Page 3 - WordSmyth VI Summer 2020

The Red Room
A sharp crash permeated the stillness of the air. A sense of overwhelming terror washed over me, it was in. I jumped to my feet before thinking twice. As I got up my candle flickered and flung me into darkness. I started running faster than I ever had before. Crystals of sand painstakingly compacted into glass breached the soft comfort of my slippers and dug deep into the soft flesh of my feet. The darkness was following me. I knew this would happen. I knew this would come. It always comes. I am nimble for my age and made it to my largish dining room, something didn’t feel right. I felt my indescribable terror would never cease. I huddled into a corner I would wait till morning when candles would not be needed. At thought I once again attempted to light my candle but to my despair had misplaced it. I thought over the events of the evening... It was forcing entry now slipping in through doors left ajar wasn’t enough. I had made precautions, but it is hard when your foe is darkness.
Small children are often scared of the dark, but this was different... Is different. It was alive it always had been. Why these spirits preyed upon my fear each night I did not know. A chill swept through the room though of no correspondence with the wind. My eyes adjusted to the dark and I saw the room. The chandelier swayed to and fro, its fittings loose. The old oak table also seemed to move in a sinister waltz mocking my terror, sniggering at my lack of dignity. I rest sobbing in the shadows, crying in the corner. Waiting for salvation for morning. On the brink of destiny. Dawn finally comes, I am safe, for now. I left the dining room and began my day. First, fixing my bedroom window. I walk to the shops as usual and continue my life.
By Theo Holland
WordSmyth VI Summer 2020
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