A Pinocchio-like Haunting

I was at home, making my way from the living room to the kitchen, when I noticed something out of place. It wasn't particularly threatening, but it did catch my eye nonetheless, for there in the door leading to the firewood storage area was a piece of firewood, half embedded in the door itself. I glanced at it a second time, and this time I noticed that for some strange reason this piece of firewood strangely resembled a humanoid form. Now, it could well have been some old tree that died, leaving behind what was a seemingly disfigured piece of itself, one that on any other day a person may consider to be aesthetically pleasing. Yet, while I was passing by, I couldn't shake this feeling of something being rather amiss, because it did look like this piece of firewood had broken through the door. But, even in my dream, I stopped thinking about this as being ridiculous, because we all know pieces of firewood don't do that. I mean, for all I knew, maybe the pile of firewood behind the door had come crashing down and damaged the door, leaving this little piece hanging in the door, like how I found it.

It wasn't until later, on another trip to the kitchen to return my empty mug to the shelf, that I noticed the firewood piece laying on the floor. There was nothing to suggest that it traveled there on its own, going with my earlier thought of it resembling a person, more like a child; however, it seemed to be laying on its back, if that was even remotely possible for a piece of firewood to do. Still, my mother could have moved it to the kitchen to use it in the stove, as I once again convinced myself that all this paranoia was in my head.

My next trip to the kitchen, to get a glass of water it seemed, found me admiring how neat the place was. What was once a kitchen floor strewn with bits of wood and other debris was now a spotless example of concrete floor worthy of honorable mention. So, with some admiration, I began sipping my water with a half-formed smile. Nearing the end of the water in the glass, I raised my head to send the rest of the refreshing liquid down my parched throat, when it suddenly dawned on me to jump out of the way. Strange though this may sound, it was almost like a knee-jerk reaction, even in my dream, that caused me to dive out of the way as if something were falling on me! Through mid-jump, I had an opportunity to glance upwards, just to see if the jump was warranted. And there it was. The piece of firewood was hanging off of one of the roofing beams, as if hanging there by one hand, ready to jump!

As soon as I hit the floor, I heard a thud. Looking to my left, I noticed that the piece of firewood was still rocking back and forth after its fall, it's final moments of animation before coming to rest on its back, again. That was it. That was all I could stand. I picked it up and flung it outside. For the sake of my own sanity, I threw a large cardboard box over it, so I wouldn't see it laying there. But just then, something bizarre happened. As soon as the box fell over the piece of firewood, it began to move. At first, it moved rather slowly, but determinedly. And then, it raised itself off the ground! Shocked, unable to run or turn away, I watched in horror as the box levitated momentarily, before it was revealed to me that there was a little boy standing under the box! In some strange manner, the little boy did resemble the piece of firewood, like I had always suspected about the humanoid form that it displayed. But here was a little boy, no older than 7, standing there looking back at me with large, deadpan eyes. He was dressed in blue shorts with blue suspenders, with a blue-and-white striped t-shirt. And, after staring at me, for about a minute, which is a long time let me assure you, he began making his way towards me!

Now, it was my turn to panic, and not any sort of small panic either. I raised hell as I grabbed a bottle of kerosene and started dowsing the boy with it. When the bottle was empty, I scrambled to find some matches. All the while, the boy was making his way towards me. First one step. Then another. Then one more. Then another one. It was like the grand finale of some robot horror movie, where the robot makes its way towards the hero in a slowly-but-surely manner, never flinching no matter what is thrown at it. Finding the matches, I quickly flicked one at the advancing boy. It was just my luck that the match lit and landed right on him. Whoosh! He was ablaze. But I wasn't out of the woods yet. No, now there was a little boy dressed in blue, on fire, heading towards me! The most disturbing thing about him was the expression on his face - emotionless, but still somehow determined to get me. And that's when I woke up.