The Strange Dinner

The Gas Station

The story I'm about to tell you happened to me many years ago, when I was young and used to go out to clubs with my friends. One night I was on my way home... I was tired that day and decided to leave a little earlier than usual. My friends stayed behind, still drinking and dancing at a club in a nearby town. I got in my car and headed home. On the way, I had to stop for gas at a station that, luckily, was open... I was running on fumes. It must have been around 3 or 4 in the morning, so, as you'd expect, there was no one else filling up. I started pumping gas when, a few seconds later, a car pulled up next to mine. A girl got out, and I was completely blown away... I had never seen her before. She was blonde, with long hair, blue eyes, and an amazing body... although, if I'm being honest, her style of dressing was far from conventional for modern girls back then... it was a bit weird, you know... but she had something about her that left me speechless. So much so that, while she was also getting gas, I started talking to her: asking where she was from, saying I'd never seen her around... I even told her she was very beautiful... She, despite her oddness, seemed friendly... she would laugh when she answered... she seemed a bit shy... but I don't know... there was something about her that drew me in... It's funny how we ended up talking for like 15 minutes from the gas pumps, each with the hose in our cars, just non-stop chatting... Well, I was a bit drunk and don't really remember all the details, but I do know that 20 minutes later we were behind the gas station, in my car, going at it like animals... Damn...! She seemed shy, but she was a total wildcat... It was incredible... nothing like that had ever happened to me before...

The Phone Call

Like I said, I remember things, but not all the details... but we must have exchanged numbers after leaving the gas station, each going to our own place, because the next day, at 11 in the morning, I got a call from her. She told me she had loved meeting me, that it had all been so intense, and that she wanted to see me again... I, obviously, felt the same way... for me, that experience had been amazing, and, I have to say... the girl seemed like a perfect 10... I've never been very handsome... it's not that I'm ugly, but I haven't exactly had a lot of luck with women in my life... and this woman was the type that, when your friends see her, they can't believe you were with her... That was the level she was on. Well, I remember on that call we said, of course, that we would see each other again... So, well... we made plans to meet that same night at a bar in a nearby town. By 9 o'clock I was already there, waiting... but she didn't show. After waiting 15 minutes, I got a call from her... she told me a family commitment had come up and she couldn't make it to the date... apparently, a distant uncle she hadn't seen in a long time had arrived at her house, and her parents had asked her to stay for a family dinner... I told her it was okay, no problem, but then she made a suggestion: - Why don't you come for dinner? My mind was blown! Hahaha. She was a one-night stand, why on earth would I go to dinner at her house with her family? How embarrassing...! No, no... I told her no. But she insisted: "Please... I'll make it up to you... I'll just say you're a friend, but I want to see you... please..." Damn...! It was a very awkward situation... I hesitated for a few seconds... but, well, was I really going to lose the chance to see her again over something so silly?... I agreed... She gave me her address, and I headed straight there.

