Day: September 29, 2004

Instinctively flinching the boy’s leg slides within his trousers and the dog runs away. It is the clothing and not the body that is glued to the bed. With much difficulty he slides himself out of the clothing and stretches his naked body to remove the aches from lying still and in one position for so long.

The boy stares at the bed pondering his escape. For the first time in his life, he freed himself without the mystics of his fabled friend. This new found capacity to help oneself is overwhelming and causes the boy to swoon.

His foot throbs reminding that an injury persists and that his friend is still inexplicably missing.

And the beast consumed him beginning at his toes. It picked off one toe nail at a time and used it to scrap the succulent jam from between the digits. After the jam was gone the toes themselves were snapped free of the body and swallowed whole. Some fire was applied to the soul of the foot to cook off that tickly stuff and then each foot bitten off at the ankle. Knees snap very nicely when bent the wrong way. The beast describes calves tasting like chicken and the shin being useless. The tights are pulled from their sockets at the hip and set aside for last as the beast’s favorite part of the meal. The genitals have an aphrodisiac affect on the beast and its yearnings cause it to rush through the rest of its meal. Not yet full but satisfied it leaves head to ponder its new bodiless state.

The boy, unable to move anything but eyes, jaw and tongue begins to look around. He then jolts fully awake to roll his eyes toward where he once had feet. A dog licks the jam from between his toes. His feet are still glued to the bed with the rest of his body. He is unable to move anything but his eyes, jaw and tongue. The dog looks into the boy’s eyes. It seems so gentle then with a curt growl bites down on his toes.

The next day the boy woke. A strange silence weighted heavy in the air. The armies were gone. No mob stood at his window. It could have been a dream if not for the desolation and destruction clearly visible from his bed. He tried to rise and found he could not move. Panic. Calm. He called for the Genie. No answer. Panic. He called again. Utter fear! The Genie was gone and he was glued to his bed.