Downfall [ONC 2023] // Shortlisted

Downfall

 I'm the person that parents tell their children to fear.

I'm the shadowy figure in a darkened alleyway, the silent footsteps on a stone floor, the whisper on a light breeze. No one sees me until I am standing right behind them. They feel the heat of my breath on their neck and hear the soft beating of my heart.

By the time I emerge from the shadows, it will be too late for them. They always notice me in those last moments, but they barely have time to scream. It's over for them in an instant. I blend back in before anyone sees me. Before they noticed I was there at all.

People are told to fear me, but they don't know who I am. I look like every other man; there is nothing extraordinary about me.

It isn't those who fear me that need to watch for me. It is those who have nothing to fear, those who believe they can do no wrong or face no end.

I will bring about their end.

I am their downfall. 

~~~

First Published - February 1st, 2023