Taste of Nightmares

Taste of Nigtmares
No one knows where they came from, but for generations the Dream Eaters have haunted the night. They drift from home to home, feeding off the dreams and nightmares of those sleeping within. At first they went unseen and unheard, but as time passed they became living legends. Parents would tell their children about the mysterious Dream Eaters, saying that if they were bad the phantos would pass them by and leave them with their bad dreams but if they were good they would sleep peacefully. However, despite the fanciful stories they inspired, Dream Eater phantos weren't really that picky. The energy of dreams and nightmares was their food, and they enjoyed it regardless of whether the dreamer was a good person or a bad one. Except, that is, in one peculiar case.

Looking at her, no one would have thought that Nocta was special. She looked like every other Dream Eater, her shadowy form pattered with shimmering purple and white, and she didn't act any differently either. She went about her days sleeping in her cave home and flew through the night like any other phanto. There was not a single remarkable thing about her life until one night she came across a sleeping child unlike any other.

The boy was asleep, like all children should be at that time of night, and dreaming a truly terrible dream. Never had she encountered a nightmare that strong. This one dream would feed her for the whole night! Excited at the idea, she settled on the windowsill and began to feed off the dream's energy, taking the horrifying images away from the child as she did.

Not many know this, because most Dream Eaters don't like to engage in small talk, but each dream has its own flavor. It isn't something you can truly taste, but it leaves a lingering sense of something in your mind like a memory. Good dreams are sweet like candy, nice when you want it but unfulfilling in the end. Nightmares are made of something more savory. They can be bitter or even sour but they are also much more substantial than pleasant dreams. And then there are dreams that are not good but clearly not bad either. Strange dreams like these can taste like anything. Some are spicy, some are tart, some are even tangy.

This nightmare, as Nocta quickly found out, was bitter. That was alright for her, she didn't mind bitter dreams. In fact she even liked them, though she did not make a habit of eating them often. However, there was something else to it. A flavor other than the savoriness of nightmares and the bitterness or fear lingered in her mind. Something sour and wrong. The more energy she consumed, the more she found that she just did not like it. Full enough but rather disgusted, she abandoned the house and left. Across town, she stole a bit of a sweet dream to try and forget the taste.

The next night, Nocta woke early. The memory of that strange and unsettling flavor was still on her mind and try as she might she could not forget it. Giving in to her own curiosity, she returned to the house and watched the family inside. What she saw and heard was strange indeed. The child's mother was giving him some little white pills. She whispered calming words to him about how this would help keep his nightmares away, but he seemed scared all the same. Even now Nocta could taste the bitterness of nightmares in the air. That shouldn't be possible. Humans only dream when they sleep, don't they? So then why did it seem like he was dreaming even while awake?

She waited, silent and still outside the child's window, as his mother put him to bed. As soon as he fell asleep the nightmares she sensed became stronger. It was the same strong dream with the same bitter taste that she remembered. She knew she should leave, turn away from this unnatural dream and never come back, but she just couldn't. No little pills could help something like this, only a Dream Eater could.

She drained away the nightmare's energy, ignoring the awful taste even when it became overwhelming. She did not stop until there was nothing left, and the terrible dream flickered out of existence. At last, the child just beyond the window rested peacefully. Though she felt ill, Nocta was proud of herself for what she had done. She flew back to her home in the caves, planning to turn in early and get some much needed sleep.

In the early hours of dawn, she woke to find that her own rest had been plagued with bad dreams. That wasn't supposed to be possible! Dream Eaters do no have dreams of their own, they only remember what they have taken from others when they sleep. Distressed, she tried to fly away and find a fellow Dream Eater who might know what she should do. She didn't even make it out of her cave. She still felt ill from the previous night, and that feeling was even stronger than before.

A horrible sourness filled her mouth and she spat out something black and slick. Shocked, she tried to back away from the puddle of dark liquid shimmering on the ground. A sharp, sour smell emanated from it, one she knew too well. The taste returned and liquid filled her mouth over and over until there was not just a little puddle but a large pool of inky darkness on the floor of her home. At last it stopped and the feeling of sickness began to leave her, but she was horrified. Had that really come from her?!

The pool shifted, rippling in the light of dawn, and formed itself into a sphere. Nocta flew to the back of her cave, trying to get as far away from the thing as she could. As she watched, numerous shimmering eyes opened from just beneath the surface of the glistening dark orb. They blinked into the light then slowly, one by one, focused on her. The sphere split itself in two, opening in a sharp-toothed parody of a smile. It rose on countless tendrils of black and launched itself into the air, leaving her cave before she could even say a word.

Nocta left her cave that night never to return. It was many months before she even had the courage to tell her story to other Dream Eaters. She did not try to find the living nightmare, in fact she didn't even want to admit that the horrifying event had been real. She did, however, make one last trip back to the child who she had tried to help.

It was an ordinary night, though finding herself back in this city made it seem strange. Nocta didn't like to come here anymore. The bad memories were too strong, but the need to know if all of that had been worth it was stronger. She found the house with ease and settled on the windowsill. The little boy was sleeping peacefully in his room, the sweet taste of pleasant dreams lingering in the air. His nightmare had not returned, not even in its living form.

She left him with his dreams.