The Children

They sounded like they were coming from a tunnel. Their voices echoed throughout my skull, bouncing off the edges of every bone. My heart raced as I looked around for where they were coming from. Over-and-over they said the same thing. Their laughter chilled my spine, and made my skin crawl.

“Come play with us,” they beckoned, “come play with us please.”

I kept searching the room for where the voices were coming from but they seemed to come from everywhere, while at the same time, nowhere at all. Then, I locked eyes with her. She had icy blue eyes and golden blond hair. Her skin was smooth, and by anyone’s standards she was beautiful. I held her gaze for what seemed like forever as the voices persisted. She blinked once and then, suddenly gathered her things to leave. I watched as she snatched up her books, crammed them in her backpack, and bolted out the door. The professor didn’t seem to even realize her sudden exit. I held a split second debate with myself before deciding to follow. As soon as the professor turned his back, I took off towards the door. I got outside and caught a glimpse of her just rounding a corner toward the building’s stairs. I ran after her and caught her just as she was going down the first flight of steps.

“Hey!” I called out, “Hey, wait up!”

She completely ignored me and kept going. I raced down the steps after her and found her standing outside the building in front of a green bench. Her back was to me and her bag was sitting at her feet. I called to her again and this time she responded.

“You heard them, didn’t you?” she asked.

“Where are they coming from?” I asked, “Did you hear them too?”

“I did hear them, but that was over a year ago,” she said, turning around to face me, “What did they want you to do?”

I stared at her for a moment and then answered, “They wanted to play. Or, it seemed like they wanted me to play with them. What do you mean over a year ago? Did they want you to do something else?”

“I heard them when I first came here,” she said, “They wanted me to come eat with them.”

“What did you do?” I asked, “What are they? Who are they?”

“They’re the children,” she said. “The ones who came here and decided not to grow up. I reacted just the same as you, except that I had no one. I was alone and I thought I was insane.”

“I’d say so,” I said, “You’re not making much sense you know."

“People come here to live out their lives,” she said. “To either succeed in their field or fail. Some fail, and go out to try different things. Some succeed and journey towards fulfillment. Others choose a different path. One where their lives can be stress-free and they can return to the freedom of childhood.”

“And, how would they go about that?” I asked.

“They die,” she said. “And go back to being kids for the rest of eternity.”

I stared at her in silence for a few seconds before asking, “and how does that work? Last time I checked, even in death, we age.”

She pointed up at the roof of the building, “They dive off of there. Many have done it, and while our bodies age, our souls do what they wish.”

I looked up at the edge of the roof and then turned back to her, “You said they wanted you to eat with them. What did you do?”

She stared at me with a placid look on her face and said, “I ate with them.”

“How did that go?” I asked.

“It’s still going,” she said, “Will you play with them?”

I took a step back toward the doors and shook my head, “I think I’ll pass.”

“Then, it’s time for lunch,” she said, then she outstretched her arms.

Suddenly, a bunch of small figures started fading into view. At first I was unsure of what they were, but as they became clearer I realized that they were children. Each looked rather dirty and had a hungry look in their eyes. The girl smiled and lowered her arms towards me.

“Let’s eat.”