The Malevolent Shadow

I just had gotten a job in a software company and had to shift to another city. I was a complete stranger and didn't know how to survive in a completely unfamiliar environment. Luckily, I made a few friends who helped me settle down. I was happy as I thought nothing could go wrong now.

My friend, let's call her Sue, wanted to move out of her dorm and have her own place. We all tried really hard to find her a house within her budget. But it was an expensive city, so it was tougher than we thought. After a couple of days, she came with a pamphlet of a house which was big and was in her budget. It was weird, because the house looked way out of her price range, but we ignored it.

I and one of my friends went with her to have a look at the new house. When we reached there, I started feeling uneasy. The air felt heavy. This was my first warning. Sue saw this and told me to wait in the car. I was sure something was wrong but I couldn't tell her because she really wanted to buy a house. When they came out, she told me she'll buy that house. I forced a smile. I just wanted to get away.

After two days, we helped her move in her new house. It was not easy for me. I always felt someone eyes on me. One Saturday, we were coming out of the house after moving some stuff. As we were coming back, my friend asked Sue if she will be okay living alone. She snapped at him telling him that she's not a kid. I was surprised, because she never got angry at anyone. I ignored it by thinking maybe she was stressed. We, then, got inside the car and went back.

She successfully moved into her new house. She was happy and we were happy because of her. But things started changing after a few days. She started looking really tired, she lost her charm, became more quite and sometimes talked to herself when she was alone. We were worried, so we decided to spend a night with her. I reluctantly joined them because I didn't want to enter that place, but on the other hand I wanted Sue to be happy.

On Sunday, the five of us went to her house. The moment she opened the door, I wanted to run out that place. I felt something really malevolent. I was in so much shock that I failed to notice everyone had already gone inside. I finally looked at Sue, her eyes looked blank. I went in and hugged her, when she whispered she wanted to see me for so long. I said we see each other every day. She just nodded and went to the kitchen. It was really weird. I even refused to eat dinner and gave some lame excuse for it that seemed to work. Later, Sue came to me and insisted to sleep with her in her room. I turned down her offer and said I would sleep on the couch. She didn't look happy but I couldn't have cared less about that. Seems insensitive, but my first priority was to get out of that house.

We all went to sleep but sleep refused to come to me. I got up and looked around. Everything was creepier than it seemed. I saw everyone sleeping soundly. I saw light coming out of Sue's room. I decided to take a peek. I saw her talking to the wall. She was saying something I couldn't understand. She was talking to her shadow. Then I saw something that pushed me off the edge. It was not her shadow. After I saw that, I tried to wake everyone. But nobody woke up. So, I ran for my life. I never even looked back. I took a cab after I realized I had left the house far behind. But I didn't go home. I went to my neighbor's house. They didn't ask me anything because I was shivering with fear. I requested them to let me have an idol of lord Hanuman. That night, I didn't sleep at all.

The next day, I was expecting to get calls from my friends, but nobody called me. I got worried but I went to my home, got ready and went to work. I talked to my boss and requested him to transfer me to where my parents live. He asked me why and I made another excuse that seemed to work. After a couple of hours, I saw my friends come to the office. They were looking really tired. I asked one of them why they didn't call me. But he didn't say anything. Sue was not in the office. I felt relieved, but I was concerned about my friends.

After a month, I got my transfer order. I was happy to finally get away from that place. Sue never came to the office for a few weeks. My friends got better after I advised them to stay away from Sue and her house. It was not an easy thing to do, I wanted to help. But I was scared for my life. After some weeks, we came to know that she hanged herself.

I came to live with my parents after that. Luckily, nothing creepy happened. No nightmares, no waking up fearing for my life. But the insanity that happened that night stuck with me.