The crisp fall air that came in from the open window glazed the room in a chill. Spero was loving it; ever since he was little he loved the cold. It helped him sleep, but tonight he wouldn’t be getting much sleep. He would be going on a walk with Mister tonight, the goat that lived in the closet and in the walls of his room.

The walk was something Mister did every night at twelve, when the forest and the town of Sacramentum fell silent. It felt like the whole planet had stopped moving. The wolves and coyotes wouldn’t howl, the owls, mice and every other small animal would hide in their dens and nests away from Mister

Spero could never figure out why, though. His dogs and cat didn’t seem to mind the goat. In fact, they were at ease around him, almost like nothing bad could happen when he was around. Spero felt the same. His parents were oblivious to the goat though. When Spero would mention it, they would just brush it off as if it was just another made up thing from his eight year old imagination.

Out of the shadows Mister. loomed over Spero’s bed. “Ready to go child?” Mister asked. Spero jumped a little when he heard Mister’s voice, but once he recognized who he was Spero spread a smile like butter on toast across his face. “I see you were somewhere else,” Mister said; the same kind of grin spread across Mister’s face too.

“I was thinking what it must be like out there in the forest. You know in the dark. I bet it’s pretty spooky.”  Little Spero said.

Mister shook his head. “No, not for me. It might be a little for you tonight but fear not, dear child. I will be with you the whole time,” the goat said. In Spero’s opinion, he looked more like a cross between a man and a goat. A goatman if you will.

Mister had yellowish matted hair that was surprisingly soft and smooth. Horns came out from either side of his head and  they grew into a spiral. His eyes were blue like crystals, yet gentle like soft blanket.

Little Spero slipped out of bed, the cold air slithering over his legs and then his chest. Spero put on a black shirt and shorts. He didn’t want risk being seen by his parents while he went to the door, because they would wonder what he was doing and send him back to bed. He couldn’t let that happen as he finally got Mr. to take him with. Still Spero didn’t know if this was going to be regular thing that he would get to do or if he would have to wear Mr. down every day, in order to get Mr. to take him with Mr.

Spero didn’t have much trouble going through the house in the dark, as it was lit up by the moonlight that seeped in through the big open windows in the living room. They were left open because there are screens on them. The windows weren’t there when Spero was younger, he would remember. They moved into the house two months before he was born. When he got down the stairs to the front door, he grasped for the metal handle and clicked down the button.

Opening the door revealed the driveway that was taken up by both his parents’ cars. His dad’s blue four by four pickup truck and his moms black SUV. He often rode in the SUV but he considered them equally his home away from home. He walked up to Mr., who was standing in between the two vehicles. He faced Spero who was looking at the moon with curiosity.  

“Take my hand,” Mr. smiled at Spero and reached out for Speros little hand. Mr. was so tall that if his hands were normal sized that he would probably not be able to reach the little boy. Mr. took his hand because at this moment Spero was his responsibility. He was the one who agreed to take the child, though it was after Spero wore him down.

“Where are we going?” Spero asked looking up at Mr., who almost glowed in the moonlight.

“It’s a surprise little one,” he said with a light chuckle. He sounded happy and warm as they walked through the forest. They walked until they reached a clearing that was covered with decaying leaves: leaves that had the colors of fall on them. Rustling came from the bushes around the clearing and Spero swung his head in that direction. That’s odd, he thought. There’s not normally sounds in the forest this time of night. He heard another rustle and then an animal noise. Out came a coyote, carrying a pillow with a shiny gold like crown on its back. The crown had jewels, the biggest one being in the middle. It was blue. The way it balanced so well on the animal’s back Spero could tell that they had done it a lot.

Something flapped its wings, and the area around them illuminated the sky  but oddly unlike the lights in the city, you could still see the stars. Spero looked up in fascination, the flapping came from large firefly and butterfly like creatures.  From the ground a throne sprouted; it was made of what seemed to be tree roots. Vines with large leaves grew around forming something in the shape of a blanket, on the chair. Like magic, a wooden staff appeared by the throne. It stood without anything holding it.

“Thank you,” Mr. said, grinning at the tan and gray coyote.

“You’re welcome sir,” she said. She had a slight English accent. Mr. sat down on the throne and grabbed the staf.  He put the crown on his head. A smile slapped onto his face, and he motioned Spero forwards. He did as was told. Mr. gestured toward the ground and another smaller throne sprouted up.

“Sit child, please.” Mr. said patting the throne with his hand. He wore a bright smile.

Little Spero’s mind was running around everywhere. This was something you would see in a movie or read about in a book, something of fantastical. More creatures wandered out of the forest. Some Spero recognized and others looked mythical. There were a couple of sasquatches with a younger one next to them. Everything seemed at peace. No one was fighting for food. Deer stood by wolves and coyotes. Bears sniffed rabbits and licked them with affection.

Spero couldn’t help but wonder who Mr. really was. To be fair, though Mr. had never told Spero who he was. When he asked a question like that he would respond with the same thing everytime. “I’m Mr. You know me. I live in this house too.” That was all true. Spero knew who he was, but didn’t really know who he was and what he did during the night, but now he did. This all seemed made up and almost like a dream.

As if Mr. had read his mind he said. “This not a dream, my dear child. Isn’t it wondrous?” Spero had no words for this, he did agree though. He shook his head yes with enthusiasm.

A shout or yell from the woods broke the mood. Everyone around them snapped their heads in the direction of the sound. A mid-sized bigfoot came running in through the brush, shouting in gibberish. Spero didn’t understand, but it looked like the other animals did. Mr. grunted. He touched Speros head and stood up with his staff in hand, like he might use it as a weapon. Spero could now understand the noises the animals were making.

“Help, we need help,” the middle-sized bigfoot sputtered out like water out of a geyser. He almost tripped over his words, he was speaking so fast. “I was walking through the woods and I heard this scream. I decided to go and see if I could help, maybe someone was hurt. I found this man moaning and screaming for help. I don’t know what’s wrong with him he just kept screaming, his eyes were glowing yellow.”

This didn’t make Mr. feel better though. Where his smile once was, a frown grew.

A large man, nearly the size of Spero’s dad, crawled in through the dark green brush. He wore a red and black flannel, loose jeans, a brown baseball cap and a pair of earth toned boots. He was covered in dirt from head to toe, and he spit some of it out. Spit got on his beard as he struggled to get up, shouting. In a split second, the man was up in the air being thrashed around. Finally the man with the gold glowing eyes stopped in mid air and opened his mouth again. “King, your hiding has done nothing for you. I have still found you and now you have a child with you. What you have done here is not enough for your sins.” The glow in his eyes winked out and the man fell to the ground. Mr. checked his pulse, but there was none to check.