2 The Lady in the Window

"Oh! This is not good! The house isn't safe either! Maybe I can just run through it to the other side? All I know is I can't stay here!" thought Kira as she tried not to panic. Within a matter of seconds Kira had made her decision and rushed back into the house. She slammed the door shut behind her and locked it. She ran through the house towards the front door. The eery green light was now spilling in from upstairs, and the mist was penetrating through the cracks of the windows and doors.

Kira did her best to dodge the fog that snaked along the floor as she made her way through the house. To her dismay, she saw that the fog was already coming through the front door and windows as well. She decided it was best to look through the front windows, before opening the door. To Kira's horror, the fog was so dense that it blocked out all the light. She couldn't see anything outside, except the for the endless fog that surrounded the entire house. She was faced with a choice... Kira could run out into the fog or face the woman upstairs.

She could feel the panic rising in her. "If I stay here, I am trapped with whoever or whatever is upstairs. If I run into the fog, who knows what will happen to me?!" Kira thought as she repeatedly looked back and forth between the outside and the upstairs. "What if the fog is only surrounding the house? Maybe if I run through it, I can find where it ends... I need to see, if there's a way out. It's better than being trapped with whatever is here." Kira thought determined to escape. She glanced about her for any means of protection. She quickly grabbed a heavy coat, her father's golf club, and flashlight.

Kira took a deep breath, turned on the flashlight, opened the front door, and plunged headfirst into the unknown. She ran across the porch and down the front steps heading towards the front gate. The mist had thinned slightly about ten feet out from the house, so she could now faintly see the grass alongside the path. She could just barely see the trees and the front gate ahead of her. "Yes! The mist is thinning! It must only be around the house!" Kira thought as she pushed herself to run even faster.

In the corner of her vision, she began to see shadows moving about. At first, they seemed to only be wandering about aimlessly, but then, they noticed her presence. The shadows began to follow her getting closer and closer. Kira slowly realized that the shadows were crowding around her and catching up to her. She managed to push herself just a little bit harder to keep them from reaching her. Finally, she made it to the small front gate. She chose to leap over it, instead of wasting precious seconds undoing the latch, and she ran out into the street.

Kira glanced behind her, and sighed in relief. The shadows for some reason refused to go beyond the gate. They decided to turn around and go back in the direction of the house. Kira continued running, because the mist had not yet cleared. She ran and ran, but the fog only worsened. It finally became so bad, she couldn't see an inch in front of her face. She was forced to slow her pace or risk running into something. Kira looked about her in confusion. She moved the flashlight back and forth. "I can't see anything. Shouldn't I be out of the fog by now? Or shouldn't it have at least thinned out some more?" thought Kira as she felt the panic beginning to rise again, "Was I wrong?!"

Then, she heard a terrifying sound from behind her. It was like the growl of a lion mixed with sound of a screaming pig. Kira's hair immediately stood on end, and she began running yet again. She heard the sound of hooves behind her chasing her through the fog. She ran blindly in complete and utter terror. "What on earth made that sound?!" her mind screamed in shock. The sound of hooves became increasingly louder as if they were only a step behind her. Kira saw the mist begin to part, and she ran with all she had left.

Finally, the sound of hoofbeats started to fade, but the shadow creatures were back. She ran wildly not realizing where she was as they closed in on her. Kira in her desperation saw a house right in front of her, and she ran for it. She yanked open the door, and she locked herself inside. Kira's heavy breathing started to slow as she took deep breaths to regain her senses. She closed her eyes and layed her head against the door just happy to have escaped whatever was outside. Slowly she opened her eyes and glanced about the room. To her complete shock and horror, she realized she was in her house leaning against the back door...

"How on earth did I end up back here?! I felt like I ran at least a block away from here! Am I stuck here?!" Kira thought to herself trying to keep the panic at bay, "Where do I go from here?" She looked about her. The mist was still coming in through the cracks and filling up the room. She only had one more choice... She had to face whoever or whatever was upstairs. She looked towards the upstairs that still gave off an eery green glow. Kira summoned her courage and headed upstairs with the golf club in hand. "If I can't escape it, the only option I have left is to confront it," she thought to herself.

The stairs creaked beneath her feet as she careful approached the upper level. She reached the top of the stairs and turned right, heading to her bedroom. It was evident that the glow was emanating from inside. She drew closer and closer. Eventually, she was just outside her bedroom. Kira reached out and grasped the door knob. She took a deep breath, held the golf club at the ready, and threw open the door to face whatever was inside.

There sitting at her desk, looking out the window was a woman. Her black hair fell down in lush waves, and she wore a simple lavender dress that looked like a delicate flower blossom. Her skin was pale and slightly pink. "Who are you?" Kira demanded. Then, the figure turned to look at her. What Kira saw next was beyond anything she could imagine. "Don't you recognize your own mother?" asked the woman as she smiled sweetly at Kira.