The Dinner

I arrived at the address she had given me. It was a farmhouse on the outskirts of the city... I figured her parents were probably into livestock or whatever it is people usually do on farms. I parked the car and got to the door... I rang the bell, and she opened it. I went inside, a bit embarrassed by the whole situation, but, well, everything seemed normal... She introduced me to her parents and her uncle. They seemed like pleasant enough people, and they weren't particularly surprised by my visit that night either, since they didn't even ask any questions... She introduced me as a friend. Everything was very homey and pleasant, honestly. The mother was a dear... she was concerned about me, making sure I was comfortable, asking if I wanted something to drink, etc... all pretty normal. I, well, I relaxed a bit and felt somewhat more at ease. The girl, whose name I won't mention, was also very close to me... I noticed she kept looking at me a lot with a smiling face, as if she was hoping to get me alone or something, hahahaha. But there was no time for that, because dinner was ready. An impressive roast turkey. We sat around the table. We started eating... as you can imagine, before that, they said grace over the table and the food... very typical in religious families from that area. Everything was going normally until, at one point, I needed to use the bathroom. I asked where it was, and they pointed me to it. I went to the bathroom... It was down a long hallway, at the end. Right on either side of the bathroom were two rooms with their doors closed. When I came out of the bathroom, something caught my attention... one of the doors that had been closed before was now open... I peeked in slightly, not for any particular reason, just instinctively. The room was pretty dark... I could hardly even tell what it was... maybe a normal bedroom... but I can definitely say I felt something... like something suddenly moved abruptly... It scared the hell out of me... I didn't expect it... there was clearly someone in that room... I thought it was the girl, that maybe she had followed me... I even thought that maybe she had done it so I would come in and we could be alone... That was the most likely scenario, right? I called out to her quietly, but she didn't answer... so I stepped inside a little... it was still very dark... I could barely make out, from the light coming in from outside, some parts of the bedroom... I kept moving forward very slowly so I wouldn't bump into anything... Something was moving... no doubt about it... I still thought it was her... Was that crazy girl getting undressed? It was a kind of thrilling situation... I advanced further and further towards the source of those sounds... Then, suddenly, I could make out a shape... a silhouette of a person... but very small... I mean, it looked like a little boy or girl... someone very short who was just standing there, less than 3 feet away from me... I couldn't see their face, just a bit of their outline... It gave me a really bad feeling, honestly, I don't know if because of the situation or because what I was hoping to find was a woman to do something more erotic with... Either way, I quickly left the room and went back to the living room, where everyone was still eating. When I got back, she saw I was a bit shaken and asked me what was wrong. I told her nothing, that I had accidentally run into a child... I said to her: - Maybe you have a little brother or sister. A deathly silence fell over the table... everyone immediately fell quiet and stared at me very seriously... - Did you talk to him? - the mother asked me, looking very flustered. - No, no... I just saw him briefly in a room and came back here. You could tell something was going on, an awkward situation for them that I couldn't quite understand... it was like they wanted to tell me something, but didn't know how... Those were some very, very strange seconds. The mother asked me to sit back down in my seat. Hesitating, the father said to me: - It's hard to explain... that boy you saw... we thought he wasn't coming back... - Yes, we had already forgotten about him. - the mother added. My sort-of fling just kept her head down, staring at her plate, not knowing what to say or do. Then she looked at me and said: - You just need to know one thing... don't talk to him. If you don't talk to him, if you ignore him, he'll leave... trust me. I couldn't believe any of what was happening, let alone what they were telling me. Who the hell was that kid? Some troubled brother they were trying to hide? I don't know... this was taking on a very dark and sinister tone... Silence returned... a more than awkward silence, I think for everyone. A few seconds passed and the mother, as if nothing had happened, said: - Let's keep eating! Come on! Pass me the salad! And yeah, everyone carried on as if nothing had happened, they went back to eating, to talking... I was freaking out... I couldn't just ignore what had just happened... I tried, but I think you could tell from my face that the situation was super unpleasant... Suddenly, damn... I looked towards the back of the living room, at the doorway, and I saw the child again. This time I could see him clearly... my heart skipped a beat... that thing didn't look human... he was a boy of about 9, with a completely pale face and a totally distorted expression... it was as if he had been stretched from his forehead to his chin... everything about his face seemed deformed... but not like someone born deformed or who had an accident and ended up that way... no... it was more as if that child was something demonic... He was standing in the doorway... staring at me... just staring like someone staring into space... but he was staring at me. - He's there - I said. No one turned around, no one looked... in fact, almost no one paid attention to my words... only the girl said to me...: - Don't talk to him... just ignore him... please... I felt like getting up and leaving... but... well, I don't know why I didn't... The child started to move... I even started to get a little scared... everyone kept eating and talking as if nothing was wrong... I tried to, but damn, I couldn't! Out of the corner of my eye, I followed the child's path as he slowly approached the table... he moved as if he were a pole... as if he had no limbs... I noticed he positioned himself right next to the father... - I want to eat - he said. His voice, strangely enough, seemed normal... anyone would have expected to hear a sinister voice... but no... it sounded very natural. The father didn't even turn around... he just lowered his head to his plate and put a bit of turkey in his mouth... - Well, yes, John, last week we had dinner at the Pattersons' farm... and it was all very good... - I want to eat - the child said again, but this time with a higher pitch... angrier. But nothing, the father kept on with his own business, sticking to that plan of ignoring the child... I didn't know what to do... What would you have done in my place?... I don't know... I was starting to get terrified and just wanted to get out of there... The child moved again to the right, right where the uncle was. - Can I sit down? - the child said to the uncle. But, as you can probably imagine, the uncle also ignored the child's words. Everyone tried to keep eating and talking as if nothing was wrong... but you could tell it wasn't like that... you could tell everything was forced and that, deep down, everyone was terrified... - Can I sit down? - the child repeated... Hearing no answer, the child let out a bloodcurdling scream... I could see the mother flinch and my girl glance at me out of the corner of her eye, trying to calm me... like she wanted to tell me something... God... you can't imagine that moment... that incredibly tense and sinister situation... The uncle, sure enough, carried on as before, completely ignoring the child's harrowing scream... a scream that seemed like a mix of crying and pain... And the child moved again to his right... to where the mother was... - Mom... can you pass me the salad? - the child said. The mother was quiet for a few seconds and then tried to resume the conversation with who I guessed was her brother (the uncle). - I said pass me the salad! - the child shouted again, getting angrier. The mother flinched again, but immediately tried to return to normal... she seemed nervous and scared... she was just trying to show calm. The child started to cry... now it really was crying... crying like I had never heard before... a sharp, unpleasant sound that drilled into your brain. At that moment, I feared the worst... the mother had ignored him... and surely now he would come to me, since I was the one next in line... And, sure enough... I noticed the child's figure slowly moving, as if with suffering, to my side... Now, indeed, everyone fell silent again... no one looked at me... I felt his presence right next to me, but I didn't dare look up either. Silence... deathly silence for a few seconds... At that moment, a thousand thoughts ran through my head... run away, bang my fist on the table... look at the child... but I was just in shock. - And who are you? - I heard him ask me... I didn't answer. - I said, who are you? - the child asked again. I could see the girl make a gesture with her hand, signaling no... trying to tell me not to answer... - Who is Laila? - he asked me... I turned my head slightly to look at the child, but at that moment the mother interrupted me, taking my hand and saying to me: - Could you please pass me the bread? I focused again and said to her: - Yes, of course, ma'am... And I handed it to her... But at that moment, the child started screaming again, even louder, crying, shouting insults... cursing us all... it turned into a kind of scene of unprecedented violence. - I can't take it anymore - I said out loud. My strength had surpassed anything earthly and anything bearable; I got up from the table and ran towards the door... I heard the girl asking me not to leave... I heard her say: - I'll explain everything, but please, don't go... I hesitated for a second... I stopped in front of the exit door... but no... what the hell... was I going to stay there in that sinister situation? I put my hand on the doorknob... and I felt a cold, small, bony hand on my shoulder... - Do you want to play with me? - I heard, just inches from my head... I felt like an electric shock went through my body... a shock caused by fear... I had the doorknob in my hand... I just turned it, opened the door, and ran out without looking back. I got home, blocked the girl's phone number, and never saw her again... Three months later I moved to another city, and over time, I began to forget that experience... Well, forget isn't the right word... try to forget... try to live a normal life without remembering what happened to me... And you're probably wondering who Laila is... the name that child asked me about... Laila is my mother... my mother, who died when I was 5 years old... I will never set foot on that farm again... only God knows what kind of evil lived there.