An Escape

It's There

It sits in the darkness. It waits. For what I don't know, all I know is that it watches. Even when I am not watching it, it watches me. It makes no movement, it makes no noise, it practically doesn't have a form for me to comprehend, it is simply shadow.

What does it want I have no idea, it simply watches. My stomach drops whenever I see it, though it's less now then it was then, the sight of it is nothing tangible. Maybe that's why I fear it, it has no form other than darkness itself, darkness that one day I may not be able to escape.

I simply lay there in some kind of staring contest with it, because if I blink it may be gone or worse, it may get closer. But it never does, it just stands there. Am I losing my mind, am I sane anymore, or am I imbalanced?

I remember the day I was brave, the day I found the courage to sit up, and blink. It didn't move, but I found the courage to. I stood and approached it, every step feeling like an hour, as I got closer I could feel my stomach dropping further, so far I could feel the heat from the earth's core. I raised my hand for what felt like forever condensed into a minute, and when I moved to touch the essence of my fears, nothing.

There was nothing, simply a figment, nothing for me to truly fear. I went back to my rest, not giving the shadow a second thought after that. For each day after that I gave myself a ritual, prove I could face my fears by reaching out and touching the shadows, and prove to myself that I won't be toyed with by a figment.

I don't know how many times I had done it before but I remember the one time I went up to the shadow, only taking me seconds to approach it and reach out to swipe my hand through its incorporeal form. Then I felt it. I felt the shadow and I could again feel the heat of the earth's core through my stomach. My eyes welled with tears, tears of dread and fear for what this thing might do to me.

It felt like nothing, my hand stopped on its form but its form was nothing. Then I felt it, it was as if it was enveloping me, I could feel nothing wrapping around me. It was warm, not as warm as the inner earth, but a comforting warmth.

As I looked at the shadow I saw its tendrils extended and wrapped around me in some kind of embrace. While trapped in its embrace I didn't struggle, all of my strength was gone the second I felt the creature beneath my touch. All I could do was stand, and then I wasn't standing anymore. I felt myself lifting off the ground, hovering just an inch or two above the ground while trapped in a warm embrace made of nothing.

It brought me to the bed, laying me down and placing my into the position I had been in while we had our staring competitions, and now I lay there again, staring at the shadow as it moved back to its original position, and feeling its warmth drift from my body. It stood there again, watching over me, and all I could think was "Why, why are you there?"