Don’t Let Him Catch You Awake – A Badtime Christmas Special!
A Badtime Story ’Twas Greedmas Eve and outside the snow fell gently upon the bodies of the visitors. In their bedroom, Jacob and Jacob lay hand in hand, fingernails digging into each other’s soft flesh. ‘You must go straight to sleep tonight, my darlings,’ Nurse Mariam told the twins as she drew the top sheet…
A Trick of the Night – a Badtime Halloween Special!
A Badtime Story On the traditional night of mocking the dead, Jacob and Jacob nudged one another as they sat in their pew listening to the Also Sisters chant of their hunger. Above the heads of the children the cowls of the roof glared down, stained stonework striped with darkness. The great roof held each…
It’s Only The Wind
A Badtime Story The twins stared at the moon which hung like a dinner plate picked clean by crows. ‘I don’t think I’ll sleep tonight,’ said Jacob. ‘Rats and bone,’ said Jacob. ‘Please,’ said Balthazar. ‘At least make an imprint in your bed, or I’ll be…’ He shuddered and scratched at his face. ‘…spoken to.’…
The Wrong Side of the Bed
A Badtime Story Bedtime took longer than usual that night. Several chains had to be replaced and some of the inhabitants of the third floor had been wrongly forgiven. As a consequence, when all was done and dusted, Jacob and Jacob were quite tired out. “Chapter seven tonight, please,” said Jacob. “Seven?” Nurse Mariam exclaimed.…
Shall I Tuck You In?
A Badtime Story The twins had never seen Nurse Mariam smile and so, when they saw that unfamiliar gash appear like a crescent moon torn from the sky of her face, they held their breaths. ‘Are you not asking for a story tonight?’ she said. The twins stared at her, their bodies limp on the…
You’ll Burst, Again
A Badtime Story The water tasted like the tears of a corpse if a corpse could cry. If that corpse had not, as everyone knew usually happened, gone beyond feeling sad into accepting its dusty fate. “More,” said Jacob. “You can’t have any more,” said Balthazar the babysitter. “You’ll burst, again.” “More,” said Jacob. Nurse…
Don’t Wake Before Dawn
A Badtime Story The twins, Jacob and Jacob, were less than talkative that evening. “I shall remove the gags, but only if you promise not to say those words again,” said Nurse Mariam. The twins nodded like men on the gibbet, their shiny leather gags black with drool. Downstairs, the muted prayers of the Also…
Father’s Turn To Read
A Badtime Story Jacob and Jacob had been given new bed jackets to wear for the occasion, cut from the shrouds of long dead aunts. Their hairs had been brushed and each tooth polished and blunted. It was Father’s turn to read. Nurse Mariam was not allowed to speak that evening. ‘Must we–’ began Jacob.…
Sleep Like The Dead
A Badtime Story Cloister, the gardener, was raking fresh dirt upon the bedroom floor that night. “What is the meaning of this?” Nurse Mariam demanded. “Ar,” explained Cloister. “Oh very well,” replied the old nurse. “I suppose the moon is as gibbous as a lung tonight.” The gardener, his mouth like a bullet hole in…
Before The Bedbugs Bite
A Badtime Story It was still light when Jacob and Jacob were lowered into their bed that evening. The curtains were in tatters from the events three nights previous, and the sun hung stubbornly outside the window like a sore which simply would not heal. “I can’t sleep with the sun staring at me that…