They paid me $5000 to watch their daughter for 3 nights. She’s a sweet girl. I hope.

She was a happy looking little girl, with bright pink cheeks and yellow-blond hair that fell to her waist in loose curls. Her blue eyes sparkled as she grinned up at me, but I could see the faintest shadow of fear lurking in the corners, like a mouse in the walls.<br><br>I was in a very niche line of work. An area that most people didn’t even know existed. There were a lot of words you could use to describe it, but the most fitting one of them all was probably this; vigilante parenting.<br><br>Now, the name doesn’t sound very.. comforting. Most people’s immediate assumption was that this line of work involved the parents hiring me to beat the shit out of their kids whenever they misbehaved. That wasn’t very close to the truth, and barely more comforting was the reality that it was rather the opposite.<br><br>Parents hired me when they weren’t comfortable leaving their kids home alone, but couldn’t find anyone else, be it a regular babysitter, a friend or even a relative, to watch them in their stead. And of course, there was a reason for this; the kids in question were usually... problematic.<br><br>There was a lot of different kinds of cases. Some were just very hard to handle; developmentally challenged, hyperactive, prone to screaming fits. Some were destructive; arsonists, breakers of things. And then there were the ones I was most specialized in; the.. creepy ones.<br><br>Creepy kids were a difficult subject. Most people don’t believe in them. Most people haven’t met one. And most people will hope they never do. <br><br>They paid me $5000 to watch their daughter for three nights. I accepted, and arrived at their house the day before, in the late afternoon. It was a beautiful house, with white walls and a red roof, and a big garden. <br><br>The mother greeted me at the door. A smiling, looking woman with short, dark hair and a kind expression. She shook my hand. <br><br>“They’re in the living room. I’ll call them.”<br><br>She went inside, calling out, in that sweet, melodic voice mothers always seem to have for their kids. After a moment, two people came into view.<br><br>They were grinning. A boy and a girl, both probably around 9 or 10. The.. daughter was a happy looking little girl, with bright pink cheeks and yellow-blond hair that fell to her waist in loose curls. Her blue eyes sparkled as she grinned up at me, but I could see the faintest shadow of fear lurking in the corners, like a mouse in the walls.<br><br>Her brother, however, was anything but happy. His eyes were black as coal, and his skin was very pale. His red hair was long, and it fell around his face, framing the twisted scowl he wore.<br><br>“Hello there, little guy.” I said, to break the silence, with a smile. <br><br>The girl giggled, but the boy didn’t answer. The mother stepped forward. <br><br>“So, you see-“ she began.<br><br>“Yes.” I interrupted. “I see. I think we can stop pretending now. Why don’t you tell me what’s really going on?”<br><br>The mother’s expression faltered, for a brief moment, before she answered, in a calm, steady voice. <br><br>“Our son has been.. acting out, lately. We think someone to pay some attention to him for a while wouldn’t hurt. And of course, you will also be watching his sister.”<br><br>I looked over at the siblings. The girl smiled back, but the boy’s expression didn’t change. <br><br>“I see. Anything I should be afraid of?”<br><br>The mother’s expression changed, for a moment, so briefly I was starting to think I’d imagined it. <br><br>“No.. nothing like that. But I suppose I should warn you, he sometimes.. talks to himself.”<br><br>“Ok. Anything else?”<br><br>She hesitated, before answering. <br><br>“Yes. There is one.. rule. You see, the janitor sometimes.. walks around here at night. You should ignore him, if you see him, and not try.. talk to him, under any circumstances.”<br><br>“Of course.” I said. <br><br>She handed me a key. <br><br>“The keys to the house. We have to leave now, but we’ll be back in three days. Until then.”<br><br>And with that, they left.<br><br>After they were gone, I went into the living room. The kids were sitting on the couch, watching TV. I sat down in the armchair next to it. <br><br>When we sat there in silence for a while, I asked the girl, to break the silence. <br><br>“How’s your brother doing?”<br><br>She didn’t reply, but she kind of.. twitched, and glanced at me. A very brief look of... fear passed over her face, before she was back to her happy expression. <br><br>I continued. <br><br>“Why does he.. talk to himself?”<br><br>“Because he’s.. crazy.” A deep, thick voice answered, from behind me. <br><br>I turned, and saw the boy walk towards me, a twisted grin.. carved into his face, not written on it. <br><br>“Here now, braid my hair.” With that, he sat in my arms, and I began braiding his hair, like I had done.. before, in some life, and he hummed a soft, happy tune.<br><br>-<br><br>I didn’t see the girl again until two days later, when their parents came back. I.. can’t say I missed her, or.. regret what happened, but I was so happy to see her, with her bright smile, and sparkling blue eyes.<br><br>I hugged her.. tightly, as the mother looked on, a sad expression on her face. <br><br>“I’m so sorry.” She said, again, and again. <br><br>“Can.. I ask something?”<br><br>“Of course, what is it?”<br><br>“What happened to her?”<br><br>“Barbara was killed 6 months ago.” <br><br>“Then who hired me?”<br><br>“I did.” The boy said, from behind me. I spun around. There he was, with..her hair. <br><br>“You aren’t the boy I was hired to watch.” <br><br>“I know.” He.. smiled, in the same.. creepy way he had done, when I first met him. <br><br>“Then who are you?”<br><br>“I am her janitor.” He.. wore her smile now.