My Short Stories

Behind You, Miss

My kid was afraid of the dark, when I would put him to bed he would make me check the closet, under the bed, and behind the door. It was annoying, but it helped him fall asleep. One night I did the usual routine of checking for monsters, and told him that the coast was clear. He smiled and began to fall asleep, then I turned out the lights. Walking from the room, I sat down on the couch, reading the book I was trying to finish, when I heard a low chuckle from behind me. I whipped my head around in fear, but saw nothing. After a few seconds of sitting in shock, I relaxed and smiled to myself, then continued reading my book. The chuckle returned, yet I chose to ignore it, thinking of it as a figment of my imagination. I kept ignoring it until I heard the last words I would ever hear,
"I'm always behind you, Miss."