Shadow 10 Friends of the Night

"Mahesa! Is that you?!"

The voice that came from inside the door made me and Mahesa both flinch. By glancing at Mahesa, I could tell that he wanted to see Arsa right now.

"Yes!" Mahesa's reply was followed by the sound of clattering footsteps and the door opening quickly. "Don't come out!" Despite that shout, it was of course too late.

The boy who emerged from inside the house looked at both of us in disbelief. His tears broke out even though he was a boy and immediately threw his body to hug Mahesa. Mahesa caught him before he fell. I heard him wincing in pain, probably from the impact of Hamlet Chief's punch.

"Chandra, why don't you stay here for the night?" Mahesa offered, trying to calm Arsa down.

It was a good and tempting offer. I could sleep here without having to go home at night like this. Although the abstinence was probably just a myth, there could be wild animals or vicious dogs attacking me.

"Thank you, but sorry, I'll just go home. Mother will feel bad if I don't go home without telling her," I refused gently.

Mahesa was still not calm. He went inside his house and took out a thin blanket. He also turned to one corner of his house, taking a torch from the reed he used to illuminate the setting.

"Just bring this then. Your clothes may be starting to dry, but you could catch a fever. Your hands were very cold. I pray that nothing happens on the way."

I glanced down at the torch and blanket already in my hands and returned Mahesa's damp woven cloth. Warmth slowly spread over my body. Mahesa did know what was needed. "Thank you so much, this will be very helpful! I don't know how to repay you, Mahesa."

"Don't be like that. We're friends, right? I just want to be able to see you tomorrow morning," Mahesa said, which touched me. It turns out he can talk like this.

"Thank you. Don't forget to treat your wound before you go to bed."

I said goodbye, waved to Arsa and Mahesa who looked at me worriedly, and then left Mahesa's yard. Not wanting to worry them too much, I only saw them with a glance, not looking at them for too long.

I didn't want Mahesa to see me hesitate. I might be detained here and not allowed to go home.

I turned my head fully when I heard the voices of Mahesa and Arsa who had disappeared into the house.

My heart was beating so fast that I could hear it as if it were right next to my ear. From now on, I stood alone in the middle of this silence. There was nothing to keep me company except the shadows swaying as the torch flames danced with the wind.

I tightened my grip on the torch and the blanket in front of my chest. My fingertips, both feet and hands, felt cold even though I was sweating. The small noises I heard during the day seemed to sound bigger at night.

I'm sorry, Mahesa. I lied if I wasn't scared. I lied if I was fine going home alone.

Of course I was scared! Who wouldn't be afraid of walking alone at night with only a few meters of light from my torch?!

I tried to calm myself down by gripping the bamboo torch tightly and repeatedly taking deep breaths. If anything happens, I'll attack either wild animals or other creatures. I won't be afraid.

That's right. There was nothing to be afraid of.

Unfortunately, I was already shuddering as I felt a gust of wind gently caress my skin and hair. The air was getting colder. If I don't step forward soon, I might get a fever tomorrow. I swallowed and started taking steps.

I quickly quickened my pace, from walking slowly to running. I already didn't care about the torch that looked like it was going to die because of the wind that was blowing fast because of my pace.

I just wanted to get home and hug Mother. Being by her side is the safest and most comfortable place to be.

I somehow missed my mother. She must have been waiting for me with her delicious food. My stomach thrashed even more as I imagined what dishes were already on the table. When I arrived, I would eat everything until my stomach was full, then sleep soundly and forget what happened that day.

Of course, I'll do that if I make it home safely and in one piece. I don't believe in myths, but there are still some possibilities.

My gaze was straight ahead, not caring about the right or left side, let alone the back, where I left the shadows and rushed into another embrace of darkness. There was also no intention of turning my head when something moved even if it was just the wind shaking the tree branches.

My eyes widened. My fast pace stopped when I saw a black figure standing a few cubits in front of me. Cold sweat was already dripping nonstop. My breath caught as if there was a barrier blocking the air from entering.

I hoped that it was just my hallucination. However, there was also great confidence that it wasn't human. I knew it was not a resident of Pedhukul Hamlet. No one would ever go out at night. Everyone knew the myths and the dangers of breaking them.

My body froze and I could not go any further. I couldn't breathe, this time it was like something was slowly but deadly choking my neck. I saw drops of sweat sliding freely from my chin to the ground.

"Good evening," said the figure standing right in front of me. I got goosebumps when I heard his voice like it was right next to my ear. It was colder than the night air.

"...."

I didn't know whether to reply to his greeting or not. I also didn't dare to look up and stare at this person in front of me.

Without hesitation, silence enveloped us. The only noise was the roar of the wind and my heart racing like a racing horse. I hoped that the person in front of me would immediately turn around and abandon his intention to speak to me. Didn't he realize and wasn't tired of waiting for me who never answered his greeting?

I clenched my fists. Annoyance at myself arose out of fear. Why should I be afraid of the figure in front of me? Isn't this also not the first time I've seen things that are strange and beyond human reason?

I tried to take a breath after holding it for so long. I can't keep standing like a statue in the middle of the street. I had to take a step, whether it was by daring to see who was talking to me or taking a thousand steps.

Before completely saturating the strength in my two feet that were rooted to the earth, I observed a pair of feet not far from me. The fear slowly disappeared when I saw the human-like legs. At least it wasn't a foot twice the size of a human foot covered in dense fur and horrifyingly long nails.

Instead, they looked like normal human feet, I was surprised to see a pair of sandals that she wore to protect her from the dirty, cold ground. Subconsciously, I looked up to see who those feet belonged to.