“Luca, it’s getting dark soon. Come inside and wash up.”

Luca was just a boy eagerly anticipating this particular time of year. When the snow fell, it blanketed the city streets in sparkling white, casting a gentle glow from the holiday lights. The scene was nothing short of a magical winter wonderland that stirred the imaginations of all who beheld it. He spent his day outside with the other children on the block, making snow angels, building snowmen, and engaging in lively snowball fights to protect their snowy fortresses.

Like the rest of the kids, he was reluctant to stop playing, but as the sun dipped below the horizon, he knew it was time to wrap things up when their parents called them home.

“You had a lot of fun?” His nanny asked, combing his wet, cold hair out of his face.

“A lot. Lots and lots. Tommy started cheating, but not before Edith called him out on it. He likes her a lot.”

“Really now? And do you have anyone you like?”

“What, no. Of course not. Oh, but I do love Mommy! There’s you, too!”

“Hah-hah-ha, such a sweet talker you are, you know that? I am sure you will have all the ladies chasing after you in no time. Alright, come on, let’s get these wet clothes off of ya and draw you a nice warm bath. Hot chocolate with marshmallows, supper, then right to bed, alright?”

“Is Mommy going to be late again?”

“Aye, it seems so. But don’t worry, I will read you your favorite bedtime story. How does that sound?”

“The one with the whale?”

“Yes, I will read you the one with the whale.”

As the nanny tended to his bath, washing behind his ears as he always seemed to forget, she couldn’t help but think back to the time she was once Luca’s age. The memories were faint, but the smiles from having fun stood out like permanent scars that would never fade. Not that she wanted them to. They were pleasant, distant dreams that meant so much at the time. 

“Luca…”

“Yes?” 

“Tell me, did you make any new friends today?”

“No, not really?”

“You sure,” his nanny persisted. She had noticed one or two new faces amongst those who usually tagged along. “We talked about this.”

Luca puffed his cheeks as if trying his best to recount those of the children he played with all evening in the snow. His nanny was familiar with Tommy very well, as well as Edith, due to the pleasure of meeting her father. Those were Luca’s best friends who always came for a sleepover.

The three were so close, but that didn’t mean there weren’t others. Many of the neighborhood kids knew one another. The nanny didn’t have many friends growing up, at least not many of whom she still keeps in touch with. But that was why she had come to like this particular street and those who lived here. The folks were all amiable.

Unlike her, Luca had a radiant smile. He was a bright child, always laughing and playing—kind with others. Whether he knew it or not, his pull always seemed to spark other children in the neighborhood to follow him and join in his games.

“Well, I guess there was this one boy. He didn’t have a name.”

“Luca, don’t be ridiculous. Every boy and girl has a name. Maybe he was shy, and he didn’t want to tell you it.”

“No. He has no name. No one knew him, and he came to play with us. We asked, but he said he had no name. He said his mommy didn’t give him one.”

“Hmm…is that right?” Luca’s nanny was a little uneasy about this. A few new faces had come to play this evening, but those children could have been from the block over. “Did he say anything else? Was this the boy you talked to right before you came inside?”

“Noooo, that’s Noah. He said his daddy works in an office with a lot of fancy people.”

“Oh, okay. And the boy with no name said nothing else?”

“Well, he did say he wanted to come back and play with us all. But…”

“But what? It’s okay. You can tell me, Luca.”

Luca’s brow furrowed. He was not sure what to make of what he was about to say. “He said that he will only come out and play at night when you go to bed.”

“He said what? When who goes to bed?”

“You, Sophia.”

Luca’s nanny couldn’t erase those words from her mind, but she did as she said she would. Cook supper for her and Luca to eat before telling a story, the bedtime story that he favored so much. It always put him out like a light when he heard the tales of the great white whale. 

Seeing his slumbering face put her at ease. A soft, gentle smile of her own crossed her cheeks as she brushed his long hair from his face. 

With Luca sleeping cozily, his nanny took to tucking him one more time despite already having done so once before and during the bedtime story. She couldn’t stop herself from looking over at the boy, her gaze tracing over his features. With herself content, she finally blew out the candle that she had set at his bedside before retiring to the hall just outside.

“Well, alright, I supposed it is time for bed myself…but I should call the Madam and inform her.”

It was then that a child’s giggle could be heard. Luca’s nanny leaned back, her gaze falling quickly into the room, and little Luca slumbering in the bed she had so meticulously tucked him in.

“Luca…are you awake?”

Hearing tiny breathing left her to shift her position. Her gaze down the hall to her own bedroom. 

Her steps felt heavy as she drew closer to find her quarters vacant.

“Who…”

Again, a child’s laughter could be heard.

As she searched around quietly, Luca’s words vibrated through her mind like a sickness. “When I am in bed? Why would the boy come back and play with Luca when I am in bed? I don’t like that at all. What does he want?”

Just as she questioned herself, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the boy she believed was the one Luca spoke of with no name. In haste, she quickly grabbed her coat and headed downstairs and out the door.

The boy stood there, his stature no taller than Luca, as he waited just a few feet from the door.

“You, where you’re parents?”

The boy offered no words in turn.

“Hello? Did you hear me? I asked about your parents. At least tell me your name.”

Again, the boy did not say anything in response to the questions. Instead, he giggled. 

The sound was familiar—the very one she had heard while inside. It was an uneasy sound, leaving a feeling that crept into her stomach, making her skin crawl and the hairs on the back of her neck stand. 

“Don’t come back here.” She said. “You, you stay away from Luca! Do you understand me? I never want to see you near him or the other children.”

The boy stood silent. His giggling had ceased, and his head had hung low. It was impossible to make out his face before, as a shadow seemed to linger perfectly, making his features hard to read.

A few moments passed before he started to hum. 

“Hello? Did you hear me? I said stay—” Listening to her words like a command, he turned to run off.

With him gone, Luca’s nanny breathed an uneasy sigh of relief. She made a mental note that she would report this. Something about that little boy with no name creeped her out. She knew it was not right to say so of just a child, but something that she could not put her finger on was bothering her. 

“Huh?”

Luca’s nanny had turned to head back inside but found the door was locked. 

“I didn’t lock it,” she mumbled, her breath shallow as she caught sight of the boy with no name again out of the corner of her eye. His humming was vacant as he had returned with a giggle, his laughter echoing as he smiled. It stretched cheek to cheek, his teeth crooked and stained. 

Luca jolted awake, realizing it was just a nightmare that pulled him from his dreams. Grabbing his blanket, he hurried down the hall to his mother’s bedroom, but she wasn’t there. He checked the guest bedroom next, only to find his nanny missing. In the kitchen, where she usually hung her coat, he noticed it was gone, too.

“Sophia?” Luca called. “Sophia, where are you?”

Poor little Luca heard no answer as he gripped his blanket. For a moment, he thought his imagination had played a trick on him when suddenly he heard not his nanny’s voice but his mother’s call to him.

“Luca…”

He turned in the direction his mother’s voice called to him, his gaze tracing along the dark hallway where his bedroom sat. The door creaked, slowing opening. 

“Luca…”

“M-Mommy?” Luca said, quivering.

“Luca, are you lost?”

In the dark recess, a smile seemed to grow out of nothingness. It was filled with crooked teeth, stained yellow, stretched from one end to another. Luca’s tight grip around his blanket, which his mother knitted, loosened. It dropped to the floor as a soft hum could be heard, pulling him closer. Luca’s mother’s voice began to sing, his feet not his anymore. As Luca drew closer, his dear, sweet, caring mother’s smile grew wider.

“Luca, let’s play a game.”