Numquam Diligendo

Once, there existed a tiny town called Numquam Diligendo. In this small village, there was only a handful of people living there. Everyone knew everyone, including all their business, which was good and bad.

If someone knew your problems they could help you, and judge you. However there was one boy, one small seemingly insignificant boy, no one knew anything about.

They knew not of his father, they knew not of his mother, nor if he had any siblings. The people of this place, Numquam Linquere, didn’t even have records of the boy. The people called him Praeteritus or Tus for short.



Tus was standing on the side of the road one day, staring at the worn green sign that read in white paint “Now Leaving Numquam Diligendo”. He stood unmoving, not even blinking the eyes that held such a strong emotion of forlorn; it hurt to look at the black coals. The green grass came up to his bare ankles and the light grey clouds that never seemed to leave the sky except for once a year hung in the dead air. There was a light fog as well. One of the locals, who happened to be walking along the shoulder looking for trash to pick up and cans to make money out of, got curious enough to talk to the boy.

“Are you lost sweetie?” She said with honey in her voice, a tone she’d never used with her own son.

He turned around to look at her; he wore dirty blue jeans and a muddy red torn shirt, his blown raggedy hair blowing in the soft wind.

“Not lost ma’am. Just forgotten.” His cold words spoken in a monotone voice frighten the woman. Tus appeared detached and unnerved.

“F-forgotten?” She tried to retain the sickly sweet smile on her face. It was difficult talking to this boy who no one knew.

“Yes ma’am.” Suddenly the church bell tolled, signaling that it was six pm. Tus’s head snapped in the low chimes direction. His eyes became wide with what seemed to be fear.

“‘Cuse me ma’am. I gotta go now. There are a lotta cans that way ma’am.” He flashed a grin, revealing that he was missing one of his front teeth. He then dashed away, running into the thick forest that was a short cut to the graveyard.

“Perhaps he lives in the forest with his family.” The woman thought, nearly shaking from the anticipation to tell the others about her odd encounter with Tus.



Bong. Bong. Bong. Bong. Bong. Bong. Bong. Bong. Bong. Bong. Bong. Bong.

The twelfth bong rang out into the unusually still night, echoing across the field littered with grave stones.

The same woman who roamed the sides of the road earlier was designated Caretaker for the night. The church was decades, if not centuries old, paint chipping, wood nearly rotting. but still in use. The old thing still had its beautifully eerie stained glass portraying the crucifixion of the Lord’s son. The woman, Meredith, walked the length around the fence. She was weary, and nearly exhausted from the long day and its trials, but she still had to protect the dead from grave robbers. There were people here buried with diamonds, or at least rumored to be.

Meredith sat on a gravestone, bones aching and eyes already shutting. She was startled by a sound that was utterly baffling.

It sounded like singing. A young boy’s singing. It was sad, like the slapping realization of reality and lonely like the sky at night when there was no moon. Meredith leaped from her resting place and begun to frantically search for the source of the most beautiful sound she’d ever heard.

It was emanating from the church tower, which was extremely strange, since it was blocked off as long as Meredith could remember. She slowed down, in fear of frightening off the source.

The front door creaked open, and a pigeon flapped out, almost making Meredith yelp in pure surprise.

She then bravely gulped and marched into the church, clicking on her flashlight. The somewhat weak beam spewed onto the red carpet, helping her locate the staircases that supposedly lead up to the tower where the singing came from.

Meredith tried the doorknob. It was unlocked for once, It moaned on its rusted hinges and revealed wooden stairs covered in dust except for a pair of small footprints. She hurried up the spiral staircase, each stair groaning and threatening to break under her weight.

Panting hard, she managed to reach the top, where one more door was blocking her path. This door was off putting, there was something splattered on it, but she could not make it out.

Her hand was trembling as she grasped the handle. The singing abruptly stopped and a pitiful voice called, “Who’s there? Mommy? Have you come back?”

The door swung open and a boy stood in front of her smiling wide.

“Who are you?” Meredith asked.

His smile faded and he bowed his head, making his brown, or brownish, hair cover his eyes.

“You forgot me mommy. You forgot me. Why did you forget me mommy?” The boy cocked his head, showing one dead red eye glaring into the soul of Meredith.

“You should learn to love your little boy Meredith...” The “boy” grinned, his inhuman fangs glinting in the moonlight. Meredith fell back in shock. Words would not come to her. She had no earthly clue how to confront this creature.

“It’s okay mommy. It’s okay. I’ll make you remember mommy... I’ll make you remember how to love.” Meredith suddenly recognized the boy. It was Praeteritus.

“Mommy... do you love me...?” His mouth widened too wide. His shoulders broadened, bone cracking and protruding all over his once normal body. Then it grew to at least three times its original size. Its breath was like molten lava, cascading down onto her face and into her burning lungs. The “boy” wrapped his suddenly thick meaty hands with piercing claws around Meredith’s flimsy neck, lifting her in the air. She choked for air wriggling in his too strong grip.

She marveled at his transformation. Large blood red eyes bore into her, shard like claws and steak knives for teeth. He had bulging muscles and was hunched over.

“Why won’t you love me mommy?” He retained his pathetic boy voice as he tossed back his jaw and swallowed Meredith whole.