Short stories

Scared During The Day

It was a bright and sunny day, the kind of day that made you feel warm and content. But for Eliza, there was always a sense of unease lurking just beneath the surface. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something about the daylight hours made her skin crawl.

Eliza was a photographer, and she spent most of her days wandering the city, capturing moments of beauty and chaos alike. She prided herself on her ability to see the world through a different lens, to find the extraordinary in the ordinary. But lately, she had noticed a disturbing trend in her photographs.

It started innocently enough - a blurry figure in the background of a crowded street, a shadowy figure lurking in the corner of a park. Eliza dismissed it as a trick of the light at first, a byproduct of her overactive imagination. But as the days went on, the figures became more defined, more sinister.

One day, while reviewing her latest shots, Eliza noticed something truly chilling. In the corner of a photograph of a bustling market, there was a figure that seemed to be watching her. Its eyes were dark and hollow, its mouth twisted into a cruel grin. Eliza felt a shiver run down her spine as she zoomed in on the figure, only to find that it was nowhere to be seen in the original shot.

She tried to rationalize it - maybe it was a trick of the light, maybe it was a glitch in her camera. But deep down, she knew that there was something truly malevolent lurking in the daylight hours. And it was watching her.

As the days passed, Eliza became more and more obsessed with capturing the figure on film. She spent hours wandering the city, searching for signs of its presence. But no matter how hard she tried, the figure always seemed to elude her, appearing in her photographs but never in person.

Eliza's friends grew concerned for her, noticing how her once vibrant personality had been replaced by a haunted look in her eyes. They urged her to seek help, to put down the camera and focus on her own well-being. But Eliza could not tear herself away from the mystery that had consumed her.

One day, while photographing a peaceful park at midday, Eliza finally caught a glimpse of the figure in person. It stood at the edge of the trees, its eyes locked on hers. Eliza felt a wave of terror wash over her as she raised her camera to capture the moment. But as she did, the figure vanished into thin air, leaving her alone in the park.

From that day on, Eliza was never the same. She became a recluse, holed up in her apartment with only her camera for company. Her photographs became more and more disturbing, each one revealing a different facet of the figure that had haunted her for so long.

And then, one day, Eliza's friends received a package in the mail. Inside was a single photograph, a portrait of Eliza with the figure standing behind her, its eyes gleaming with malice. There was no note, no explanation - just a chilling reminder of the horrors that lurked in the daylight hours.

To this day, no one knows what became of Eliza. Some say she vanished into the darkness, seeking out the figure that had consumed her. Others say she still wanders the city, her camera in hand, forever chasing the horrors that go bump in the day. But one thing is for certain - the daylight hours will never be the same again.