N Y C T O P H O B I A
nyc·to·pho·bi·a
noun
extreme or irrational fear of the night or of darkness.
it was a warm day in may of 1995, geoff and his best friend clay were playing outside in their neighborhood and it was getting close to dark. it was a common thing, the two boys lived in a nice area and their parents never had to worry. that day was different.
a van pulled up beside the two boys and after promises of toys and candy, the two boys, even though they’d been warned about strangers, climbed in the back of the van.
geoff was missing for a little over a month, thirty seven days and six hours to be exact. thirty seven days of absolute hell for a six year old boy. he managed to escape, the kidnappers let their guard down and he slipped out. his friend clay wasn’t so lucky. by the time geoff managed to lead the police to the house where they were kept, the kidnappers were gone and all that was left was clay’s body.
geoff, to this day has nyctophobia, or a extreme fear of the dark, since the basement of the house he was kept in was almost completely dark. he can’t be in a pitch black room, or one anywhere near close. he sleeps with a night light. he also has a stuffed lamb, which has been and still is like a “security blanket”. he can not sleep without it. even though he’s been to countless therapists and doctors. certain things trigger memories of that day when he was six, and though he does a very good job of hiding it, his mind has recently gotten into a worse state.
