Only the Shadow Knew

Only the Shadow Knew

  It was a dark and stormy night…just like it always in in every scary story—except that in this case, Hurricane Sandy was barreling its way up the East Coast. Andrea was alone, shivering and jittery. A blue-gray shadow seemed to follow her everywhere she went. Even the comforting glow of her desk lamp failed to chase it away. Yet, when she drew closer to examine what it was—was it the cat? Was it her OWN shadow?—the shadow faded.

   Suddenly the lights failed, and Andrea stood alone in the obsidian blackness of her room. She ran to the window to see if any lights were on in the street. Alas, the engulfing darkness extended outward as far as she could see.

   Andrea’s heart began to pound. With shaking fingers she felt for the glass with a candle that she had left on her night-table for just such an event. Ah, her hand touched the edge of the glass. Suddenly, it moved in a jerking motion away from her groping fingers. With a crash, it landed on the floor—the glass holder shattering all around her feet.

   Now she stood paralyzed with fear! One step could lead to a sliver cutting the bottom of her feet, and it was not like she could get to the bathroom to put a cloth on such a cut. It was not like she could even see to remove it. She would have had to live with the pain.

   A light appeared; involuntarily, Andrea jerked toward it and stepped on a large piece of glass. But when she turned to see the shadow, it was misty, blue-gray, and fading. It was just like all the other times of late—the ambiguous form following her every move. It always happened at night, so she had been sleeping with the light on.

   Now, cold, chilly, shivering, bleeding, and lightless, she faced the shadow—determined to stare it down despite the intense gulf she felt in her solar plexus.

   “Who are you? What do you want?” she shouted.

   Nothing but silence—a silence that even masked the roaring wind outside her window. The form floated toward the window and moved slowly through the glass panes. Then it flattened itself against the outside of the window. It transformed into another mist, and then a grimace, distorted, with black elongated eyes and a mouth drawn up in a rictus of pain. Andrea felt her knees buckle. Then she lost all sensation below her waist and fell to the floor. She then fell into a darkness that was even deeper. Her body floated and bobbed. Nausea gripped her belly. . . .

   Then her eyes opened. She was lying in her bed. The light was on. The candle and its holder lay intact upon her night-table. Her head was face down and her reflection glared at her on her makeup mirror, which lay between her and her pillow.

   But the shadow remained, just at the very edge of her vision.