Aleyah walked without hesitation into the shop where her father and a customer were chatting. She penetrated the curtain in the doorway and felt something strange. "Sorry, did I interrupt your conversation?" she asked uncomfortably, because they immediately fell silent when she appeared.
The man felt it would be strange if he remained silent, so he decided to smile at Aleyah. "Not at all. Good afternoon Smith, nice to see you again." he said kindly even though it didn't feel like it.
"I-I'm glad as well, s-sir." muttered the old man, surprised. He never saw that man smile since he was a little kid. Today is definitely his first time and he is so bad at it.
"He looks scary when he smiles, why force such friendliness? How strange isn't it?"
Her father did not say a word in reply to her comment. Instead the old man said, "You shouldn't show up again when I tell you to go back. He recognizes your face now, what were you thinking?"
Aleyah frowned, "So what if a customer recognizes me? Isn't that a good thing?" the woman grumbled and then replaced the sugar stock in the shop kitchen.
Smith didn't add to the conversation about it. Then Aleyah continued innocently. "I think I've met him, papa. But I forgot where and what we were talking about. Do you know him personally?" Aleyah asked a little enthusiastically.
Smith stared in horror and couldn't say anything. NYX has now marked his daughter by coming to them, Smith believes. Aleyah slowly became afraid to see her father's very strange reaction. She asked what was wrong but her father was just silent. Instantly he looked lethargic and uninspired, as if his hope for life had been lost.
Smith sighed, "I don't want to hear you talking about that person. Next time leave as soon as that person comes, understand?" he asked firmly.
Aleyah nodded languidly and remained silent until her father left behind.
"So who was that handsome guy earlier?" A teenage girl emerged from hiding with hair so full of rollers that her head looked like a cauliflower.
"What an eavesdropper. You heard what dad said, don't talk about it." she said then went back to wiping the table. Then she lifted the basket into its place, straightened the chairs to get ready to close the shop.
Meanwhile her younger sister followed her from behind without helping her work in the slightest. "It is rare to see Papa scold you, Sis, usually you are always a perfect child who doesn't have a single flaw. So why is dad suddenly angry at you?" she asked incessantly.
"I don't know, I don't understand either. Papa said we should go inside if that person comes." Aleyah explained while shrugging her shoulders.
Lucy did not stop following her sister's steps, but during that time she had no desire to help with the work at all. "That means he'll be here again, right? Does dad know him? Who's he?" she asked nonstop instead of helping.
Aleyah handed the cloth into the girl's hand, "I don't know and don't talk about him anymore or you'll make papa angry." she said.
Lucy sighed in annoyance then wiped the table according to her sister's orders. "If I were you, I wouldn't stay away from that handsome man. I was thinking about making him my boyfriend, don't get ahead of me, okay?"
Aleyah rolled her eyes lazily, she thought Lucy's words were very inappropriate. She was still in her first year of college while the man looked like he was in his mid 30s. Looks like an established man who already has a family. She didn't understand how Lucy could have a crush on a man who was almost twice her age.
"You always talk about boys, boyfriends and dating plans, ain't you get bored?"complained Aleyah, sick of hearing her sister talk about the same thing for the past few months.
"Bored? No." Lucy answered while shrugging her shoulders, "In fact, you should be the one who has to start looking for a partner. You do realize that all your friends have husbands and kids already, right?" she asked mockingly.
"I have bigger problems than that. I have to make this shop busy, after that I will look for a partner." She was silent for a moment, looking undecided, "Maybe."
"Papa won't be happy to hear that. I know you're good at management, but this shop isn't a good choice. This place is beyond saving. Why don't you start looking for a real job?" Lucy chartered again.
"I can deal with it later. You better focus on your studies. I'm always confused when I see your grades, I wonder why there are still campuses that accept your bad report cards." said Aleyah in between her sweeping activities. She almost threw the broom at Lucy who stuck out her tongue.
"That's because they recognize a talented person like me. You know that I'm very good at making paintings, right?" said Lucy, trying to brag about her award which was displayed on the shop wall.
