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You haven’t been sleeping well.
The obvious reason why lurked outside of your house. Glancing at your kitchen window, you saw The Knocker staring right back at you.
His shoulders heaved, his breathing heavy, ragged and loud enough to hear through the wooden walls. Once you had tapped on the window with your knuckle in hopes of scaring him off, but it only excited him further. You had reacted. He LOVED when you reacted to his behavior.
Sometimes he broke into your house, rummaging through your chests. He never stole much. Old saplings, bones, poppies. His favorite was freshly baked bread. After the first few annoying discoveries of missing bread, you began to leave a stack solely for The Knocker to snatch. As a thank you, he had stopped creeping up behind you.
Now it was only sometimes, rather than all the time.
Sometimes he stared at you through the glass, the roles having switched so that he was inside and you were outside. When you entered your house, The Knocker vanished into thin air. Blip! The only thing left was a faint trace of black smoke swirling until it disappeared. Your throat tightened and you wondered just where he would run off to - how did someone(thing?) like him be capable of snapping out of reality.
Rarely do you catch him in your bedroom.
The first time, you shrieked and hurled your axe into his shoulder. The Knocker merely laughed it off, pulling the blade out and tossing it to the floor. Then he grabbed your wrists, that mocking smile stretched wider. The tip of his nose brushed yours.
“Relax, Bunny. It’s just me,” he had told you, squeezing your wrists harder. The pressure didn’t hurt, it was a reminder that it could hurt, should he dare. “I was only wanting to take a peek at things.”
“Get out of my room you fucking creep!”
Letting go of your wrists, his grin didn’t falter but the grey-ish black of his eyes softened a fraction. The Knocker took a slow step backwards towards the stairs. Then he turned, descending. Naturally, you followed him down, but by the time you reached the first floor, he had vanished. You sank to the last step, elbows resting on your legs while you stared at nothing. In a way, you felt his presence lingering; a stillness clinging to the air.
Even that, too, began to fade over time until there were absolutely no remnants left of the Knocker.
After that, he avoided your room. He could appear in the middle of your living room, on the stairs, or right behind you as you smelted iron, but not when you were asleep in your bed, a time when you were maybe the most vulnerable. At the most, he knocked on your door and woke you up. You’d usually stomp downstairs and open the door.
“Hiya Bunny!”
“What do you want?” You grumbled, dragging a hand down your face.
“Just to see you.” The Knocker’s smile grew.
You slammed the door and went back upstairs. Before you collapsed back into your nest of pillows and blankets, you caught a glimpse of him staring up at your window. You couldn’t just go back to sleep, knowing he was going to stand there watching and waiting. What for? That was difficult to pinpoint. So that’s what you would do, rather than sleep. Figure out the enigma of The Knocker.
So, that was your current conundrum; the reason why you fought against sleep. Hours of precious sleep were completely wasted!
You couldn’t figure out the deal with this guy - this entity that had decided that he liked you and simultaneously wanted to antagonize the shit out of you.
And that’s why you were zoning off now, looking through The Knocker rather than at him. You were tired. Yawning, you didn’t even bother to wave him off as you went back up the stairs and fell onto your bed. You kicked off your shoes and covered your face with a blanket to block out the sunlight. There were no curtains in your room. You thought about putting some up, but for some reason, you just kept forgetting about it.
You inhaled, exhaled. Forget about your plans for today. The only thing on your mind was to try to catch up on sleep. No farming, no mining. No ruminations. You shifted, settling into your bed more. It never seemed this soft before. You inhaled, exhaled; your breathing deepened. Consciousness teetered on the edge of a light doze. Just a few more seconds and you would be off to dreamland.
A weight suddenly pressed down on the mattress on your right side.
You didn’t react at first, wondering if it was real or some kind of sleep paralysis. Then, when you realized that it was real, you let out a long groan.
“What do you want?” You asked The Knocker, exasperated. “Can you just go away for a couple of hours?! Please?!”
“Relax! Relax, Bunny. I’m not gonna do anything weird.” The Knocker said. You had not bothered to lift the blanket from your face, but you felt his eyes on you. “I only wanted to be sure that you’re not getting sick.”
“I’m fine,” you snapped. “I was just trying to take a nap. I am not getting sick.”
A silence grew between you two. You let it stretch for a moment longer than needed before speaking. “Are you going to leave?”
“No.”
You groaned. “Fine, whatever. Stay, don’t stay. Just be quiet and let me sleep.” You shifted, turning your back against The Knocker. There was a thought drifting on the matter of whether he was going to use this opportunity to get back at you for that shoulder incident and make you respawn. At least you wouldn’t have to go far.
He didn’t do anything. In fact, he made himself more comfortable in his bed. You heard him shifting, the blankets rustling. You peer your head over your shoulder, peeking out from your blanket, and look at him. The Knocker was lying down on his back, his arm tucked under his head. His usual smile had dropped to a casual smirk. He turned his head, looking into your eyes.
“Y’know, it’s kind of nice to watch you sleep.” His admission hung in the air. You rolled your eyes.
“Thanks for letting me know, I guess.” You were about to turn back around, rolling your eyes because, of course, he just needed to say something creepy, when his words made you pause.
