Drip, drip, drip. Slowly, the coffee pot filled up.
Isaac suppressed a yawn and looked out the window, but all he could see was his own reflection. It was still pitch black outside, and it wouldn’t be light for at least another two hours. If it became light at all.
He poured the coffee, spilling some and scalding his hand in the process. For a few seconds, the pain was enough to jolt him out of his stupor, but then the fog descended on his brain again. Waking up this time of year seemed nigh impossible. It didn’t really matter how many stimulants he poured down his throat, his brain felt like an old car with a stuttering engine.
Dark, bleak, cold, wet.
Seasonal Affected Depression they called it, but really they should just call it NFJ: No Fucking Joy. Rationally he knew it was just the lack of sunlight, but it felt like there was a black cloud in his head, a thick smothering blanket suffocating him. It felt like the whole world was moving too fast, like everything cost twice the energy than usual.
Isaac struggled through the day, doing his work to the best of his ability, trying not to bite anyone’s head off. A few more days to the solstice, a few more days until the light would come back, and the curse would slowly start to lift.
When evening came, he dragged himself to bed and fell into a deep sleep, dead to the world. A sleep so deep that he never heard the large figure that materialised in his bedroom. Never saw the red and white outfit. He might have recognised it, though the reality was so much more nightmarish than the pictures showed.
He turned around and murmured in his sleep, but he did not wake as the figure bent over him and drank his blood, seeping his life-force.
Refreshed, the figure went on its way. In a few days time, he’d have a long and busy night, so he needed all the energy he could get.
Good thing he had the Naughty List, or as he liked to call it: the Snack Menu.