Sleep tight

Enbe had been watching the house since the last traces of daylight still faded across the horizon. Hidden among the nearby trees, she remained almost perfectly motionless, her eyes fixed on the windows as the shadow moved from room to room. She never rushed. Every home settled into the night differently, and experience had taught her patience. One by one the lights disappeared until the house finally became dark. Even then she continued waiting a little while more, giving whoever lived inside enough time to drift into a deeper sleep before she finally stepped from the shadows.

She crossed the yard with silent, quick steps, her strange stilt-like legs carrying her effortlessly over the grass. Reaching the side of the house, her long fingers carefully explored each window, applying tiny bits of pressure to check which ones are locked. One window refused to budge. The next was locked just as tightly. Then, with only the faintest push, another slid up. She slowly eased the window open, careful to keep every movement necessary, before folding herself through the surprisingly narrow opening with unnatural flexibility. Once inside, she gently lowered the window back into place.

The house was quiet. Enbe tilted her head, listening for breathing behind closed doors before quietly making her way down the hallway. Her pointed legs touched the floor with barely any sound at all as she wandered from room to room until she reached one door that felt right. She eased it open just enough to peek inside and found a sleeping person. After watching for a few seconds to make certain they remained asleep, she approached the bedside until she stood only inches away, her pale face hovering near theirs.

A thin line slowly appeared across the lower half of her otherwise seamless face before her mouth spread open. As it did, her eyes gradually rolled upward until only white remained. Wisps of pale, smoke-like vapor began flowing from the sleeping person’s mouth and nose, curling gently through the air before being steadily drawn into Enbe’s waiting mouth. The dream was ordinary, bright white in color, and she accepted it, quietly breathing it in as the sleeper remained unaware. The supernatural effects settled over them immediately upon her feeding, keeping their body perfectly still and ensuring no stirring could interrupt the feeding. Only some outside disturbance, an alarm, a loud noise, another person, or something equally disruptive, could pull them from their sleep while Enbe continued drawing the drifting white dream into herself.

Enbe had spent the evening hidden among the trees at the edge of the property, watching the house with the same patience she always did. Windows slowly darkened one after another until the final light disappeared. She waited several more minutes, giving the sleeper enough time to settle into a deeper sleep before finally making her approach. There was never any need to hurry. Dreams were always sweetest once they had fully taken shape.

Her long, narrow fingers gently tested each window she came across. One stayed firmly shut. Another refused to move at all. The third moved up beneath the lightest pressure, earning a small blink of satisfaction from her. She carefully eased it open just enough to slip inside, folding her towering body through the narrow space with impossible flexibility before quietly closing the window behind her. Balanced on her pointed, stilt-like legs, she wandered through the house without disturbing a single thing until she found the bedroom.

She saw the sleeping person lay peacefully, unaware they had a visitor standing beside them. Enbe slowly leaned closer until only a short distance separated their faces. A thin line appeared across her pale face before her mouth opened into its seamless horizontal split. Her eyes rolled upward until they became completely white, and almost immediately dark smoke began drifting from the sleeper’s mouth and nose.

Dark smoke means it’s a nightmare.

The thick black vapor curled through the air in twisting streams before flowing steadily into Enbe’s waiting mouth. She always preferred nightmares. Their strange complexity carried emotions unlike ordinary dreams. They were richer somehow, deeper. Yet as satisfying as they were, she also felt a small pang of sympathy for the sleeping human beneath her. Over countless years she had learned enough about people to understand that nightmares upset them. They woke frightened, exhausted, sometimes carrying those feelings long after waking. If she consumed it completely, they would never have to remember it.

So she continued feeding, patiently drawing every bit of black smoke into herself while the supernatural effects quietly settled over the sleeper. Their body remained perfectly still beneath the blankets, unable to move or awaken on its own no matter what the nightmare had become. Only an outside interruption, a ringing alarm, another person, or some other sudden disturbance, could pull them from their sleep before Enbe had finished. Until then she remained nearly motionless over the bed, steadily inhaling the nightmare with slow, deliberate breaths, content knowing the person would awaken refreshed, never realizing the terror had disappeared before morning came.

Enbe had noticed this particular house several nights ago. Nothing about it stood out from the outside, yet something kept drawing her back. Perhaps it was the dreams she had sensed before, or perhaps it was simple curiosity. She never truly knew why certain places lingered in her thoughts. As darkness settled across the neighborhood and the last lights disappeared behind drawn curtains, she emerged from the treeline and circled toward the back of the house.

