A short story I read as a child in the late 70s/early 80s. I think it was in a book of short stories borrowed from the library. I cannot remember any words in the title or the author.
In a small and isolated village, there is a small child who can alter matter at will; anybody he doesn't like, he kills by transferring them to a graveyard in a field (which is becoming rather unpleasent by this time). Sometimes, he turns people into indescribably awful things before killing them. He also punishes people in various ways if they don't do what he wants. Basically, the entire village is utterly scared of him, because he has such power, yet is totally immature to handle it properly.
The story ends with the revelation that the village is totally isolated and there is grey nothingness all around; though ths sun still shines down, he has somehow taken the village out of phase with the rest of the planet - this happened as some form of defensive reaction when somebody tried to murder him as a baby.
That's all I remember - does this ring any bells for anybody?
In a small and isolated village, there is a small child who can alter matter at will; anybody he doesn't like, he kills by transferring them to a graveyard in a field (which is becoming rather unpleasent by this time). Sometimes, he turns people into indescribably awful things before killing them. He also punishes people in various ways if they don't do what he wants. Basically, the entire village is utterly scared of him, because he has such power, yet is totally immature to handle it properly.
The story ends with the revelation that the village is totally isolated and there is grey nothingness all around; though ths sun still shines down, he has somehow taken the village out of phase with the rest of the planet - this happened as some form of defensive reaction when somebody tried to murder him as a baby.
That's all I remember - does this ring any bells for anybody?
