I don't remember the day I met Lina. She was just.... always. It was as if she jumped out of my shadow as soon as I learned to run. Mom always said that children have imaginations, but I knew that Lina was not an imagination. She was real. As real as the sandbox behind the house or the raindrops tapping on the windowsill.
Lina was different from me. She had darker hair, always disheveled, and such a strange look, as if she knew something I would never understand. Sometimes she laughed at things that frightened me - for example, the strange noises outside the window at night.
That day, everything started out ordinary. It was sunny, albeit chilly, and I was sitting in my favorite corner in the backyard. Lina, as always, was hanging around next to me.
- Do you think the shadow can get away from us? - She asked suddenly, pointing her finger at her shadow, which was tangling around her legs.
- What? - I laughed. - That's impossible! A shadow is a shadow, it's always where you are.
- Not always," she said quietly and looked at me with that strange look of hers.
I wanted to answer something, but then I heard footsteps behind my back. I turned around and saw Nadia. Nadia was a classmate of mine. Actually, she was more of a forced classmate. I never liked her as much as Lina, but my mother said I should spend time with "real" kids, not "imaginary friends."
- What's up, Maja? - Nadia asked, sitting down next to me.
- Nothing interesting," I replied, trying to hide the fact that I had just talked to Lina.
- Let's go to the clearing where the old hut is," Nadia suggested, as if completely ignoring the fact that Lina was standing right behind her.
- Shack? - whispered Lina, leaning over my shoulder. - There is something strange there, Maja. Don't go there.
But Nadia had already stood up and pulled me by the hand.
- It's just a ruin, what could be strange about a dilapidated house? - She asked, and for a moment I didn't know whether she was answering me or Lina.
We moved together, although I felt that something was wrong. Lina followed us, like a shadow that took shape the closer we got to the hut. When we got there, the door from the old building was slightly ajar. It was dark inside, and there was a quiet rustling sound, as if someone was there.
- Let's go! - Nadia laughed and went inside, completely unconcerned about the darkness.
Lina put her hand on my shoulder.
- Don't go there, Maja," she said again.
- Why? - I asked, looking her straight in the eyes.
- Because there is a shadow waiting there.
Nadia called out to me from inside the hut, and I stood still for a moment, with my heart beating like crazy. The shadow around Lina seemed to twitch and lengthen. For a second it looked like it was about to engulf me.
- Maja! - Nadia's voice was now sharp, almost angry.
I took a step forward. Behind me, Lina whispered quietly:
- This is just the beginning.
I went inside.
The door slammed behind me so loudly that for a moment only its echo sounded in my head. My heart started beating like crazy, and I looked around the interior of the hut. It was dark, with only a few streaks of light squeezing through holes in the boards.
- Nadia? - I called out, feeling my voice tremble.
I was answered by silence, penetrating and heavy, as if all the air had suddenly frozen. I took a few steps forward, my feet crunching on the dried leaves covering the floor.
- Nadia, where are you? - I repeated, this time louder.
That's when I heard a rustling sound, as gentle as an insect's wings, but close enough to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
- It's not funny," I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt.
For a moment I thought something flashed in the corner of the room. I cast a glance there, but saw nothing. Except for the shadows.
Shadow.
I remembered Lina's words and something inside me trembled.
- Nadia, speak up! - I shouted, but my voice echoed hollowly from the scarred walls.
- She is no longer there. - I heard a whisper. It was not Nadia's voice. It was low, almost melodious, as if it came from somewhere else.
I turned abruptly, but there was no one behind me.
- Who's there? - I howled, trying to keep my voice steady, although my legs were like cotton wool.
Then I noticed. The shadow. It was longer than it should have been, too long. It stretched from one wall to another, and its shape.... It did not resemble a human being.
- Maya. - Nadia's voice finally rang out. He was somewhere close, maybe just outside the next door.
- Nadia? Where are you? - I asked with relief, although chills did not stop running down my back.
I moved toward the voice, but the shadow seemed to be following me. Each step I took made it elongate, and its edges rippled like smoke.
I reached the door leading to the other room and pushed it open. The creak of the hinges pierced the silence.
