Mr. Paisel's Gift

The man sat on the edge of his bed as he stared down at him. Almost near the young man's head. And he was completely unable to move or speak. His heart pounded in his chest as the man sat near him. A tiny smile coming to his features as he stared at Shiloh. Carefully climbing over the frozen young man on the bed. Tilting his head to the side as he stared into his eyes. In a low voice, he said,"Hello my darling little one."

"It's been a long while since we've seen each other.",the man continued. They've seen each other before? Like in a terrible nightmare or something? When though? Was this even actually real or was he dreaming? His eyes went wide as the man cupped his face gently. Hands were as cold as ice. Maybe even colder than that. It made his whole body shake as the man smiled apologetically. The man added,"You were an infant when we last met."

"I guess I shouldn't expect you to be able to remember me.",he mumbled. Okay so, that explained a whole lot. Though not why the strange man was there. Or how he got into Shiloh's home. And didn't explain who the Hell this guy was either. And the man continued,"You're so big now. I'm so proud of how you've grown."

"You've really become such a strong young man.",he complimented. A genuine tone of pride to his tone. One that Shiloh hadn't heard in years. Not since he was a little boy. The Man gently ran his thumbs over Shiloh's cheeks carefully as possible. Causing him to shiver all over again. Calmly, he said,"Sorry for being so cold, Shi."

"Being undead kind of leaves you without body heat.",The man grumbled. Climbing off of the young man, he turned on the lamp on Shiloh's nightstand. Illuminating him a little bit better. The Man was very tall, athletic, and fairly handsome. He wore all black that accentuated his figure nicely. Had a lovely black hat that matched his suit. Long black hair that looked like it would be very soft to the touch. Pulled into a low ponytail. Shiloh would have raised an eyebrow at the man's attire. If he could actually move either of his eyebrows.

Why was he calling him "Shi" for? No one ever called him that before. It was strange how this stranger was. And how it felt peculiarly familiar to him. Whoever the Hell he was. The man took a deep bow in front of the younger man. Then gave him a huge smile as he stared down at him. It was one of the saddest ones that Shiloh had ever seen. In a quiet voice, he said,"My name is Mr. Paisel, Shiloh."

"I'm here to bestow upon you, my greatest gifts.",Mr. Paisel explained. Greatest gifts? What kind of gifts would this man be giving him? Why was he giving it to him in the first place? It wasn't like Shiloh was anyone special. Just some dude who worked at a gas station. Shiloh couldn't understand just why this man wanted to do this. It just made absolutely no sense to him. While he laid there, Shiloh slowly started to feel his body again.

It started with his toes and slowly started going up his legs. So very, very, very slowly. But, the-Mr. Paisel didn't seem to mind waiting. In fact, he seemed to be expecting a long wait. Like he had dealt with this many times before. Not that long afterward, Shiloh was able to feel all of his limbs. He quickly sat up in his bed and scooted away from Mr. Paisel. Almost shrieking in fear as he stared at the strange man. Keeping his mouth shut as he debated what he was to do. What did this weird man expect him to say. Did he even want him to say anything at all? Thoughts bounced around in his skull. And all he could blurty out was,"Who in the world even are you?!"

"A friend of your Mother and Father.",Mr. Paisel answered. A tiny polite smile on his quite handsome face. Friend of his parents? Shiloh felt they would've mentioned him at some point or an other. But, they never had as far as he knew. So Shiloh asked,"Why didn't they ever mention you then?"

"They possibly didn't remember me either, little one.",Mr. Paisel answered. Gently taking Shiloh's hands in his own. The grin on his face grew quite a bit. To the point that it looked completely unnatural. Causing a shiver of fear to go down his spine. Then he continued,"But, that doesn't matter. All that matters is you getting what you deserve."

"The powers that I promised you since you were a little one.",he added. His horribly freezing cold hands were slowly warming. From the ice they were to normal human temperature. To swelteringly hot. It actually started to hurt after a bit. Shiloh nearly screamed from the pain that was inflicted upon him.

Then it was over.

The heat and pain were gone in an instant. Like it never had been in the first place. Mr. Paisel let go of his hands with a tiny chuckle. One that sent another shiver of cold fear down his spine. For a moment, he almost believed there were going to be marks on the palms of his hands. Feeling utterly relieved when there were none. Glancing up at the tall man, he asked,"Just what in the Hell did you do to me?"

"Touch one of your drawings and find out.",Mr. Paisel suggested. Holding up a doodle that Shiloh had recently done. A tiny rabbit that he did mostly for practice. So the artist took it from the strange man. Running his fingers over the tiny rabbit. Seconds later, it fell onto Shiloh's lap. Warm, real, and sitting close to his body as it laid there. It was real. The rabbit he drew was real and sitting in his lap. Sniffing him as it sat. Shiloh stared at it then at Mr. Paisel. Then back down at the little rabbit. In a quiet voice, Shiloh asked,"What in the world is this?"

"Your gift. You draw it and you make it real.",Mr. Paisel explained. Then took the rabbit drawing back from the young man. Holding it up, he added,"To get rid yourself of what you make, all you have to do is rip the paper up."

With that he tore the page in two length-wise. The rabbit suddenly disappeared in a huge puff of blue smoke. Causing Shiloh to cough as he waved it away. Looking down at his lap in utter confusion. Which was still a little warm from the little rabbit's body heat. His jaw dropped open in surprise as he stared at the empty space. Eyes wide in utter shock at what had happened to him. Mr. Paisel only giggled as he reached over and gently closed his mouth. Calmly, he said,"Ain't that awesome? And it's only the beginning of what's to come."

"You're going to be glorious, Shi. I just know it.",Mr. Paisel promised. His tone suggested something that didn't sit right with Shiloh. There was an odd edge to Mr. Paisel's voice that he didn't like. He felt completely wrong as he sat on his bed. Curling in on himself as he stared at the man who gave him the 'gift'. Watching Mr. Paisel's form slowly faded out of view. The last thing to disappear entirely was the disturbingly wide grin. Soon as it was gone, Shiloh wondered about the supposed 'gift' he was given. Or if it was truly a gift in the first place.