Shadow Things

XV

Sometimes Hansel thought the night had a voice. He thought he could hear its shallow, ancient breathing, hear it sigh and murmur against the closed doors and windows like the rustling of yearning spirits who had lost their way. Sometimes he thought it was the shadows calling to him, wanting him to come out and play, but other times he thought the voices were warnings, not invitations, that the night was telling him there were things out in the dark too ruthless and cunning, things that were far beyond his understanding, beyond humanity. That he had better not walk out into the midst of whatever lay out there; better stay away, better stay safe.

There were other times when he thought the night listened to him, just like how he listened to it, and it watched him. It watched him with a keenness and an immediacy, like it thought he was the most peculiar thing to exist and that it had to pay attention when he was still there. And he thought if he turned his head fast enough, if his own eyes were sharp enough, he could catch it in the act. That if he tried earnestly, he could meet the gaze of night itself.

But that was before. Before Felix had barged into his life and tossed everything upside down. Back when everything was different. And now he had stopped listening to the night, because he had neither time nor strength for such leisure. He had lost touch with the darkness.

Now, sitting on the tall three-legged stool in the darkened kitchen, Hansel stared out through the window and tried to listen again. To hear what the night had to tell him.

But there was nothing there. Only silence.

And…something else.

Hansel had not felt it at first, when he had been too preoccupied with other thoughts. But when he slowed down his thoughts and relaxed, he sensed it: the night was watching him. Again. Still.

However, this time it felt different. This time the night didn't seem to be watching him out of mere curiosity. Something about the night had changed, he could tell. Now there was true malice in its gaze, a desire to trample and destroy. He could sense its greed and read its evil autonomy. It unsettled him. Put him on edge. Made him believe bad things were going to happen.

He shook his head suddenly, clearing his mind.

That was enough overthinking for one night.

Bored, Hansel found one of his hands wandering towards the metal tray on the counter to his left. His fingers skimmed the edge of the tray, decided it felt too cold to the touch and circled back to his side. The tray used to contain knives, but now it was empty, owing to Felix's reinstated hobby of throwing said knives at random targets around the house. (Felix said it relieved stress and protected his Zen)

What was Felix up to now? He had turned off all the lights in the house after claiming that photons gave him seizures. And things had been too quiet for an unnaturally long time. Was he still inside the house? Or did he already go to sleep? He was sleeping a lot these days…

Right when he was about to get up and go check, he heard Felix calling for him from the living room.

"Hansel, hurry up! It's an emergency!"

Hansel resisted his urge to roll his eyes. What did Felix do now? Get his foot stuck in the staircase railing again? Found an old bloodstain on the rug?

"Hurry!"

Sighing, Hansel got down from his stool and went to the living room. Like the rest of the house the living room was plunged in darkness. Felix was on his knees in front of the TV, holding a few cables in one hand. He had been so delighted when Hansel had caved to his demands and got the TV fixed. When Hansel walked in, he turned and gave him an urgent look. "Where do I connect these?"