- Nadia? - I whispered, as my voice could no longer penetrate the heavy, disturbing darkness.
Inside, I saw Nadia. She stood with her back to me, motionless, staring at the wall.
- What are you doing? - I asked, and my voice trembled.
Nadia did not respond.
I walked closer, cautiously, and that's when I noticed that the shadow - that long, swirling shadow - led directly to her. Not to her legs, but to her back.
- Nadia? - I whispered, and my heart was pounding like crazy.
When she turned around, her eyes were different. Empty, black, as if something had sucked all the light out of them. She smiled in a way that didn't belong to her.
- The shadow is already here," she said, and her voice was cold, foreign.
I took a step backward, directly onto something soft. I turned around and saw Lina. She was looking at me with an expression on her face that I saw for the first time. She was neither calm nor mysterious. She was terrified.
- Maja, we have to run," she said. - Now.
- Lina, what's going on?
I heard a crunch behind me. When I turned around, the shadow moved toward me with a speed I can't describe. It launched itself in our direction, as if it wanted to engulf us.
- Run! - shouted Lina, dragging me behind her.
And then I realized it. I'm not alone here. I've never been.
I ran after Lina, but my legs felt as if they were still too heavy, as if the air around me had become thicker, harder to handle. Lina held my hand so tightly that it hurt, but I was afraid to let go. I felt that if I did, something would consume me.
Shadow. He was behind us. I could hear him moving around on the floor, shuffling, groaning, as if he was searching for a way into my heart.
- Lina! - I called out, trying to keep up with her. - What is this!
She didn't answer, just sped up. We went outside, and I struggled to catch my breath. The air was cold, but at least it was clean. The hut stayed behind us, dark and still, but the shadow was still there. I could feel it, I could see it moving along the ground, heading in our direction.
- We can't stay here," Lina said, looking at me in horror.
- But where should we go? - I asked, feeling tears coming to my eyes.
Lina looked behind me, and I realized that something was wrong. I turned around slowly. Nadia was standing there, halfway between us and the hut. Her figure was motionless, as if something was holding her in place.
- Nadia! - I called out, moving toward her, but Lina grabbed my hand.
- You can't go there," she said sharply.
- That's my friend! - I snapped out of it and ran towards Nadia.
Each step seemed to take an eternity. My heart was pounding like crazy, and one thought was going around in my head: I have to save her.
When I reached her, I touched her shoulder. It was icy cold.
- Nadia, what is going on? - I asked in a trembling voice.
She turned around slowly, and her face.... Her face was different. Not like the one before in the hut, but it still wasn't entirely hers. Her eyes were glazed over, and her lips moved as if she were saying something voicelessly.
- He wants to take me away," she finally whispered.
- Who? - I asked, trying to shake her. - Nadia, who?
Her gaze shifted to something behind me, and then I felt it. The shadow was close, very close.
I got cold, so cold that my hands went numb and my heart seemed to stop beating. A shadow surrounded us, as if creating an impassable wall.
- Maja... - Nadia's voice was barely audible. - You're not from around here either.
Her words hit me like a stone.
- What are you saying? - I asked, feeling the world around me begin to spin.
- You don't belong here.... as do I.
The shadow began to move faster, as if circling around us, tightening the noose.
- Lina! - I shouted, but she was gone. I did not know where she disappeared to, and panic took over.
Nadia looked at me, and in her eyes I saw something I had never seen there before. Fear.
- He is here.... Because he's looking for you.
I stared at Nadia as if her words were some absurd joke. But there was not a hint of merriment in her eyes - only fear. My heart was beating like crazy, and the air around us was heavy and cold. The shadow circled closer and closer, and I felt its presence like thousands of icy needles poking into my skin.
- What do you mean he's looking for me? - I asked, trying to keep my voice as calm as my nerves would allow.
Nadia did not respond. Her gaze traveled over my shoulder, as if she had seen something that I had not yet been able to perceive.
- Nadia! - I shouted, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her. - What does it all mean?
Then I felt it. The shadow stopped, as if hesitating to take another step. The air became quiet for a moment, and the world seemed to hold its breath.
- He will not stop," whispered Nadia. Her voice was barely audible, but every word reached me like thunder. - Until he finds you.
