I didn’t sleep.
Not even for a second.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw it—the way my shadow turned… the way it moved without me. That impossible moment replayed over and over in my head until I couldn’t tell if I was remembering it or still inside it.
Morning came quietly.
Too quietly.
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The kind of silence that feels like it’s waiting for something.
I was still sitting on the floor when sunlight crept through the curtains. My body ached from staying in the same position all night, but I didn’t move immediately.
I was afraid to.
Afraid that if I stood up… something else would be missing.
Slowly, I looked down.
Relief washed over me.
My shadow was back.
Faint beneath me, stretching slightly from the angle of the morning light.
I let out a shaky laugh. “You see?” I muttered to myself. “You’re fine. Everything is fine.”
But even as I said it, something felt… off.
The shadow didn’t move exactly when I did.
It followed.
But a fraction too late.
Like a delayed reflection.
I froze.
Then quickly turned away from it, refusing to look again.
“No,” I whispered. “No more of this.”
I needed distraction.
Something normal.
Something real.
I grabbed my phone from the table and powered it on.
It buzzed almost immediately.
A message.
Unknown number.
My stomach tightened as I opened it.
“You left something behind.”
I stared at the screen.
My fingers went cold.
Another message came before I could think.
“Come back tonight.”
My throat went dry.
“No,” I said out loud this time. “I’m not going anywhere.”
The phone buzzed again.
“You already came once.”
I dropped the phone like it burned me.
For the rest of the day, I tried to stay away from the window.
But the feeling wouldn’t leave me.
That same pull.
That same invisible thread.
By evening, it had grown stronger.
I could feel it in my chest… tightening.
Calling.
And no matter how much I resisted—
I knew.
Deep down.
It wasn’t asking.
To be continued….
