The Shadow's Grip • bxb [COMPLETED]

-35-

Felix's P.O.V.

I stare at the cup of tea in front of me and the two cookies carefully placed on a plate next to it. I'm thirsty and want to drink it but it's like my hands aren't moving at all.

The house is beautiful, looking straight out of a fairytale with shelves full of books and porcelain statues. There's also a ridiculous number of tea cups and small plates, decorated with little flowers and birds.

A weird pot of flowers, in the form of the head of a cat is watching me with big yellow and curious eyes. Squirrels, little birds, rabbits and crows are all moving around the house, but not creating any disturbance surprisingly.

The smell of blueberry pie being cooked in the oven is invading my nostrils, almost making me feel dizzy just by imagining the sweetness of it.

Basil is watching us with a smile, sending shivers down my spine but also making me curious. Why did Natalie lead us here? What do they know?

Dimitri wants to start a conversation, but every time he almost does it's like he stops himself, afraid he'll say something wrong. But I'm not sure what would be considered "wrong" or "insulting" in this situation since there are crows and squirrels eating on the table in front of us.

"Hope you don't mind. They're like my children" Basil says while holding a hand over their chest where their heart is, making me shrug.

"It's alright. I would like some pets too. Seems less lonely with them around"

"Oh?! I could give you some of my most trusted familiars!"

"Familiars?" I ask confused and Basil looks ready to explain it to me but Dimitri interrupts them.

"You know this isn't why we came here"

Basil smiles before standing up from the table, a crow flying and landing right on their shoulder while the squirrels are now following them.

"So you want to know more huh?"

"Well yes... What exactly is The Shadow?" I ask and they take a book from one of their shelves, wiping the dust off it with a handkerchief.

"It's not really anything"

I'm confused at their answer and get ready to ask another question but get interrupted by Dimitri again.

"What do you mean? Well, we see it. It's right there in front of our eyes. So it must be something then right? It exists"

"Are you so sure you see it?"

Dimitri seems puzzled and takes an angry sip out of his tea while Basil puts the book in front of us, opening it carefully.

Then I realize it's not a book. Not at all. It's a photo album. Full of all kinds of photos, some with a much younger Basil and another boy. They all seem deteriorated, almost as if they're hundred of years old even though they're all colored.

They suddenly stop rustling the pages, letting us see a picture of them and that boy, smiling next to each other in front of a big tree.

The boy has very light blonde hair and hauntingly beautiful eyes in the color of grey. He's holding a little dandelion in one of his hands and is wearing a cute little T-shirt and shorts.

"Ah, cute! Was this your friend?" I point at him and Basil smiles.

"The Shadow" he points at the boy too, their finger lingering there more than mine did.

Me and Dimitri look at each other surprised, not really believing what they're saying to us.

The Shadow? A boy? A human? That seems almost impossible since I've always seen him as an angry spirit and nothing more. It never occured to me that he might have a backstory or anything like that.

"He couldn't see. He suffered a lot" Basil turns the page and lets us see more photos of the ghostly boy

There's one where he's on a swing, with a big smile on his face. Another one where he's most likely at school with a serious face, reading a book next to a locker.

Then there's one in front of a diner, with the boy looking right at the camera, his eyes staring right into my soul. It's sending a shiver down my spine and I can't help but look away from the photo, feeling intimidated.

"Holy shit" Dimitri points at the diner photo "This is where the gas station is now"

"Huh?"

"Before the gas station was built... There used to be a diner there but it ran out of business. But that was a long time ago"

My mouth is wide opened in shock. Does that mean The Shadow was at the gas station way before me or Dimitri got cursed?

"Well that's weird" Basil furrows their eyebrows while Dimitri just shakes his head.

"But that doesn't really help us in any way. What exactly are we dealing with? Can you tell us?"

"The Shadow is grief" Basil closes the photo album and I finally grab the cup of tea, drinking it.

Dimitri is silent, but I'm confused. Grief? What's that supposed to mean? I haven't lost anyone dear to me lately. And I don't think my parents would count since it was a long time ago, I barely remember it.

"Grief?" Dimitri speaks up.

"Hmm yes... Kind of. But it can't really be put under one label"

"It was a human" he says, more to himself.

"He was a kind boy. The only problem was that he felt everyone's sadness and pain. That was what consumed him and killed him"

From what Basil is telling us, The Shadow seems more like a victim rather than a predator.

"Felt everyone's sadness and pain?"

"As I said, he was blind. So he relied on others to help him figure out the world. He had a special gift of understanding feelings and emotions like no one else. Even when you thought you're fine and happy he could sense something was wrong"

So The Shadow was overwhelmed because of feelings? If he knows what it's like then why is he doing it to me and Dimitri?

"How did he die?" I ask and Basil's expression suddenly changes.

"I don't know. One day I woke up and he was gone. Nobody wanted to tell me what happened"

I can't help but be sad for him. Having your friend taken away from you overnight may be one of the most painful things someone can experience.

"That's horrible"

"What can I do? He's my shadow"

"Yours?"

"Yes. Just like you have yours. And Dimitri has his"

Wait, what? Did I misunderstood everything? Isn't The Shadow that boy? Isn't it that simple? We just need to find out more about him and stop him, right?

"There's more than one shadow?" I ask, completely oblivious.

"Of course. Did you thought there's only one?" Basil looks at me and then at Dimitri but he doesn't seem to be listening.

"Well... That's what I thought. There's a shadow and we stop it and then live happily ever after I guess"

"That's impossible. Your shadow is someone you loved, someone you cherished. You can't just erase them from your memory"

So everything until now was in vain? Dimitri has his own shadow and I have mine? We were dealing with different things all this time and couldn't even tell.

"If what you say is true... Then Natalie is my shadow? Not an hallucination?" I ask and Basil nods.

I want to ask many more questions, it feels like we're finally getting somewhere, but Dimitri stands up and leaves.

He's gone before I can even understand what is happening.

He didn't even say anything, leaving me confused. I apologize to Basil before running after him, a bit angry that I didn't had the chance to find out everything I wanted to.

There's so much more I still don't understand.