The shadows that hide

There's a special feeling that creeps into your bones when you're alone at night, the kind of emotion that the beam of a flashlight tries to dispel. I felt it every now and then as I walked through the woods behind my childhood home, the path winding with the gnarled trees and crumbling stones of an abandoned cemetery. Since my sister, Emily, disappeared two years ago, these woods have become a prison of my memories, sweet and haunting.  

It was a stormy evening in late October when I decided to face my demons. Strange winds howled around the house like a desperate soul, shaking the windows with  relentless persistence. I had returned to Pine Hollow to care for my elderly mother. It was lost in time and the grip of the pain took us both every week. But  that evening, I could no longer avoid the question that had always haunted me: what happened to Emily? 

Driven by an evening of forgotten memories and pain, I grabbed a flashlight and went into the shadows. I felt the rain on my face as I walked down the familiar paths. The chirping of crickets was replaced by an eerie silence, and the half-forgotten stories of the spirits that roamed these woods seeped into my mind like poison. It was fun, but when you're chasing ghosts, you can't afford to be rational. 

 My heart was beating when I reached the old cemetery, whose tombstones were worn and rested like broken teeth. Emily's name was not among the dates and names that stood out to me, but her absence felt like a weight torn from my chest. I knelt next to one of the stones, the name was illegible but the moss added a terrible beauty that reminded me of his gentle soul. 

As he rubbed the damp earth around the stone, a sound rang out - a soft rustle coming from the brush. I froze, panting, and turned my flashlight toward the noise. For a moment, the light illuminated only shadows, tangible but intangible. Then I saw him: a flat figure  at the edge of the trees, half hidden in the shadows. My breath caught in my throat as I swallowed the rising wave of panic. 

"Is anyone there?" I shouted, looking through the beam  to try and get a clearer picture. To my horror, instead of an answer, a melodious chuckle floated through the air - a sound that both mesmerized and chilled me. This laugh brought back a distant memory, taking me by surprise. It was Emily's laugh; It was so long that I  almost forgot what it felt like - light, twinkling, like music to my ears. 

 I couldn't shake the feeling of being invaded by something much bigger than I realized. Swallowing hard, I moved forward, the squishy mud beneath my feet reminding me of the raging storm  above. "Emily?" » I called, my voice shaking. "Is that you?" » 

The figure was moving, a flurry of movement that made my adrenaline swell. I approached until the  beam of the torch revealed a face I knew very well, pale and suffused with an extraordinary glow. "Finally you found me," he said, his voice almost hypnotic.  

“Emily…” The word slipped from my lips like magic. "I thought you were gone." » 

His smile was strangely without warmth and his laughter turned into whispers I couldn't decipher. "Better late than never," she replied enigmatically, the moonlight dancing around her in ghostly veils. 

"What… what happened to you?" » The words seemed like lead in my mouth. 

"Can't you hear it?" The forests have changed. "I've changed." Emil approached his wavy figure like a mirage. "I'm free now, free in the shadows. » He held out his hand to me, an invitation tinged with danger. 

 A flash of memory hit me: Emily's last day, how she had laughed at my discomfort and insisted on going deeper into the woods. I  lingered on the edge, fearing the unknown as it danced through the trees, inviting me to let go of my inhibitions. Then she disappeared, as if the  earth itself had swallowed her whole. "I'm lost like you, but it's time to join me," she urged, leading me into the darkness. "Don't be afraid." 

But fear tightened its icy fingers around my mind. "No! Emily, I can't!" I pulled back, resisting the pull of his ethereal invitation. "I must find you!" We have to go home. » 

His expression changed, shadows twisting his features into something dark, soulless. "At home? Never home again, dear brother. Time has won. » 

I felt the forest stirring, the air thick with evil energy. The wind picked up, murmuring around me, voices from the past mingled with the rustle of the leaves. A jolt of terror shot through my chest, jolting me back to my memories, and for a moment I saw the day Emily was gone—a flash of lightning in the dark forest, the sound of her laughter turning to screams as she slipped away. from my grasp 

“Join me, Ethan. We will never lose again. His outstretched hand beckoned to me, more convincing than anything I've ever known. 

 As the shadow swirled around her, temptation invaded my mind. I closed my eyes, sniffing the air, and made my choice. "I'm so sorry, Emily." With a wave of determination, I turned and ran, running through the darkness that threatened to swallow me whole. 

 My hysterical breathing rang in my ears as I ran down the overgrown path. Behind me, I heard Emil's shrill, triumphant laugh. "Better late than never, Ethan!" Join me soon! The words followed me, revealing the reason I was captured. 

As we passed through the vineyards, the familiar exit from the forest looked like a lighthouse. Sweat poured down my neck as I rushed into the cold air, my lungs burning. As I crashed into the moonlight, the terrible echoes faded away, leaving me panting on the brink of safety. This realization washed over me like a tide. He was not completely free; ghosts don't just disappear. They live in the whispering shadows, they call me incessantly, lost forever. Even though I had escaped the forest, the shadows remained, mixed with my memories. My sister's laughter would haunt me and her desperate plea would sink into the recesses of my mind.  With every heartbeat, I felt the horror of what I discovered sink into my bones. I wasn't sure. But that was all I could do now: run and keep running. Because in those woods, far from reality, he had seen the truth - sometimes it is  better late than never, and sometimes the price of discovery is greater than the pain of forgetting.

By Omnipoten