She wrapped her long fingers around the back door handle and gave it the gentlest turn she could manage. It clicked. Unlocked. Her wide eyes blinked once before she slowly eased the door inward, careful not to let the hinges squeak as she learned hinges sometimes do long ago. After slipping inside, she quietly closed it again, her pointed legs carrying her across the floor without leaving so much as a creak behind. She moved through the darkness with ease until she found the bedroom she had been searching for.

The sleeping person rested peacefully, completely unaware that her towering figure now stood in the room. Enbe stepped closer until she was beside the bed, looking down with the same wide, unblinking eyes she always wore. Her mouth remained perfectly sealed. No feeding. Not yet.

She simply watched

Humans fascinated her in countless little ways. The tiny movements they made while sleeping, the changing expressions that flickered across their faces during dreams, the way they curled beneath blankets or moved position without waking. She had spent a long time observing these things, and somehow they never became boring. Sometimes she wondered what they were seeing inside their dreams before she ever tasted them. Sometimes she wondered what kind of person they were once the sun came back.

She knew she should probably feed and leave, just as she usually did. That was safe and simple. Yet every so often she found someone whose presence alone held her attention for reasons she couldn’t explain. On nights like this, she allowed herself a few extra minutes, standing silently beside the bed, studying the sleeping human with simple curiosity before eating whatever dream they may be having.

Night settled over the neighborhood as it always did, and Enbe patiently waited until the final lights inside the house faded away. After giving the occupants several extra minutes to settle in, she skittered across the yard without a sound. One by one, her long fingers gently tested each window. Locked. Locked again. Then one finally opened. She carefully lifted it open, just enough to squeeze through without making a noise.

She folded herself into the opening with ease, one leg inside first, followed by the other. Her arms remained on the side of the window for another moment as she slowly worked the rest of her towering body through the window. It was a position she had found herself in hundreds of times before, awkward looking but familiar enough that she barely thought about it anymore.

Only this time, when she looked up. Her target was already awake… Enbe froze completely

She remained suspended in place as her wide eyes met the person’s gaze. Her thoughts dissolved almost instantly. Normally the moment she realized someone had seen her, instinct took over and she disappeared into the darkness before they had time to react. Now there was nowhere to immediately run. One arm still rested on the windowsill, trying to scramble backward quickly would almost certainly be a little more difficult and weird looking

Her pale face remained perfectly expressionless, though inside she was already filled with a little embarrassment. She knew exactly how she looked. Nine feet tall, covered in shadow-like dark skin, comin through an open window in the middle of the night. There was almost no chance this appeared normal. If anything, it was probably one of the worst possible ways for a human to first see her.

For several long seconds she did nothing at all, her She silently hoped, however unrealistic it might have been, that she somehow looked just a little less frightening than she imagined she did, because she had never wanted to scare anyone. She had only come looking for dreams, and now all she could think about was how badly this encounter had gone.

The forest had become Enbe’s home again by the time the night reached its darkest hours. She wandered between towering trees with slow steps, her narrow legs carrying her over roots and fallen branches as though they weren’t even there. Tonight was a good night. She had already visited two homes, finding a pleasant dream in one and a wonderful nightmare in the other. The lingering feeling of both still settled warmly inside her, leaving the supernatural hunger that constantly followed her finally satisfied for a while.

Without any other plans pushing her onward, she allowed herself to simply explore. She occasionally paused to watch small woodland critters scurry through the undergrowth or listened to the distant sounds carried through the trees. Nights like these were her favorite. No more need to search for unlocked windows. No need to creep through peoples houses. Just the forest and the cool darkness she had always loved.

Then she stopped. Something was near.

Her head slowly turned toward the unfamiliar presence, curiosity replacing the contentment she’d been feeling moments before. She had wandered these forests for a while and had grown familiar with nearly every animal, every ordinary sound, every common scent. This was none of those things. It was entirely unfamiliar.

Without making another sound, Enbe slipped behind the thick trunk of a nearby tree. Only the edge of her pale face and one wide eye peeked around the bark as she cautiously observed the strange thing in the distance. She had no name for whatever it was. No memory of seeing anything remotely like it before.

She remained perfectly still, her long fingers lightly resting against the rough bark as she continued watching. Questions drifted through her mind faster than she could answer them. Was it dangerous? Did it live here? Was it alone? Did it know she was nearby? For once, Enbe wasn’t the only mysterious thing around. Now she was simply a curious creature hiding behind a tree, silently watching the new thing.

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