There was a creature that haunted the city of Longwood. Most would refer to him as the butterfly man, although calling him a man seemed to be generous. Every Halloween, as the sunset he would emerge from the depths of the forest in search of his next victim. A poor soul alone who’d been foolish enough to find themselves alone after dark. It was unknown what happened to those that he encountered. However, every night someone fell victim to him, a bright blue butterfly would be seen flying into the forest the next day. The city created a curfew and had signs posted everywhere, warning travelers of this soulless monster. Despite their warnings, there was always a straggler tourist left behind, or a rebellious teenager who would sneak out to meet up with friends.

On this night, there was a young traveler wandering the streets. Multiple townies had opened their windows to warn him of the monster, but he seemed oblivious, continuing to walk straight ahead. Finally, the man reached the outskirts of the town, where the road gradually transformed from asphalt to muddy gravel. The traveler stood and waited, unphased as the air thickened with fog around him. As if on cue, a tall, slender figure wearing a bulky trench coat glided out from the woods, the fog parting for him as he went. He stopped, leaving only a small amount of space between himself and the traveler. For a long moment, none of them said or did anything. The Butterfly Man’s solid blue orbs were staring straight into the traveler’s soul, yet he seemed so unphased by it all. Instead, he reached into his pocket to grab something and cleared his throat.

“I believe this is for you”

He held up a dead bright blue butterfly cautiously between his fingers. The skin above the Butterfly Man’s eyes rose, encouraging the traveler to say more, but he remained silent. Without skipping a beat, the monster reached out with his pale, boney hands and hastily grabbed the butterfly. The act of reaching out for the butterfly caused his trench coat to open, showing a thin dirty turtleneck that covered half his face. It stopped right below the two gapping holes that would’ve been a nose. He let out a soft noise, similar to a laugh, and bowed his head in thanks, but said nothing. The traveler furrowed his brows at the monster in response.

“A deal is a deal. You promised if I did this, you would stop. Leave the town to celebrate Halloween at peace.”

As the traveler finished speaking, large droplets of water fell from the sky, hitting the ground with loud ‘plops’. The Butterfly Man reached into his coat, tucking the butterfly into a pocket, and pulled out a hefty umbrella. He opened it and held it close to his chest. He lazily closed his eyes, and when he opened them, they were a swirling, cloudy gray.

Before the traveler could react, the fog surrounding them thickened, until neither creature could see more than a few inches in front of them. After a few moments, it dissipated and all that remained was a bright blue butterfly that calmly headed towards the forest.