The Shadow

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By Crimson

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Whoosh. As she glanced to her left she caught the sight of the small flickering flame of a candle in the mirror. Bemused, she furrowed her brow, replaying her actions of the last minute in her mind. She was sure she had just blown out the candle. She shook the notion off and emptily stared on at her reflection, occupied by little nothings in her head. Whoosh. Back to reality. Stumbling out of the daydream, it took a few beats for her to actually see what was in front of her. As her eyes focused to try make sense of this sight she inched closer to the mirror as if proximity would somehow resolve the unanswered questions floating in her head. Now six other candles had relit themselves.

Intrigued, she swiftly spun around and marched up to the bundle of flames as if to confront them. Rose stopped dead in her tracks as she looked up and saw them. The candles were not lit. They never had been. There were no whisps of grey hair wafting from the once living waxy bodies. There were no pools of waxy tears and there was no warmth nearby. How could she explain this? Taken aback Rose cautiously approached the rebellious candles and decided that she must have been in a trance. She had imagined that the candles were lit because it was getting cold and dark. Yes. Her eyes were playing tricks on her. Moving on then; she forced a small grin upon her face and let out a short sigh and turned her head to continue going about her day.

She was to start preparing the food for dinner now as the sun was setting behind the long line of trees. Oh, and she mustn't forget abou- SLAM! Her thoughts were disturbed as a gush of wind charged towards her. Alarmed, Rose turned and saw that the front door had slammed open, letting in a rush of anger from the storm outside. The cold claws of the wind and leaves reached inside the house, terrorising any signs of peace as it darted towards Rose as if intentionally wanting to grab and drag her away. Reluctant to be consumed by the spite of the chilling gust of wind, she hurried to the door and battled against the treacherous storm outside. Not again she thought as she placed her head on the door after securing the safety of her house. After taking a few moments to breathe she slowly rose and stood upright so that her face was in line with the letterbox.

NO.

As if her meek body had just caved in from the plunge of a sharp blade, she stiffened in an instant and spun round, slapping her figure against the door. She’d caught his reflection in the letterbox. Her pupils dilated and her breath quickened.

He was gone.

Flinching as her eyes shot around the room she noticed something. The fire. The fireplace was crackling and popping as wood was engulfed by the flames. That wasn’t there before. She hadn’t lit the fire.

AHHHH! She screamed at the top of her lungs as he reappeared. The shadow. Its dark eyes plunged into her soul, grasping desperately at her insides. She couldn’t breathe. It was getting darker. Out- she had to get out. Rose sprinted up the stairs as her breath rasped in her throat, gasping for air. Fear had made her clumsy and as she clambered up, always looking behind her, her eyes scanning for him, she tripped on the top step. Instantly she reached out for something to haul herself up, gripping onto the banister. Still looking behind, searching. Searching for those haunting eyes. Those eyes that threatened her so with their piercing gaze.

As soon as she was upright she turned to plot her escape route. AHHH! CRASH. An eery silence. It wasn’t the banister she’d held onto. She should have known. No, instead it was slimy and gut-wrenchingly icy. That bitter gaze had once more met her stare and a wry smirk froze her body. SLAM. Red splattered the white wall. Her vision fuzzy, her head throbbing and her face soaking, Rose squirmed on the floor, writhing in pain.

Thud.

He’s coming.

Thud.

Quick!

 Thud.

 Get up.

 Thud.

 Come on!

Thud.

Too late...

‘Hello Rose’.