Shadowed

“Whispers so close to your ear you would think somebody were there,”

“Why do you think you’re having these episodes?” The psychologist asked.

“I’ve told you before, they’re not episodes! These things are real!” Samantha cried, trying to get the well-meaning Doctor to understand.

“Why do you suppose these things are bothering you?” the Doctor corrected, posing the question in a way that still agreed with her evaluation.

Samantha pondered for a moment, what could they have possibly wanted from her? Though the curtains had been closed for privacy, the Doctor’s office was well-lit and there wasn’t a single area left untouched by the warmth and comfort of the lamps and ceiling lights. Today; however, a corner seemed to defy the laws of light and remained veiled in a thin layer of shadow. Sam chalked the oddity up to a dimming bulb, though she couldn’t help but have her attention drawn to it periodically.

“Sam, did you hear what I said?” the Doctor asked.

She had unknowingly let the mysterious corner grab her attention for several moments before the Doctor pulled her out of her daze. Sam was unsure whether or not the shadow had grown darker or if her eyes were playing tricks on her from the intense focus. The shadow appeared to warp and undulate ever so slightly and she was left unsure of what she was seeing. The tell-tale signs of their presence didn't seem to be bothering her while she looked at the dark spot on the wall, so she let herself relax and gave her attention to the Doctor.

“What did you say?” she asked.

“I said, ‘Our session has ended,’ I’ll see you the same time, next week,”

~

In her mind, the steps leading to Samantha’s apartment had started to signify her descent into hell and the door closing behind her was her cell being locked tight. Had she the means, she would have left long ago; however, the situation kept her in a perpetual cycle of overpaying for medication and doctors that did nothing to solve the issue.

“That’s right, there’s nothing anyone can do to help you,” a voice whispered in one of her ears.

“Poor, little Samantha. That Doctor doesn’t even believe you,” it teased in her other ear.

“What do you want from me?!” she cried, hoping to get an answer this time.

“Want? We don’t want anything. We’re just having fun!”

The rest of her night continued on with a silence so loud, that she feared the ringing in her ears would cause her to go deaf as she lay in bed, restless. She had hoped keeping the lights on would prevent herself from being ‘shadowed’ as she had come to call it, and it seemed to work. The paranoia though, was a different story. She had never been shadowed outside of her home and even with her room drowning in light, she still felt as though the voices were whispering to her.

“That’s because we are!” they said, “You can bathe your world in as much light as you want, but your mind is the darkest place of them all. We will reside with you until your final breath, and when that day comes, you will see what Hell truly is!”

The fear which welled deep inside, prompted - urged - her to bury herself beneath the covers of her bed, but she new that was the last place she would find refuge. She continued to lay in bed, eyes open and tears stained her pillow, just as the shadows had become a stain on her life.