Shadows

In the afternoon, Sofia recovered her energy quickly and was already moving freely. They, the trio and a cat, started wandering around the small town.

The townspeople watched the three strangers curiously. It seemed as though outsiders had not visited in a very long time. Hence, the townspeople were particularly interested in the trio's roaming around.

The woods, the river, fields, and the local residences were rather common. As per Jason's suggestion, they toured around, even visiting a cemetery located two miles away, which seemed like a relic from the past. However, none of these sparked Sofia's memories of what had happened to her.

"Didn't you mention that there is something unusual about the church? Let's go check it out," Denise suggested to Jason. "Maybe we'll find something new there."

Jason nodded and then asked Sofia, "Are you okay with it?"

"Of course, I also want to see what's wrong over there," Sofia answered without hesitation. But as soon as she turned around, she froze in her tracks.

"What's wrong, Sofia?" Denise asked.

"I feel a sense of familiarity with this place. It feels like I've been here before," Sofia replied, furrowing her eyebrows.

Jason looked at Sofia, and Denise shrugged, "That's not surprising. You've been wandering around here, taking so many pictures..."

"But... there are no pictures of this place on my phone," Sofia retorted, turning to Denise abruptly. "If I had been here, I would have taken pictures. I know... If I were to take photos, I wouldn't have missed this place... I'm speaking the truth... Not just because it's a cemetery..."

Jason nodded and gestured for Denise to stop questioning Sofia further, allowing Sofia to continue explaining her feelings.

"The cemetery... it seems a bit off. It... wasn't here before. What I remember is an empty space, but now there's a cemetery..." Sofia stumbled over her words, "This gravestone... was there nothing next to it before? When did this grave come into existence?"

Her words sent chills down Denise's spine. She instinctively shrank back, feeling a cold breeze making her shiver, and the rustling sounds from the woods surrounding the cemetery unnerved her. She wanted to leave immediately.

"We should check out the church!" Jason didn't dwell on the issue.

"Do you guys think I'm crazy?" Sofia asked Jason and Denise. "Denise... do you think I am...?"

"No, you're not crazy. I'm feeling a bit cold too. It's so strange, it was unbearably hot just a moment ago. Jason, let's go check out the church. We're really curious about the issue you mentioned," Denise said, hoping to leave the unsettling graveyard as soon as possible.

The trio left, and the cemetery seemed to grow even more eerie. Birds fluttered, rustling the trees, causing a stirring noise that sent chills down Denise's spine, even after they had walked quite a distance away. It was apparent that her impression of the graveyard was far from good.

The sun was already setting. However, they'd arrived near the church. Sofia pointed out the spot where she had taken the photo, telling Jason, "I took it from here. And... from this angle."

Saying so, Sofia raised her phone, once again aiming it towards the church to take another picture. As soon as she raised her phone, Jason brought out the previous photo and held it in front of Sofia, asking, "Look carefully, what's different?"

Comparing the view in her phone's camera and the photo, Sofia furrowed her eyebrows. Denise also leaned in for a closer look but failed to notice any difference.

Time seemed to stand still as the sun continued to set and the shadows of the buildings grew longer. The three of them remained motionless.

The shifting sunlight fell on Sofia's face, illuminating her eyes. Suddenly, she cried out, "My god, I see it now... This is what's different."

Not only Sofia but Denise too saw it. As the sunlight stretched further, from their angle, the shadow of the cross on top of the church was not in sync with the sunlight. The shadow of the cross had not moved at all.

Basic physics dictate that the length of a shadow changes with the angle of light. However, the shadow of the cross on top of the church did not change at all.

This discovery left Sofia astonished and Denise equally stunned.

The unchanging shadow of the cross suggested a problem with the cross itself. If the cross had a problem, did that mean the church had a problem? If the church had a problem, did that mean Father Omar, who was within the church, had a problem? Did the town residents who came here to pray also have a problem?

These questions seemed to form a chain, but among these questions, there was only one piece of evidence: the shadow of the cross. To make such speculations based on this would indeed be ridiculous.

"Let's go inside and check!" Jason, who was much calmer compared to the two girls, suggested, "Perhaps we could discuss this issue with Father Omar. He might know the answer."

Upon hearing this, the girls nodded in agreement. Earlier, they had been stuck in a loop of speculation, which was, indeed, no good.

The interior of the church was standard, lined with rows of benches, unlike some other churches that used long dividers for seating and had shelves for the Bible and other holy items. This made it convenient for the worshippers, who didn't have to carry their own.

A towering cross stood in front of them, with a podium before it fitted with a microphone. Since it wasn't a prayer time, there were no worshippers, and the priest was nowhere to be seen.

"Do you have his contact information?" Denise asked with a smile, "Otherwise, how can you expect a priest to be available anytime to discuss why the shadow of his church's cross is defying the laws of physics?"

"We can wait!" Jason replied with a smile, taking a seat on one of the front benches. He rested his hands on his knees, and, joining his hands in prayer, he looked ahead.

"Are you Protestant or Catholic?" Denise asked him with a smirk, "Don't look at me, Sofia. I'm an atheist. I believe in myself, even though I often mention God, but that's just a figure of speech."

To her surprise, Sofia also laughed, "That's not strange at all, because I don't believe either."

"Only... this place feels kind of weird," Denise added, looking around.

Sofia agreed, "I also feel it. How did I not notice it before? It's a bit cold here, just like the cemetery."

Denise nodded in agreement.

They waited for quite a while in the church, but Father Omar didn't appear. Sofia started to feel a bit dizzy and suggested to Jason, "Let's leave this place for now."

Jason agreed, not wanting to force Sofia to stay, and they decided to leave.

Jason lingered in the church's aisle for a bit, taking another look at the cross and the figure of Jesus on it. He also glanced around the church before following the girls out.

After they left, a figure slowly emerged from the side of the podium. He watched them vanish from the church silently. After a while, he slowly walked over to the podium.

With a faint creaking sound, the church's main door slowly closed, leaving the interior in darkness.