It Was In The Shadows

It was in the shadows that Lilith was happiest. Lilith found the darkness to be her friend. At seven years of age, the shadows were more comforting and friendly to her than the sunshine and people around her. Her own family were aware that she was different. She wasn’t like her siblings, David and Rose.

Her features were dark, while theirs were fair. Her personality was quiet and shy, while they were bright and bubbly. While they would happily play outdoors with the other children, Lilith preferred her own company in the back garden or in her own room. She enjoyed being in the shadows. She played with them and they played with her.

Her favourite thing was tea in the shadows, those long dark ones that started to rise just before darkness fell. It meant they were waking up and she could finally enjoy playing. She would sit at a small table in her room. The table had four small wooden chairs, two of them occupied by her favourite dolls. She sat in the third and the one across from her was usually empty when her mother walked in, watching her pretending to pour tea into the cup belonging to the unoccupied chair.

“Why don’t you pour tea for Lindy and Susie instead of in that empty space?”

Lilith’s reaction would always be the same. Her small serious face would suddenly burst into a smile as she spoke. “It’s not empty! My friend is sitting there! He decided to join us too!”

Lilith’s mother would always respond the same way. A small smile, an indulgent chuckle followed by the sentence. “Why don’t you ever invite your brother and sister to tea? I’m sure they’d love to join you.”

Lilith would just shake her head and then continue playing with the dolls, the tea set and the empty chair, leaving her mother standing there confused, wondering if she had treated her any differently to David and Rose. She was nothing like them.

It was in the shadows they found her, still sitting at the table pouring tea. David and Rose waltzed in and laughed. “Is that all you ever do? Don’t you want to come and have some fun?”

As Lilith stopped what she was doing and looked over at the two children, her eyes a little glazed over. “Why? Don’t you want to come and play with me? I can make room at the table.”

An uneasy silence passed through the room as the twins glanced at each other before looking back at their sister, leaning back into the shadows, half of her face dark. Something didn’t feel right. The darkness behind her seemed to be growing, it’s touch almost infecting everything and making it darker than it needed to be.

“Lilith?” Rose was nervous as she took a small step forward towards her sister. “Do you think you can come out and play with us for a little bit instead? Don’t you want some time outside?”

Lilith moved deeper into the shadows. They almost embraced her wholly now, leaving only a silhouette visible to the eye. She didn’t say anything as she just watched them. The twins couldn’t stand it. The air felt thick and heavy. David felt like he couldn’t breathe as the light went out and the darkness was complete. Rose nearly jumped out of her skin and drew closer to David, clutching his arm in fear and whimpering as a chill crept into the air.

“Lilith if that’s you playing tricks you better stop it!” David bravely shouted at his sister, hoping it was her that he was seeing walking around and not some horrible spectre his mind had made up. He watched as the shadow crept around the twins, never getting closer and always staying about two feet away. He was sure it was Lilith. He couldn’t hear her moving or hear her breathing, he just knew it was her.

The light turned back on. Lilith was in the same position as before the light went out, sitting back in her chair, watching the twins. “What tricks? I’ve been sitting here the whole time. I didn’t move.”

David looked to Rose, still clutching his arm. Her cheeks were streaked with tears and her mouth was open in a silent scream as she shook her head, trying to clear whatever it was she had witnessed from her mind. He moved his free arm protectively around Rose.

“I’m taking Rose back outside. That wasn’t nice, what you did. I don’t know how you did it, but I’ll find out.”

Later that evening Lilith was in her pyjamas, climbing into her bed, when the shadows shifted. She didn’t notice at first, how could she? It was already so dark, but when the dark moved again and came alive, she noticed then. She noticed the way it danced and seemed to outstretch its arms towards her, beckoning her closer. Lilith was happy to oblige. She jumped back down from the bed and walked closer to the dark, her arms outstretched, ready for the embrace.

The morning came and David and Rose felt bad for not trying harder with their sister. They decided to take her breakfast and juice to her that morning. Walking into her bedroom, they noticed her bed had not been slept in. They placed her breakfast onto the small table where they saw her sitting yesterday, having tea with the dolls. They looked under the bed, no Lilith. They looked in the closet, no Lilith. They walked around the house, hoping to see her jump out of a corner to scare them again. Still no Lilith.

The panic that ensued led to the police being phoned by Lilith’s mother and father. The twins were in shock, tears streaming down their faces at the thought of their sister gone like magic. Two days they were like that. The entire family frantic with worry, crying at the thought they may never see her again. David and Rose went to bed that second night with their stomachs feeling like lead and their minds numb. Exhausted, they just looked at each other as they climbed into their beds, wanting to sleep away the pain.

It was in the shadows that Rose heard it. A small gust of wind, followed by gentle whispering. She lifted her head off the pillow, rubbing her eyes with small hands and trying to focus on where she had heard the whispering. It was so dark. So dark that it seemed to move.

“Rose! Rose, come here!” The voice whispered gently to her, sending a chill down her spine.

Rose whimpered a little as she looked across to where David slept in his bed, his mouth open, one arm dangling off the bed. “David! David wake up!”

Another shift. “Don’t you want to come and play with me?”

Rose recognised it. The voice. “Lilith? Where have you been? Mummy and Daddy have looked everywhere for you. We even called the police. Why are you hiding from us?” She sat up in her bed and stared into the darkness, seeing only a shifting silhouette. “Why don’t you step out of the dark? Come and sleep next to me. We can talk to everyone in the morning.”

David started stirring. Rose’s voice was high enough that it roused him from his sleep. “Rose? What are you doing? Go back to sleep.”

Rose leaned forward in her bed, towards David as she spoke. “Lilith is here! She was just hiding from us!”

David sat up quickly. “Where? Where is she?”

Rose pointed to the dark. “She’s there. She just spoke.”

David looked sceptical. “Rose, it’s just dark there. Nobody’s there.”

It was like the air rippled and Lilith’s face was suddenly visible from within the darkness. “David, it’s really me. Don’t you want to come and play with me?”

David’s face screwed up in thought, hiding the fear that lay just beneath the surface. “If you’re really Lilith, then why don’t you come here and prove it? Why do you keep hiding from us?”

Lilith’s face held a look of mild concern as she stretched out arms of darkness, visibly shifting against the already dark room. “The dark is good. I like the shadows. Are you sure you don’t want to come and play with me?”

David and Rose had both jumped out of their beds and drew back from the shifting darkness and their sister’s face. David reached for the light switch and turned it on. When they faced the room, there was nothing. No dark. No Lilith’s face. Nothing. David just looked at Rose. Both children looked at each other, the fear evident in their eyes. David tried to remain calm. “I think we just had a nightmare, that’s all. Sleep in my bed with me. You’ll be fine.”

Rose clutched her twin’s hand and they both climbed onto David’s bed. David turned on the bedside lamp before shutting the light, not wanting the room to be in darkness that night. He hugged his sister tight, afraid to lose her too. Soon their breathing steadied and they avoided looking at one corner of the room, where the light never seemed to penetrate the darkness.

As they finally fell asleep again, there was a soft movement in the corner. It was in the shadows. It was Lilith, waiting to welcome them when they wanted to play with her.