54
Kieran Borsden
Robert stared at his mother with a puzzled expression. He raised an eyebrow slightly with disbelief. It was apparent to Susanne that she would have to go into more depth if she was to convince her son that she was talking sense. She elucidated, “some bad things, especially ghosts and other such ghoulies have a very sensitive sense of smell. Not even some people like the smell of a strong cheese, like daddy. He hates it, he says it smells like sweaty feet.” Robert smiled, beaming from ear to ear. “But they aint ghosts, mam,” he explained, “they’re nasty night people.” “Night people,” Susanne repeated as she continued through the book. Again her finger stopped randomly – light bulbs (by one get one free). She showed the picture to Robert, “this makes sense.” Robert’s face lit up with his newfound wisdom. It did make sense: there is no dark in the light. He decided it might be best to let his mother in on a few more of the details, “they say things too.” “What do they say then?” Susanne pressed. “Nasty things,” Robert informed, “stories and stuff.” “Oh? Do they? Scary stories?”