I turned around abruptly, trying to see what it was that scared her. But there was nothing there - only darkness. In the distance I could hear the hum of trees and the distant hooting of an owl. The shadow seemed blurred, as if it had melted into the night.
- Lina! - I shouted again, but the silence was like a wall that cut me off from the rest of the world.
- She knows what to do," Nadia said, but her voice sounded like it came from somewhere else. - You have to find her before it's too late.
- Why me? - I asked, feeling tears gathering in my eyes. - What do I have to do with this?
Nadia looked at me with something resembling sadness.
- Because you are not... - she began, but suddenly interrupted, as if something had taken her voice away.
The shadow moved again. This time faster, as if it knew its moment was coming. The cold that surrounded me became unbearable.
Nadia let go of my shoulders and took a step back.
- Don't let him catch you, Maja," she whispered. - And remember... you are the one with the power.
Before I could say anything, the shadow spread like a black wave, engulfing Nadia in an instant.
- Nadio! - I shouted, but she was gone. She disappeared, and I was left alone, standing where she had been just a moment ago.
The shadow stepped back, as if waiting. It didn't disappear, but it didn't move on either. I stood there, staring into the void, trying to understand what had just happened.
I woke up suddenly, with my heart pounding and my breathing as shallow as after a long run. My hands trembled, and a strand of hair stuck to my sweaty forehead. I was in my bed. My soft quilt seemed both safe and foreign, as if it didn't belong to this world from which I had just returned. The room was silent, broken only by the quiet ticking of the clock on the wall. I drew in a deep breath and looked toward the window.
The moon hung high in the dark blue sky, wrapped in a haze of clouds. Its light spilled across the room, creating long, pale shadows on the floor. I sat on the bed and drew my knees to my chest, trying to collect my thoughts.
I listened for a while. Silence. No voice, no shadow moving in the corner of the room. Everything seemed normal, but my body refused to calm down.
It was a dream... wasn't it? I closed my eyes and remembered every detail - the icy touch of the air, the terror in Nadia's eyes, that strange shadow that seemed to live a life of its own. Everything seemed so real that it hurt.
"It's just a dream," I repeated in my mind, but I couldn't believe it. How could a dream be so tangible? Even now I could feel the cold on my skin, just like when the shadow surrounded us.
What did Nadia mean when she said the shadow was looking for me? Why did she say I was the one with the power? What did it all mean? What if it wasn't a dream? If...
I shook my head, trying to dismiss these thoughts. After all, this is absurd. Shadows don't walk the world, hide behind trees and consume people. Nadia was just a figment of my imagination. She had to be.
And yet something in me refused to believe it. As if I knew it wasn't the end, that it was all just beginning.
I looked at the night table, where my sketchbook lay. I took it in my hand and began to look through the latest drawings. There were portraits of Lina and Nadia, our playground, the trees around the house.... and something else. I stopped at the last page.
There were three figures on it: me, Lina and Nadia. We were holding hands, and in the background there was a big, blurry shadow. At the time I thought it was funny, but now I looked at it completely differently.
Is it possible that I have always felt it? That shadow? He was always there somewhere, close by, watching me?
- Stop it, Maja," I whispered to myself. - This is just imagination.
But something inside me kept me going. Something that said what I saw was more than a dream.
I looked again at the moon. Its light seemed strangely dim, as if something was trying to obscure it. Or maybe it was just my fatigue? I leaned my head against my shoulders and tried to calm myself down.
I didn't know what it all meant, but I knew one thing - I have to talk to L.... No, I need to talk to Nadia. In the morning everything will become clearer. In the morning... The shadow will no longer have power over me.
At least that's what I hoped.
Suddenly something rustled outside the window. My heart jumped up into my throat again. I got up and walked to the window sill, cautiously leaning outside. Everything looked peaceful. A gray yard, trees swaying in the wind and a path leading to the garden.
And then I saw something strange. There was a flower lying in the grass, right next to the wicket. A small white flower that wasn't there before.
I took a deep breath, looking down at him. Where had he come from? Did someone leave him there?
I didn't know what to think. But one thing was certain - I would not sleep again that night.