a quiet moan. He was beginning to wake! The clown was careful not to scare him. He’d been trying for so long to finally seal the deal. “Saul, wake up! It’s time to play.” The clown tiptoed closer to Saul’s bed.
“Hmm?” Saul let out as his eyelids fluttered, eyes adjusting to the dark. He sat up in his bed. Now the clown only needed the right thing to tempt him into joining him in the closet.
“Come with me, Saul. We’ll have lotsa fun.” The clown motioned to the closet. The pitch black portal.
“Mr. Bixby? Is that you?” The clown had a name.
“Yes, it’s me. Are you ready to play?” Mr. Bixby grinned a toothy grin at the young child. He edged closer towards the bed.
“I can’t. It’s the middle of the night. You know that. Why don’t you come out in the morning?”
“Aww, shucks. You know I can’t play during the day. And it’s lonely here in the closet. Don’t you want to have some fun?”
“I do, Mr. Bixby, but…”
“Aww, c’mon, kid. You’re breaking my heart!”
“I’m sorry!”
“Don’t worry about it. Just c’mon and play with me.” Mr. Bixby continued to grin and little Saul. He did his best to hold back the salivation that was pooling in his mouth. He took a bite of the cotton candy and swallowed hard.
“I dunno. What about my parents. Can they come?”
“Next time, kid.”
“Well,” Saul thought about it. “I’m kinda hungry.”
“There’s plenty of food and drink for you here.” He waived his balloon-clad hand behind him, motioning towards the still pitch black closet. The smells of the circus began to fill the room in a thick bouquet, thicker than before. Saul’s stomach growled. “Come on, kid. Come see the sights. Have some cotton candy! You like cotton candy, right?” Saul nodded and pulled the sheets from over himself. “That’s the spirit. Come and play with me!” Mr. Bixby danced and smiled.
“Okay, I’ll come. I’m getting real hungry now.”
“Good! Good! There’s all the food you can eat here!” Saul turned and hopped out of bed. Mr. Bixby let go of the balloons and held his hand out to Saul. “That’s m’boy! Let’s get going!”
Mr. Bixby became elated. He was giddy with glee. He’d finally gotten this succulent child to come with him. It was time to feast! He could feel the saliva flowing freely, he licked his chops. He was so ready. He was so ready to devour the child, soul and all. “Come, let’s go.” He said to Saul as he took him by the hand. He led the young child towards the closet, every step bringing the sinister clown more and more joy. Saul stopped at the threshold of the closet.
“Are you sure about this, Mr. Bixby?” He asked the malevolent clown. “We could do this some other time if you really wanted.” The clown looked at the child with confusion in his eyes. Had he had a change of heart?
“No, we need to play tonight. Don’t you want to play?”
“I do, but I’m just making sure your heart’s in it is all.”
A wave of relief washed over Mr. Bixby. He hadn’t changed his mind, he was only hesitating. That’s it. He was merely feeling unsure about the whole ordeal.
“Here, I have an idea,” he said as he let go of the child’s hand. He turned to the side, dropped the cotton candy, and fiddled with something. It squeaked and rubbed, but after a moment, he turned back and presented a present for the lad. It was a balloon animal shaped like a dog. “There you go! Now let’s get moving!” He smiled another big toothy smile. Saul took the balloon animal and looked it over in the moonlight. He seemed disinterested with it, but he held onto it, nonetheless.
“Okay, let’s go.”
They both walked into the closet together. Finally he’d gotten his prize! The door slammed behind them. And then…something happened. Something Mr. Bixby wasn’t expecting. Everything had suddenly gone all terribly wrong. He began to scream. Rainbow blood seeped out from beneath the door. The fan in Saul’s room blew the balloons around.

Morning came. Saul’s mother opened the door to find her sweet little boy tucked nicely in bed. The balloons  danced in the corner of the room. “Wake up, sleepy head.” She cooed. Saul peeked one eye open and then shot up in bed.
“Morning, Mommy!” He said.
“Good morning, my little monster! How did you sleep?”
“Pretty good.”
“Good. Won’t you join us for breakfast?”
“I’m not too terribly hungry, actually.” He replied. She looked at him with concern in her eyes.
“Are you feeling well?”
“I’m fine. I just had a bit of a snack in the middle of the night.”
She looked about the room and noticed the rainbow blood on the carpet. “Oh, Saul! Did you—?”
“He wouldn’t leave me alone, Mommy. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, sweety. We just weren’t expecting you to take care of your friend so soon. We just moved here, you know. Now we’re going to have to find another haunted home and you know how long that takes.”
“I know, Mommy. I’ll try to make it last longer next time. But on the plus side, I won’t be hungry for a long time. He was really filling!” Saul’s eyes lit up. His mother simply chuckled and closed the door.
“I’ll see you downstairs in a little bit!” She called from down the hall.
“Sure thing, Mom!” Saul called back. He searched under his pillow until he found the balloon animal. He clutched it lovingly. “Thanks again, Mr. Bixby.”