Entrapped In the Light & Shadows

She ran out of the house, dialling number one on her speed dial. Perspiration forming on her forehead as she glanced over her shoulder. Her head turned a 30° angle but her eyeballs tried to make it all the way back. She ran out to the middle of her street, where she felt she'd be safest standing close enough to her neighbour's gate in the event she needed to ring the doorbell if her screams were not enough.

She stared at her open front door as the phone rang and then went to voice mail. She dialled again, noticing the time on her phone clock - 3.11 a.m. Stories of this hour belonging to the devil popped up. This time her call was answered on the second ring.

"Where are you? I saw it! I saw it!!" she stammered, her voice barely audible.

"On my way home. Saw what? I can't really hear you, you gotta speak up." Her fiancee had her on speakerphone, his voice going in and out.

"Are you close?" she asked, her eyes still on her front door. She could hardly breathe. Every prayer she had ever learnt during her childhood, started going through her head.

"Yes, yes! Two minutes away. The reception is bad darling. I am just around the corner. I will see you in a bit, ok? Love you."

"No, no, don't hang up. Stay with-", he had already hung up. She continued to stare at her door as she gave voice to her Hail Mary's and Our Father's, surprised she even remembered them. It had been a long time since she prayed, having given up religion when both her parents died in a car crash when she was only nineteen.

Benny, her very successful fiancee, was out entertaining his clients. Though she always went with him for these meetups, this time she chose to stay home to finish off some last-minute packing. They were finally going off on a much needed holiday to London.

She packed for both of them, her bestie on speakerphone gossiping about their friends. When she ended the call a little past two and finished the packing, she decided she'd set up her phone to do a quick TikTok video. It was all good until she started editing the video. She saw something unfamiliar and yet familiar up in the corner, in the space between her closet and the ceiling.

She looked at the spot and then around her room, but couldn't see anything that would create the shape she'd seen. She brushed it aside as her overly active imagination being entrapped by the light and shadows but deleted the video. She'd do another.

Yet she couldn't concentrate and kept looking at the spot as she danced. The hair on her back stood up and there it was.

The ugliest thing she had ever seen. It was so black, like burnt skin, but oily. It was child-size with long gangly limbs. The eyes were hollow and as black as the rest of it. It was squatting above her closet, staring at her. It was so still, that if you weren't looking for it, you'd miss it.

She dropped her phone and ran to switch on all the lights. When she looked back, it was still there just staring at her. She froze for a split second, then ran to grab her phone and managed to gather all her guts to run past it, making it to the door. She ran down the stairs, the house that was dark except for the night light before, kept lighting up as she smashed the switches as she ran past them.

She tripped on the last step almost dropping her phone again. If it had been in another situation, it would have been comical as she did a weird juggle with both hands to catch it. She fumbled with the door lock, and again with the code to open the electric grill.

✮

Now she waited for Benny, the two minutes felt like twenty but it also helped calm her nerves. She stared at her house, the living area and her room were so brightly lit in the still of the night, it looked ridiculous. Her thundering heartbeat slowed down to normal, and she started wondering if it had been just her imagination. She took one slow step forward when Benny drove up and straight into the porch to park. Her steps quickened toward him as he stepped out of his Porche with a quizzical look.

"What's going on darling?"

Suddenly she felt stupid. What does she tell her fiancee, that there was a ghostie/ghoulie sitting on top of their closet? That it made an appearance on her TikTok video. That she-

"I think - I may have - oh, I just scared myself. I, I am just so silly. This is why I prefer to come with you, you know. I have never liked staying at home alone, not since... my imagination, it just gets away with me."

He chuckled. "This is why I keep telling you that you should write scripts for my production house. I think they'd be a hit. You know, we are always looking for good stories. But of course, only if you want to."

They went back in and locked up, switching off the lights as he told her about the evening. He had been offered the biggest theme park project to encourage tourism coming out of the pandemic and he couldn't contain his excitement. She ran through the stuff she had packed for him but he wasn't fussed. "I am sure you have packed everything I need," he said kissing her on the forehead. It wouldn't have mattered if she had forgotten something. Her fiancee could definitely afford to hop on the plane with just their passports and do all the shopping on the other side upon arrival if needed.

They snuggled into bed, and her fiancee immediately dozed off, but her mind kept going back to what she saw. She kept glancing at the corner but could see nothing. She couldn't wait for the morning and the holiday, knowing she would forget all about this little scare by the time they got back. She fell into a restless sleep and woke up startled having dreamed of it.

But she must still be dreaming, because there it was, at the foot of the bed, sucking on her fiancee's toe, a little blood smeared the side of its mouth. And she screamed!

✮the end✮

This is my story for @theinkwell's prompt shadows. It is inspired by stories about such a thing that you can "keep" to attract fortune into your life and in return, it feeds on you. It's like your money-maker pet, but you will have to pass it on to a new owner before you die, or your soul will be lost forever.

If you are inspired to write one too, head on over HERE to find out how.

Thank you for reading,
I appreciate your time & being part of my story 💗

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