"Honey, can  you tell me about this drawing?" she asked.

    "That's my friend." Connor looked away. "He hurts people though."

    Feeling fear creep up the back of her neck Sarah struggled to ask, "Why would he do that?"

    Connor smiled. "Some parents aren't very nice and he makes the bad ones go away." He walked to the window. "He waits till the sun goes down though."

    Sarah smiled sheepishly at her son and walked out of the room. It would be dark soon and though she was sure all of this wouldn't amount to anything she felt fearful. 

    Running to Sarah as she stood in the door for pick up, Connor exclaimed, "Look what I drew mom!" 

    Sarah took the drawing and told Connor it was great without even looking at it. They made their way home in silence. Being a mother was never in her plans; being a single mother was something she feared all together.

    When they got home she sent him off to do homework with a granola bar in hand and sat down at her desk. Just then her phone rang. On the other end was her boss with concerning news. "We've had reports of children around the world drawing a horrifying image. It appears to be their parents dead; killed by a shadow. When asked, they've said the shadow was a friend."

    Afraid of what she'd see, Sarah looked at Connor's drawing. A shadow standing over a dead woman's body. The woman looked suspiciously like her. "Sarah? Are you there?" her boss asked through the receiver. Her words caught in her throat she didn't know how to respond. She put down the phone and walked gingerly up the stairs. 

    Standing in front of Connor's door she listened. She could hear that he was talking to someone; she couldn't make out the words. With her heart pounding she knocked. "Connor, who are you talking to? May I come in?"

    She opened the door to him sitting on his bed staring back at her alone.

    As the sun set Sarah sat at her desk searching the internet for mentions of a shadow hurting bad parents. There were mentions of him everywhere. Over two thousands deaths had been linked to the drawings but no one had a clue what could be happening. Sarah shuttered as a chill ran down her back.

    She turned around to see Connor standing there smiling at her. "Didn't I tell you mom? He comes out when it's dark." His eyes went to a spot beyond her and she whipped around to see the shadow above her. 

    "Please no! What did I do?" she pleaded with the shadow. 

    Connor laughed from behind, "Mom, I told you. My friend hurts bad parents. Maybe you should have been better."