Gemotions

The drawings were simple. Bold lines, bright colors, but the subject matter was profoundly unsettling. The little girl, his niece, kept sketching a peculiar creature: a smiling, almost sinister figure with long, spindly limbs and an unnervingly wide grin. The creature was a carbon copy of his own childhood invention.

He found himself pacing his living room, his mind racing. He was usually a calm, composed individual. Now, a cold sweat slicked his palms.

"Olivia," he began, trying to sound normal, "who is this... this thing?"

Olivia looked up from her coloring, her expression innocent. "That's Gigglewick! He plays hide-and-seek with me in my dreams!"

He felt a sudden and urgent need to leave the house, to get some air, to escape the feeling that he was losing his grip on reality.