Aleyah laughed a little, relieved to know that her little sister was still acting as usual even though sadness had engulfed their little family. Aleyah took off her apron and walked towards the shop door, it was time to close the shop. She took the time to look around and she stopped when she saw the strange thing in the alley.
"Lucy, come here," she asked, but Lucy was too lazy to move. She didn't even turn her face. Aleyah was still at the door, this oddity was hard for her to forget. "You see that black shadow outside?" she asked again without slightest anger or annoyance.
Lucy sighed then looked at Aleyah's point. The shop window wasn't closed yet so she could clearly see where her sister was pointing. She narrowed her eyes repeatedly, even standing next to Aleyah to see what her sister meant.
"I didn't see anything black, perhaps it's because of your poor eyesight. It's starting to get dark outside, and maybe that's why." said Lucy trying to think positively and then she left Aleyah's side and closed the shop curtains.
Aleyah took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. She cleaned her old glasses carefully. Then she put it on again to make sure whether what she saw was true or not. She hoped it was because there was a smudge on her glasses. Cause there was no way she would see that strange thing again.
Aleyah rubbed her eyes again until they were reddish from how hard she rubbed. It was the same thing as the one she saw in the cemetery. They were as tall as humans, moving their lips and sounded like humans. But they were dark black with two eyes red like blood. It's impossible for humans to look like that. Maybe not if this is a dream but this is definitely not a dream, she saw them with her own eyes.
"I saw it clearly, Lucy. They stood at the edge of the alley. How come you didn't see it?" Lucy looked indifferent, for her, her sister was just currently trying to trick and tease her like Aleyah had always done.
"You just saw it wrong, believe me. The other day you fell and scraped your knee, right? You should have your eyesight checked and this time buy new glasses. You're troublesome without that thing you know?" said Lucy without paying the slightest attention to what Aleyah was talking about.
Aleyah let Lucy climb the stairs. She nodded in agreement at Lucy's words, "That's right, it can't be, this can't be real. I need to get my eyes checked." she said to herself then she closed the shop door and locked it.
"Argh!" She suddenly screamed hysterically until her back hit the door. The shadow with blood red eyes appeared right in front of her face when she turned around.
The black shadows entered the shop. They were outside the shop earlier, but now they were inside in just a matter of seconds, this absolutely makes no sense. Anyone explain with logic, how do they do that?
Aleyah wasn't sure where to look, they were all blocking her vision. Now she is alone, facing black shadows that always emphasize their presence. Aleyah is now cornered, she wants to leave but they surround her and don't seem to be letting her go easily.
"Wh-who are you guys? Everyone said I saw something wrong, why did you only appear in front of me?" she asked in a trembling voice.
They smiled broadly, "You can see us?" asked one of them in an echoing tone. They already knew the answer but they wanted to know what the woman's answer would be.
Dee shook her head. She was very bad at lying and they were too smart to be fooled. The black shadows giggled and scrambled to contribute their voices to her. Their voices echoed in her head, it was happening again and she hated it so much.
"From now on, you have to help us." they ordered Aleyah without permission or hesitation.
Aleyah covered her eyes as they brought their scary faces closer to her eyes. She didn't forget to cover her ears when they started to whisper into her ears. Their voices echoed so loudly, she couldn't silence them just with hands. It feels like they were talking into her mind.
"You have to help us or we will come into your dreams every night, crawl under your bed, we will keep shows up like this and we will destroy your mind. You don't want that to happen, do you?"
Aleyah shook her head firmly. There was no way she could obey the words of this strange creature that she didn't even know. Besides, what can she really help with? Ah, she convinced herself not to be suspicious because they all seem like they can read her mind. So she decided to not think about it and run away. She immediately ran to her left and then climbed the stairs quickly without looking back.
A ring fell from her pocket. Rolled down the stairs until the red faded until it was clear again. The ring reached the floor and the black shadow slowly faded away from it.