Eliana shut the door behind her and loathed the nasty feeling of her clothes sticking to her skin.
Apparently the air conditioner was set below 70 degrees because the moment Eliana stepped inside, she swore she was going to become an ice statue soon.
She pulled off her penny loafers, both squeaking to even the slightest of movements.
It was dark and unsettlingly quiet.
Eliana greatly disliked it more and more with each coming minute.
She flicked a light switch on her right and instantly, the kitchen light lit up the entire room.
"Mom?"
She pulled out a dining chair and placed her backpack on top of it.
A neon pink notepad resting on the dining table caught her eye.
Her eyes skimmed over the message written onto the smooth paper.
'Elie, darling,
I will be gone for two weeks. I got an unexpected call earlier and it seems I will be flying to and over more than three countries as an air hostess.
Can you believe it?
Don't worry, I'll bring home some souvenirs. If you need any help, your aunt is one text message or call away. Make sure to take care of yourself and remember to always take your pills.
With much love, your mom'
There were no signs of rushed human interaction anywhere, although the note suggested otherwise.
The sink was empty while the dishes in the dishwasher were put away, the kitchen towels were hung onto the oven handle and the countertops were spotless.
Eliana smoothed the sticky part onto the refrigerator.
'Just in case I forget...'
She made her way to the stairs, passing over the living room.
Eliana lazily glanced over the living with unreasonable hopes that her mom would be there lying on the couch, watching TV.
But… She caught something else in the corner of her eye that made her halt and turn right back around.
(* Shsssssss. Shssssssss. *)
The television abruptly flashed on and showed a glitching screen filled with static.
Eliana approached it.
She peered into the screen and saw the back of little girl in a white nightdress on her knees amidst the static.
The little girl turned her lowered head around and tilted it, clutching the teddy bear she was holding to tighter.
She opened and closed her mouth as if she was trying to say something.
"I can't hear..." Eliana fumbled around for the remote but couldn't find it anywhere.
The little girl rose and pressed her palm onto the screen.
"El-zzzz-i-aa-zzzz-na-a-zz-aa-"
The lights started to flicker.
"You-zzzz-left-zzzz-me..."
"What? Who are you and what are you talking about?"
"You-zzz-forgot-zzzz-about-"
It was completely dark now.
The lights had suddenly burned out and the room was dimly lit by the light given off from television screen.
Cracks emerged on the surface of the screen like a spiderweb from the little girl's palm.
Then, little girl's pupils shifted lifted from her palm until she was staring deep into Eliana's eyes.
The corners of her mouth lifted.
"ME!"
A distorted shrieking sound mixed with maniacal laughter echoed throughout the room and penetrated Eliana's ears.
Eliana fell onto her knees and immediately covered her ears.
Any more and her eardrums were going to burst soon.
"Stop it! Stop it all! It hurts!" She screamed lungs out.
(* CRASH *)
The screen was completely broken and glass shards lay on the floor around her.
Their sharp edges dangerously reflecting the light given off from the remnants of the television.
'Eliana, darling?'
Her breathing started to shake.
"Mom?"
She crawled under the coffee table in front of the couch and curled herself up.
"Mommy, please help me. It won't stop and it hurts so much..." Eliana quietly sobbed.
'When ever something scary happens, just close your eyes and count to ten. Okay?'
She squeezed her eyes shut and pushed her hands harder onto her ears.
"One." She whispered.
'Yes, just like that.'
"Two."
'Don't forget to take a deep breath.'
"Three." She deeply exhaled and continued.
When she finished counting, she peeked through her eyelids.
'What?'
She fully opened them and glanced around her from under the table.
The lights shone without faltering and remotes were placed in an organized manner while the television screen was shut off.
Oddly enough, the surface of the screen was undamaged as if nothing happened.
'Am I imagining things again? Well, whatever that was… I want no part in it again.''
She immediately crawled from under the table, grabbed her backpack from the kitchen, scampered up the stairs, and slammed her bedroom shut without so much as a glance behind her.
Eliana's back thumped against the door.
Her legs were still wobbling and her breathing was still uneven from whatever happened back there. She had to use the door as a support or else she was going to collapse onto the floor.
She shivered.
Eliana was cold, wet, and scared half to death.
A horrible combination of sensations to feel all at once.
She absolutely did not want to go back out there but she had to get cleaned and change out of her soaked clothes.
＊＊＊
Eliana could feel herself zoning out as she watched the bathtub fill up with hot water.
She sat right beside the bathtub, her knees close to her chest, and waited.
Steam started to cloud the room as the mirror became foggy.
She closed her eyes and felt herself get lost in sound the water makes as it streamed out the faucet.
Her head began nodding.
'I'm so exhausted...'
Then she remembered the running faucet, which caused her eyes to fly open.
'Ah.'
The bathtub was quite full so she turned the handle.
Eliana slipped out of her drenched uniform and stepped into it.
Her whole body was submerged in water, enveloping her with a warmth that allowed her to relax.
She leaned against the bathtub and her head sank deeper and deeper until it was fully under the water.
Little bubbles of air rose up from her mouth and the view of the surface was constantly shifting due to the movement of the water.
She was about to emerge from under the water when suddenly, the lights started to flicker once more and a black figure appeared in the view.
Then the shadow plunged its hands into the bathtub and grabbed tightly onto Eliana's neck, pinning her under water and strangling her.
Instinctively, she held onto these hands to try to loosen the grip or maybe pull them off.
But these hands… They were too strong and their firm hold felt like it was steadily getting tighter.
Her legs thrashed about in an attempt to kick the shadow but she couldn't seem to land one hit on it.
It was getting harder and harder to breathe.
Eliana was choking and drowning at the same time.
'Is this it? Is this how I am going to die?'
She was losing her consciousness when another pair of hands yanked her from the water and rigorously patted her back.
"Elie! Eliana! Breathe, honey, breathe!"
Eliana gasped for air and coughed out water.
"Auntie?" She managed to say although she struggled greatly in doing so.
"Yes, it's me,
The patting became softer and her aunt wrapped a towel around Eliana's shoulders.
"But Elie, you have to breathe. Don't talk, just take a couple deep breaths."
Eliana did as she was told without any hesitation.
When she was done, she just had to ask.
"Auntie, why are you here so late and how did you find me?"
"Well, I had a feeling that I should come regardless of the time and I sure am glad I did decide to drop by… Any later and things would've turned out different."
"Thank you, auntie."
"For what? Saving you?"
"Yes and also, for being here with me."
"Oh, it's no problem. You're my favorite niece, you know... I'm glad I was just in time too."
Eliana furrowed her eyebrows.
"But… Aren't I your only niece?" She tilted her head, trying to hide the smirk forming on her lips.
Her aunt playfully scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, yeah. I was just trying to lighten the mood, you silly and wayyy too smart goose."
She picked up the folded pair of bear pajamas and placed it on top of the toilet seat.
"I'll let you get changed,"
She handed it over to Eliana.
"And when you're done, meet me downstairs. Okay? I don't think you ate yet and I prepared your favorite for dinner tonight." She said the last bit in a sing-songy kind of way.
Eliana smiled.
"Okay," She chirped.
"I'll be downstairs before you can say taco rice!"