“I don’t really sleep.” You must’ve looked confused because he continued. “It’s difficult to explain. The need for my body to rest doesn’t exist. Like drinking, eating. It is absent.”
“Absent?”
“I suppose, for lack of a better word. As I said, it’s difficult to explain. You’re human, you wouldn’t get it.”
“Oh.” You weren’t sure how to react to this newfound information.
He propped himself up, resting his hooded head on the palm of his hand as he looked down at you. “So, that’s why I find peace in watching you sleep. It brings me comfort that you’re tucked in for the night, safe and sound. You aren’t outside getting yourself into trouble. I know where you’re at. You’re right here. Besides, you look pretty cute asleep. Not so tense.”
You weren’t sure how to react to this either.
Part of you - the more sensible side - was screaming at you to no longer entertain this. If you allowed him to try and humanize himself, then you would continue this connection - this thing that you both had. It would never stop.
Part of you wondered if this was the last time that The Knocker would open up to you, should you choose to ignore him. For the first time, he was offering a piece of himself that wasn’t just to annoy or scare you. He was reaching out and waiting for you to grasp his hand.
“Have you ever tried? To fall asleep?”
“Not really. When you no longer physically feel exhaustion, you find that there’s no point in trying. The need isn’t there. It is… missing.”
The words come out of your mouth before you can stop yourself. “Do you want to try to sleep?”
The Knocker let out a mirthless laugh, amusement in his eyes. The smirk stretched wider. “Hey now, Bunny. That’s pretty forward of you. I didn’t think you wanted to do that kind of stuff. Especially with someone like me.”
“You know that’s not what I meant.” You scowled, frowning. “I mean, you try to take a nap like how I was. You lie on that side of the bed, then cover your face with a blanket. Relax a bit.” You echoed his earlier taunting.
“And what if I can’t sleep?” His head tilted.
“Then you can’t sleep.” You shrugged, offering another one of your blankets to him. “Just try it.”
When he took it, his fingertips brushed yours. The smallest caress of his index finger against your thumb. His skin was rough. You froze for a moment before going to turn around, but it was too late. The Knocker caught that synapse in your brain reacting to his touch.
He laughed at your reaction. “You act as if you’ve never touched me before.”
You have. Multiple times. Not like this, where you’re offering yourself to the entity that took delight in tormenting you. Not when you have a moment to breathe and truly feel The Knocker.
“Whatever,” you retorted weakly, choosing to ignore the move he pulled. You settle back into your spot, pulling the blanket over your head. “Close your eyes and go to sleep.” The mattress shifted slightly as you listened to The Knocker adjust his position. You close your eyes.
Inhale, exhale. It took some time to get back to the cozy, sleepy state you were in. Truthfully, you were on edge. You could not help anticipating The Knocker using this opportunity to pounce on you.
But he didn’t.
In fact, you were beginning to think that he was mimicking your breathing - an inhale, a deep sigh out. The Knocker was not mocking you; he was… listening to what you had asked him to do.
You shifted once again, seeking a more comfortable position. He followed suit, shifting closer to your backside.
“Y’know, Bunny,” he started, his voice low in your ear and laced with mischief. “I got an idea of how I could sleep better.”
You groaned, pulling the blanket off your face. “What?”
“Lift your head,” The Knocker said.
You turn once more to glare at him, but you don’t really say anything. You turn back around and lift your head. Gently, his arm sneaks underneath and rests on your pillow. You were slow to lower yourself back down on the bed, now resting your head on top of his arm.
He was not cold. He was not warm either. Nothing was emitted from him. You had expected his skin to feel cool to the touch due to his ghostly appearance. You did not expect his similarities to be closer to a statue.
His chest now pressed against your backside, his other arm lazily thrown over your stomach. You didn’t really agree to that either, but you were already in too deep with this. If cuddling got The Knocker to stop terrorizing you in exchange for a nap, then you were going to take it. He grabbed the blanket and tossed it over both of your bodies rather than over your head. “I can make it dark in here.”
“Thank you.” Your voice was soft, unsure what that meant.
The entire room went black. You were completely blind. Opening and closing your eyes had nothing against the effect The Knocker placed on you. You could see absolutely nothing.
Instinctively, you tensed. Before you could say or do anything, the Knocker began to hush you. The arm across your stomach lifted and stroked down your shoulder. “Nothing will happen to you. Promise, Bunny.” He soothed you as if you were a frightened animal.
Your tension eased a fraction at the strange reverence of his nickname for you. Something coiled in the pit of the stomach. Not nerves, not fear. An unknown sensation that made you stop questioning The Knocker’s motives. For the first time, you felt comfortable around him. Not enough to feel like you were safe or relieved that he would stop his torment, but you were certain in this moment that he would not harm you. His promise was as strong as steel.
The Knocker’s petting ceased when you no longer were as tense, and his arm settled back across your stomach, his grip tighter than it was prior. You didn’t comment.
Both of you lie still on your bed, breathing in and out. You closed your eyes. No thoughts urged you to keep awake; the fear now a dull simmer.
You don’t even notice falling asleep.