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I wait for death to come.
Another breath.
Death is taking its damn time!
After a few more breaths, I open my eyes to see what the holdup is. The creature is still there, its eerie blue glow illuminating the otherwise dark forest. It’s standing very still, as if confused. Its jaw slowly closes.
Seeing the massive mouth, I feel another stab of fear.
Bad idea.
The creature hisses, and its jaw opens again.
I slam my eyes shut and take a calming breath. Okay, so maybe the creature responds to fear.
I force my fear down into the same place I’m keeping all my other trauma. I’m compartmentalizing.
I need another emotion to hang onto – something to distract me from the terror. I settle on detached curiosity.
I’m just going to pretend I’m reading about this creature and not facing it alone in a dark forest.
I can do this.
I peek my eyes open again. The creature looks relaxed. My fear theory has merit.
Cautiously, I study the creature, forcing myself to feel only mild interest. It helps not to look at its face. The body isn’t as creepy once you get past the disproportional limbs.
It looks vaguely human. It’s wearing a dress, but it’s all ripped up and shredded down the front. The creature’s legs are exposed, and its knees are scratched up. The scratches continue up its thighs.
Herthighs. This creature was human once.
With that realization, I’m hit with a wave of overwhelming anguish. I gasp, looking back at the creature’s face. That emotion didn’t come from me.
My mind is flooded with distant voices as I lock eyes with the creature’s unseeing eye sockets. I can hear her in my head, a woman screaming to please stop and to let her go.
Bile rises in my throat as I put the pieces together. This creature was human. And, from the sounds of it, she was assaulted the night she was murdered.
My heart goes out to her, erasing any lingering fear I was trying to repress. No one deserves what this woman went through, to die so horrifically, only to find no peace in the afterlife.
The voices start again, replaying the same sounds and feelings.
It’s as if she’s trapped, forever reliving her trauma.
I’m not sure she can understand me, but I try anyway, “I am so deeply sorry for what happened to you.”
I’m not sure why I do it, but a part of me feels compelled to let her know her pain is not invisible. That her suffering is seen, and she isn’t alone.
As the words leave me, there’s a prickling sensation along my skin. A wave of warmth rises from somewhere deep inside me and radiates through my body. Looking away from the creature, I lift my arms before me, trying to make sense of what I’m seeing.
A silver light pulses off me, coating my exposed skin and projecting outwards.
Well, this is a new level of weirdness.
I look back at the creature, thinking perhaps the light is coming from her.
My mouth drops. The creature is gone, replaced by the ghost of a woman. She’s wearing the same dress, only it’s no longer in tatters. The silver glow radiating from my skin is mirrored on hers.
How is this even possible? I look back at my skin, but the silver glow is gone.
