she asked herself,

And for some reason she asked herself that question every night before going to sleep,

As if something haunted her but she didn't know what? Why? Or maybe who?

She knew that a presence moved unseen from her sight.

So, she decided to ask herself in front of the mirror this time, in order to have a view of her room and what was behind her, she though that that time she will catch it, she will see what have been cursing her from what seemed like a lifetime.

So, she sat silently like she did every other night, but this time she wasn't scared… she was terrified.

A fear of the unknown of what she might see or feel, a fear that paralyzed every part of her body, leaving only her heart pumping so hard she could swear her chest will explode.

But she went on and asked anyway…

"what are you afraid of?"

Silence…

only the sound of the wind that shook the trees she could here…

"Yourself " she answered but it wasn't really her.

It was her reflection in the mirror who responded.

The reflection was a spitting image of her with the exception of blood red eyes that could look through her soul that was both demon and human.

She wanted to scream but didn't have the force to do it.

As what was unseen from her sight, was now in front of her.

And finally, darkness fell and she was never seen again.

The ritual is complete.

A wind swirl appears. The photograph remains motionless. You get up in a hurry. Heart beating fast; hands sweating profusely; eyes not wanting to look away. Breathe in. Breathe out.

Out of the picture, a dark matter crawls out. You whisper his name. The blob suddenly gains colour.

It's him now. He's alive. You can't hold it any longer and run into his arms like before.

Consequences?

Ignored.

It's not warm nor reciprocated. You suddenly realize this is not who you used to love. It's a replacement doll. Could he even learn to love? When you glance at him, you are faced with a lack of expression.

Not like this. You want to go back, but you cannot move. His being begins to absorb you within him. You struggle.

You cry out for help, but no one comes. What surrounds you is a myriad of photographs. But you're alone.  Was it always like this?  

Could you have done something else?

You give up.  

The dark matter slowly gobbles you up.

You can no longer feel the cold wooden floor nor the cut on your finger. Your beating heart doesn’t ache anymore.

No more pain.

Consequences?

We set up another challenge so beginning today we will try to post a Halloween-themed story or poem everyday up until Halloween! We settled on five different prompts which are:

1. Must contain the word "photographs" and "rituals"

2. "Do you dare me?"

3. "I don't think we should go in there"

4. Must indirectly answer the question "What are you afraid of?"

5. Happy Halloween

The evening it all started, I was just commuting back from class after a long day. When I arrived home, I took the dog out and made myself some tea. I realised it was six o'clock already so I just laid on my bed trying to get comfortable.

I slowly ended up daydreaming about what I could do or should do while my eyes were getting heavier and heavier. I put my arm on my left eye and I swear at that very moment, I could see through it. It impressed me, but I didn't question it and started to think about who I used to be.

All of a sudden, a creature appeared, something I had never seen before. It had a terrifying blue face and while looking at it, I could feel that it had been through some kind of torture. I wasn't more interested than afraid at that moment. I kept looking at it for a few minutes, I didn't think it could see me until it told me goodbye when it left. Terrified, I kept looking at the same spot for a few more minutes and wondered what just happened. Shocked and afraid, I tried to change my mind by getting some food out of the fridge. After closing it, a two-headed lady materialised in front of me. All I could see was her white victorian dress and her long black hair. I felt sweat in my back while being unable to move. The lady got closer and closer to my ear before finally telling me to study. First of all, I thought "who the f*ck does she think she is". However, I kept this to myself.

The stream around me was getting more intense than earlier and somehow, I ended up. I was lying there on my own until the lady came back and sat on the corner on my bed for the rest of the night. Unbelievably, I managed to fell asleep and when I woke up the very next day, there was no one with me anymore. I thought so at least for a few days.

1.

wide open

weeping

wound

 my eye is a camera,

catching a glimpse,

taking silent photographs

that can never be burned

or deleted.

 2.

 mistaken

mourning

malaise

 my hand is a tool,

clinging to illisions,

perfroming pointless rituals

that can never put my soul

to rest.

Listen closely — and you'll find their voices in the air. Sigh after sigh, a never ending breath of lovers long gone.

Look closely — and you'll find their movements in the dust. Round after round, a never ending dance of lovers long gone.

Feel closely — and you'll find their loneliness in every corner of the house. Year after year, a never ending emptiness of lovers long gone.

Look closely — and you'll find their photographs fading into nothing; rituals, long before them begun.

Listen closely — and you'll find them dancing there forever more, for the record player still kept playing.