The Pacing Shadow
It was the three of us girls sitting around in the living room, watching TV: my mum, my sister, and myself. I was sitting next to the doorway, dozing a little; the sun was warm, and the show was rather dull.
Movement caught my eye, and I looked over to the heater in front of the doorway. My eyebrows drew inwards. There was a shadow projected on the heater, and it was moving slightly, but not like a tree in the wind -- more like something was actually moving.
I shrugged it off; it was creepy, but nothing to get worried about.
But then it kept moving in the corner of my eye -- back and forth, back and forth.
"Mum, can you see that?" I finally asked timidly.
My mum turned around. She, too, frowned at the shadow. "Who's walking past?" she asked, sweeping the room with her gaze. It meant, You're here, and I'm here, so who could that even be?
"No one," my sister said blankly.
I peered towards the hallway, but there was no one there, nor at either of the windows. A chill began to run through my body.
Then the shadow shot past me, and vanished.
We were unnerved, but it was not enough to make us relocate or anything. Then, about a month later, I was lying in bed, facing the wall to think better. I like the blank canvas of the whitewashed wall; it clears my head.
But then I saw the shadow. It was standing there, swaying back and forth. My blood ran cold, and I couldn't swallow or speak.
I heard my mum's footsteps approaching, and the shadow froze. Then, as she got closer, it shot for the door. I was released from my paralysis and dove towards the door, running into my mum. She was jolted by my impact, but could tell something was wrong.
"Did someone just...run out...of my room?" I panted.
She shook her head. "No, no one walked out of the room..."
Since that day, I know I'm not just here on earth with other humans. I know there's something beyond life and death that I can only hope to never anger.
