The Shadow
Day 1
I saw something strange when I left work today.
There was a man standing across the street.
Well, I think it was a man.
He was completely dark. I couldn’t make out his clothes, his face, or even his hands. Just a black silhouette, standing perfectly still, looking in my direction.
I thought he was probably waiting for the bus.
When I started walking home, he disappeared.
I didn’t think much of it.
Day 2
I saw him again.
This time, he was outside my workplace.
For almost an hour, he stood in front of the window. My coworkers walked back and forth, and none of them seemed to notice him.
I asked if they knew the guy outside.
They looked at me strangely.
When I pointed toward the window, he was gone.
That night, I closed the curtains before going to bed.
Day 3
He followed me home.
I’m sure of it.
I walked faster to see what he would do.
So did he.
I stopped.
He stopped.
I crossed the street.
He crossed too.
I could never see his face.
When I got home, I locked the door and looked through the window.
No one was there.
I finally relaxed.
Until I turned off the light.
His silhouette appeared in the reflection of the glass.
He was standing behind me.
I turned around.
There was nothing there.
Day 4
Last night, he appeared in my bedroom.
I woke up sometime around three in the morning.
He was standing at the foot of my bed.
He didn’t move.
He didn’t breathe.
He didn’t make a sound.
I turned on the lamp.
He disappeared.
I didn’t sleep again.
This morning, I found something strange.
There were marks on the floor, exactly where the shadow had been standing.
They looked like footprints.
But they didn’t come from the door.
They started beside my bed.
Day 5
He doesn’t disappear when I turn on the light anymore.
Today, he was in the bathroom.
I saw him behind me while I was washing my face.
I turned around.
Nothing.
I looked back at the mirror.
He was still there.
This time, I raised one hand.
The shadow did the same.
I broke the mirror.
I don’t know why.
I’m afraid to look at myself again.
Day 6
I didn’t go to work.
There’s no point.
He’s with me everywhere.
In the windows.
On the blank television screen.
In any surface where I can see my reflection.
I tried to leave the house, but he was waiting for me across the street.
Every time I see him, he’s closer.
I think he wants something from me.
Tonight, I’m not going to sleep.
If he appears again, I’m going to face him.
I’m tired of running.
Day 7
The shadow is still following me.
I don’t know what it wants.
At work, it waits outside, watching me through the window. When I go home, it follows me. At night, it stands motionless at the foot of my bed.
I can’t take it anymore.
Today, I decided to face it.
I walked toward it.
For the first time, the shadow didn’t step back.
It didn’t disappear either.
I reached out my hand.
It did the same.
I touched it.
And stepped inside.
Then I woke up.
A man in front of me was screaming.
He backed away, terrified at the sight of me.
I looked around, frightened.
I didn’t recognize the place.
I didn’t understand what was happening.
Until I saw the mirror.
I slowly walked toward it.
The man behind me was still screaming.
I stopped in front of the glass.
There was no face.
No body.
Only a completely black silhouette.
Then I understood.
I was the shadow.
