After dinner, I spent a little bit more time with Aunt Lin knowing that she's alone living here. She was sitting on a chair sleeping as a book was wide openly placed on her abdomen and her eye glasses were slowly slipping down.
I heard a rustling sound upstairs and so I looked at it. I can't let any bad people come up here, she's vulnerable alone.
The sound was like a thumping sound coming from an empty room labeled as 'Louis' I slowly opened the door and I saw a mouse jumped out of the opened window.
The air are howling in it so I closed and when I closed it I saw a shadow figure behind the door. It was so dark and no lights on. The shadow grew taller than me.
Then it took it's form to a human figure. "What are you doing here dear friend?" Tempting voice of an old man.
"Are you lost?" it changes in to a childish voice.
"GET LOST!" it shouted in a deep thundering and echoing voice.
At that moment, the shadow swirl in me as it hovers its darkness in my body. My hair was flowing away and my body feel the breeze from it.
The shadow at some point did not touch any parts of my body, it just covering me. Frightening may it seemed but I did not fear it.
I noticed that the shadow didn't even harm me. I tried to scoop some shadows in my hand but it's like a fog that flows down smooth and softly.
I do not understand this feeling. The shadow seemed like it's just scaring me. "I'm not afraid!" I shouted.
"I won't leave Aunt Lin alone, If you want us to leave then you've better be off! Cause no one will leave this house until Louis shows up!"
With all conviction I said it bravely and nervous of the result of my foolishness. Soon after, the shadow settle down in a corner of the room. It showed a face, a face of green teary but toughed eyes.
It's like a portrait of an art where lucifer was cursed. Those sharp and biddy eyes can't hide the fact that those eyes were meant for something or someone. It looks like it suffered a lot.
"I'm not going to hurt you, I promise! I just came here to accompany Aunt Lin" I explained.
The shadow that surrounds the eyes were slowly diminishing like a fire about to be put out.
"We're just waiting for Louis. Till then, I'm going to take care his grand mother."
"But I'm right here!" the shadow said. Suddenly it took form in to a 12 years old Louis. The ball, the clothes and other things where just passing through him.
He's like a phantom of a child like of Louis. What kind of phenomenon surround this room? I wondered.
Suddenly the lights were turned on and the bed room of Louis were lit up. It was all covered in white sheets as if someone moved out of it.
Voice of a playing child, car toys and dribbling ball, and other sounds that were not visible moving were heard in the room. It feels like I'm inside some sort of haunted area of the house.
The shadow of a 12 years old Louis was running in the room back and fort , playing toys and other things but it is made out of dark dust.
It's like mimic of an old Louis. I sat down to a dusty bed wondering if I could communicate to this Louis. Can I get answer of the events when I was gone for the past 10 years?
"Louis?"
"Yes?" the shadow child answered
"What happened to you when I was gone?"
"Who are you mister?"
It does not recognize me but maybe he can recognize people's name!
"Louis, do you know what happened to your mother?"
"My mother?" the shadow asked as it stare at me.
"Yes!" as far as I know the Louis that I know doesn't talked much about his family. He just avoid questions or changed topics.
"My mother died in a car crash." The shadow said then it continued to play. Then it looked at the window and saddened.
I continually observed him, basing his answer to my question, The shadow knows something that I do not know.
Maybe it knows Louis' secret? To try such hypothesis I was thinking of some question that I can tell that the shadow may give me as a hint that it knows the secrets of Louis.
"Hey Louis! do you know Carl's secret at the dock?"
It looked at me and smiled, "Yes! He peed his pants after a frog leaped on him."
Carl doesn't talked about this and only the three of us knew what happened at the dock. It was quite hilarious to the point that it's hard to make Carl stop from crying.
"Tell me Louis, What happened after Clyde was gone?"
The shadow was getting darker, clearly it didn't want to leave the window. It's like it was waiting for someone to come.
"I've waited for Clyde to come. Years after years, I thought that he was gone completely.
There were no post card, sign of his coming back and even Carl didn't show up in my house. Why does everyone leave me?
You know what's funny sir?..." the shadow looks so gloomy as it tells me his story. Despite of it, it still addresses me politely.
"…Most of the people leave, even Clyde. He was the only friend that I have. Carl and I look at him as if he's our hero.
Clyde showed me how to have fun. I never felt this warm before. Clyde was like a brother to me but then without a word, he just left.
I envy him. I wish Clyde to come back."
"Is that why you left? Is it because you feel alone?"
"No sir, I left because I see power, I felt power. It's like it's wanting me."
What power? This question it keeps on lingering to my head. As I tried to remember the words , the memory that happened…
"…I tasted power, I tasted what Carl was hiding!"
"Wha-what? Do you mean? What power? What's Carl hiding?"
"OH! FOR GOODNESS SAKE! Don't play dumb with me! Clyde! You know what Carl is capable of, you know what he is. Haven't he told you last night?
"Try to remember Clyde, you don't have short term memory lost." He said…
… those memory throbbing to my head. It hurts! I grabbed my hair out of pain. I hear screeching sound and my environment was like spinning round and round.
I can't tell what power they are talking about? Suddenly the shadow walked near me.
"Are you ok sir?"
"Yes, I'm ok"
"Sir, I think you need help"
"It's ok, Louis let me tell you something… ah!" the pain kept on interrupting me.
"I'll look after Aunt Lin so don't worry too much."
"Thank you sir"
The shadow disappear and an old woman went in with a glass of water.
"Are you ok? Here! Have a drink."
Aunt Lin assisted me in drinking water. Then I reached from my pockets a tablet and drunk it. The pain was slowly decreasing.
"You scare me to death child!" she said.
"I'm sorry, I'm ok now don't worry."
The shadow probably asked Aunt Lin for help. I could not helped but noticed how things aligned. Despite being a shadow, Louis finds a way to be good at some point.
The shadow is like a phantom of his old self that shares with the same secrets as the original. In this world where heroes and supernatural beings occur, it's not a surprising encounter for me to face such power.
That shadow doesn't serve as a sabotage instead it's like guarding something. As for this case, I'm guessing guarding this old loving woman.
Analyzing the shadow, it looks like it sprouted because of a traumatic event that happened to Louis. If that is the case then what will be the case of Carl?
Loneliness, envy and jealousy, huh! I should note that. I must guard my heart as well. Honestly, for them to have those supernatural happenings, I don't envy them instead I'm proud of them.
However! This doesn't change their lifestyle, so what causes them? I myself can't comprehend the change in this town but I can adapt well to it.
It drives me crazy!!!!
How can my best 2 buddies became super enemies when I was gone for 10 years? I think it's quite shallow to say that the root of all this madness is me!
But I can't also change the fact that I left them without a word. I must know more, I have no time for nonsense.
If this goes on, I'll probably die out of insanity. My dear pals, wait for me! It will take time but I will save the both of us. For the power of friendship!
I sounded like a character in 'my little pony' ugh!
~End of chapter