A Feeling of Emptiness

Hallows Eve, Halloween. I refused to go trick or treating, I was too old to dress up and go begging for candy anyway. I'll just eat whatever was left.

It was tiring, but better than going out to walk in the rain. Candies and chocolates weren't worth the possibility of becoming sick.

The doorbell rang and I got up from the couch in the living room, sighing at having to pause the game. 'And so my full combo got ruined again.' Truly, I should've just read some e-books or something.

I took the basket of chocolate, a mixture of Hershies, Reeses pieces and miscellaneous candy, some of which were the remains of last year.

It would be easier...if I just left the basket outside and placed the sign that said to only take two or three, but then they would just take more and that meant there would be less candy for me to eat.

I opened the door, letting in a blast of chilly wind. I shivered in my thin pajamas, perhaps it would've been smart to wear something warmer.

"Trick or treat!" the group of kids shouted out loud, their voices an odd contrast to the previous silence. The parents watched them in amusement from behind, a few of the bolder ones wearing their costumes. I wondered, how long it would be until my family came back from trick or treating?

"Hello," I said in a cheerful voice as I told them to choose two pieces of candy, though some sneakily chose three.

"Thank you!" they cheerfully said as they ran out to the next house, eager to fill their baskts. I smiled at their show of energy, ah, when have I ever been that energetic?

I quickly shut the door before I froze over and hurried to get my laptop and a robe that would hopefully warm me. Perhaps now would be a good night to continue my scary story, I thought to myself. The night was chilly and the clouds were cloudy, the air was….the air was deadly silent. I froze, that's not right, where were the frogs and the crickets? I shook my head, perhaps they were just scared away by the sounds of the children screaming and running all around the neighborhood. Besides, I was inside the house, it would be impossible for most sounds to get through anyway.

By the time I stole a robe from my parent's closet and the laptop from its charging station, the doorbell rang again.

I sighed, I was contemplating about just leaving the basket outside, I could probably just steal from my siblings' baskets.

Opening the door, laptop and basket in hand, I smiled the guest. The smile disappeared when I noticed his attire. I slammed the door; no matter if it was just my imagination, even if it was just a hallucination, I didn't hesitate, I couldn't take any chances.

My heart pounded in my chest and my hand shook, still holding the doorknob. It can't be, I had gotten rid of it when I was 13. It can't be back, not now, not never. They….they probably just look like it. Yet…. it was impossible to mistake that darkness. No! Don't think like that, it was quite obviously just the dark night coupled with dark cloth….

And yet I wasn't convinced with my own lies as I hurried to my room. I could see it, in the corner of my eyes, something dark. Why, why did I open the door? Why did I stay here? If I didn't open the door then it wouldn't have been able to enter…. The memories I locked away deep inside came pouring at and I wailed as they filled my head and tried to burst out!

The sound of silence intensified, swallowing everything. Yet my mind was in utter chaos, remembering times when the shadow tormented me. It was just a shadow…. And yet it wasn't. It can assume the form of your greatest fears, that's what the exorcist told to me. Yet, they were surprised to know that the form I was scared of the most was this very demon.

So it created a paradox, forcing it into showing its true form, and that's what scared me the most. The nothingness and emptiness it was. It was cold, and...empty. You wouldn't know how scary nothing was until you've seen it, felt it, heard it.

I lunged for my door and slammed it shut behind me. It's impossible for it to enter now, right? This very room was the only place I felt safe in because it never seemed to be able to step through the door.

The quietness pressed around me, any noise I made was swallowed by it. It wasn't the silence you usually hear, I doubt you've ever heard it. Then I heard a knock on the wall right beside my door as tears started to blur my vision. The silence was broken, yet the tension rose with the sound of knocking.

Please, just please leave me alone, I prayed.

The knocking grew louder and more intense. Then it stopped, and the silence returned. I was on edge, on the verge of going crazy, breaking down and wishing I was dead. It started to knock again, in a series of intricate combinations. Morse Code I thought to myself, yet even if I knew how to decode it, I was afraid of finding out what it said.

The doors open and the symphonies of keys rang. The knocking stopped, the voices of two children rang about, bickering over whether they should evenly distribute their candy or not.

Still, my heart refused to calm and my limbs refused to function. My voice never escaped my lips no matter how hard I tried to call them.

I shakily opened my laptop, hoping to send an email to my exorcist. Only, I have forgotten what I wrote in my story.

Slowly, as my eyes started to widen, and I let go of my laptop, I could see it. Ever letter, slowly typed into the document.

Why did you leave me???

And darkness seeped into the screen, running onto the keys and crawling up my arms. I couldn't feel them anymore. All that was left of them was an empty feeling. I started to shudder, and I collapsed, slowly disappearing from the world.

A shadow like being floated up, a sterile grin on its empty face. The grin seemed to split its head open, and white eyes started to form, white lines running down like tears.

Then it frowned, the feeling of fullness already gone. It would have to find a new victim it seemed. It passed through the confining doors and out into the cold night.

The door opened slowly, but it was too late. All that was left was the blackened laptop, which was impossible to miss. The mother collapsed, whispering words to herself.

I should've, I should've never left you.