'No! No! No! Get off me!'

Eli, lying on his back, uselessly flailed his arms. Oskar, his chest lying sideways on Eli's ankles, tickled Eli's bare feet, while Eli laughed uncontrollably.

'Stop!'

Oskar chuckled.

'Stop! Please...'

Oskar did so.

'It's your fault Eli, for having such beautiful laughter. And for going barefoot.'

He lay down next to Eli. They cuddled in silence for a few minutes.

'Oskar...'

'Hmm?'

'Don't you sometimes feel… trapped?'

'What do you mean?'

These character aren't mine, but I love them enough to keep drawing and writing about them.

Chapter one - Love on a train

The train rocking side to side helped sooth Oskar's irregular heartbeat, his breathing slowed as well. He melted back into the seat, relaxing now that a few stations were between them and Blackeberg. He thought he had seen a police car heading toward the station as trhe train had begun to pick up speed.

She stood outside wearing dark clothes, nearly invisible, surveilling the starkly lit pool. Piercing shards of light danced off the water's surface, playing erratic patterns on aging glazed tile. Children were laughing and happy. Music was playing on the radio. The sounds of their cavorting came through the plate glass windows muted, muffled; remote.

She was outside and apart, as ever.

It cannot think. It has no memory and no language. It has neither past nor future; it does not even have "today", living only in the moment, reacting only by pure instinct. It does not know it is alive.

It has no body, no eyes to see or ears to hear, no claws for rending or fangs for savaging. It sleeps hidden within the lightless depths of its host's body. It "knows" of the world only what its host can sense, and uses the host's body to get its food.

Disclaimer:
The following is adapted from the novel Let the Right One In by John A. Linqvist and the film bearing the same name. The characters in this work are those of Mr. Linqvist and no copyright protection is asserted to this work.

This is a continuation of the story of Oskar and Eli called Reflections at Dawn.

I am not very happy with the title to this book, and would welcome suggestions for improvement.

This entire story, along with Reflections at Dawn, is attached as a Microsoft Word file.