#it's funny how the only excerpts ive shared is about ✨ Eve's overactive imagination ✨

[endthestarlight]

NaNoWriMo Day 20: Finally halfway!

Daily word count: 1841 || Total: 25639/50000

I am actually amazed that I got this far and only five days late too. Idk how much further I can get with only 10 days left, but also I still have 10 days!! Maybe that would be enough to get me to 30k or even 35k, I would be happy with either even if it's not the complete 50k for nanowrimo.

I'm gonna drop an excerpt from today's draft for the occasion and also because I said I'll stop being chicken about sharing my writing but then still proceeded to cluck around so here, I'll fulfil the vow I made to myself (⁠~⁠‾⁠▿⁠‾⁠)⁠~

One time the two siblings were reading an illustrated book, one about monsters and their victims and occasionally the heroes who defeated these foul creatures, if the tale was so inclined to end itself happily as a consolation. One picture of a gruesome child-eating beast in particular scared Eve, and Wilfred found it very much amusing. He had stopped fearing such things from storybooks so this reaction from his much younger and naive sister gave him much more enjoyment than just reading it. When Eve pulled away to cover her eyes and bury herself under the blankets, Wilfred pulled her back to his side and began telling her the tale. The more she shivered and whimpered under his arm, the more excited and animated his narration of the tale became, until—:

"BOO!" Wilfred yelled at the climax.

The sudden scream frightened Eve, and she let out a scream of her own much louder than the one that scared her. They were both in hysterics, with Eve wailing inconsolably as Wilfred laughed at her expense. Amidst all the noise they were making, Wilfred heard the door of the master bedroom slamming open and hurried footsteps thumping on the wooden floor. In a panic, he hurriedly shoved the book under his pillow and blew the candles out, and he urged Eve to stop crying lest they be caught staying up way past their bedtime. However, despite Wilfred's pleading, she could not stop. In fact she cried even harder, for the sudden darkness frightened her even more and made her frightful imaginings worse. She could see in the dark with what little light the faint moon offered her a shadowy figure lurking in the corner of their room, slowly advancing towards them without a sound as Wilfred tried to hush and quiet her down. It was nearing the bed where they were, reaching its clawed hand to Wilfred who had his back to it. Eve tried to warn him, but her words were jumbled, her tongue in a knot. She kept trying as it crept closer and closer, its sharp talons about to grasp at Wilfred's hair.

"B-b-behind you!" Eve managed to stutter out, a shaking finger pointing past his shoulder.

But Wilfred only snorted at her warning. "Hah! As if I'm going to fall for that," he said smugly. "What's behind me, hmm? What's behind me, Eve?" he asked as she shook him with both hands.

Then the door to their room bust open, and he yelped from the shock. Nate stood at the door in his pyjamas, a candlestick in his hand, with an angry expression.

"What ruckus are you two making this late at night?" Nate barked.

Eve couldn't be scared of their angry father though, for with the light of the new flame he brought with him, that strange creature disappeared like smoke being blown away. He had saved them both from danger and she was thankful for it, even if he came here to scold. She ran up to Nate and clung to him tightly.

Nate looked to Wilfred to explain things. "What happened here? Why is Eve crying? Wilfred, what did you do?" The last one, an accusation that stung.

"It's not my fault she gets scared so easily!" Wilfred protested, but that only gave away what happened.

"Ah, I see. You two were staying up late telling scary stories instead of sleeping, and you mister had the bright idea of spooking your younger sister out of her wits, is that it?"

"Look, it's not all my fault, okay? She wanted it—"

"We'll talk about this matter in the morning," Nate said sternly, shutting his protests down. He kneeled to be at eye level with Eve and stroked her head gently. In a voice much more tender than when speaking to Wilfred, Nate said: "Hush now, my dear Eve, it's alright. Do you want to sleep in the other bedroom with me and Mama?"

Eve shook her head, still sniffling. "No, no," she said, "we can't leave Wilfred here all alone. There's a monster here."

"Your older brother can handle any monsters here by himself," Nate replied. "He's a big boy, see? He's not even the least bit scared at all. He can stand to sleep here on his own." To Wilfred's ears that sounded like a condemnation.

Nate picked Eve up with one arm and was about to carry her off to sleep in the other bedroom, but Eve started hitting and kicking and throwing a fit again.

"No, no, no! We can't, we can't just leave him!" Eve cried out. "It's dangerous, it's dangerous here alone in the dark..." she trailed off in a trembling whimper and buried her head in the crook of his neck.

Nate sighed. Eve clearly wasn't going to calm down like this so he had no choice but to play by what she wanted if he wanted to go back to sleep soon. "Alright, alright. We won't leave him. Do you want me to stay the night here with you two? I can even leave the candlelight burning for the night so you'll have nothing to be afraid of."

"Mhm-hmm," Eve nodded, snuggling up to her father.

Nate placed the candlestick down on Wilfred's study desk and carried Eve to the two siblings' shared bed. He laid her down next to Wilfred and himself sat on her other side, keeping Eve in between her father and her brother. Before laying his head down, Nate gave a stern glance at Wilfred, admonishing him with his eyes alone. It was as if those eyes said, 'Look at how you treat your sister, your sister who despite all that still cares for your safety and won't let you be in any danger, imagined or not.'

They both knew that there was nothing there, that it was just an overactive imagination on Eve's part, but in that moment before Nate slammed open the door, Wilfred thought that he felt something touch his hair ever so slightly, though both of Eve's hands still clung tightly to him, and the windows were all tightly shut so it was definitely no wind's gentle caress.

Wilfred brushed it off as Eve's fright simply getting to him.