Seraphina's Shadow

EC Contest Stage 1

As I walk towards the lake, located deep within the park, I can't help but wonder why I have this terrible headache. Thank goodness Armaros has been silent for the last hour. It is unlike him, but appreciated.

I feel weird, though. It's like something is missing, and for some reason, I can't remember how I got here.

My eyes focus as I notice movement up ahead. Upon drawing closer, I see something my mind is having trouble identifying, even though I know what it must be.

The shadow is on his knees, rocking back and forth. I can see the shape of his arms holding his head as if he is in pain. I'm unsure how I know who it is, but I do.

How did Armaros get there? He can't leave me. We are forever bound.

I suddenly hear his voice screaming into my ear, even though he is several feet away.

"Run, Seraphina!!"

<><><>

"Momma! I want a cookie!"

"Not before dinner, Seraphina—and stop yelling. I can hear you fine."

Momma always says, 'not before dinner'. It's not fair.

"You could always climb up on the stool and get it yourself," says a man's voice that only I can hear.

While I can't see him, I can always hear him. He never goes away. But sometimes, he has the best ideas! Other times, he likes to get me in trouble.

This time wasn't any different. When I fell from the stool, I broke my arm and now the cookies are locked in a cabinet forever.

"This is your fault!" I yell out loud to Armaros once I am alone in my bedroom.

"I didn't make you do it, child. You did that on your own."

He always blames me even though they were his ideas! For the hundredth time, I take a moment to tell myself I must stop listening to him. But for some reason, I always do.

When I was old enough to speak, I had told Momma all about Armaros. It didn't take long for him to point out that she thought I was crazy. Only I could hear him. 

He said then that our souls are attached, and he can never leave me.

<><><>

True to his word, as I grew, he never left me. Over the years, he became my confidant and the one I cried to when things didn't go my way. As I aged, he talked me into doing things well beyond my comfort zone, but I quickly learned when to stop.

It took me many years to realize he fed on my emotions, especially the more powerful ones, like anger, hate, or sorrow. To my delight, I noticed he got almost drunk on my joyous feelings when something went right. It was powerful information.

Once I went through puberty, I found that if I looked at any mirror, I could see a slight dark shadow around me. This shadow wasn't around my mother or my friends at school. It had to be Armaros. I started looking at others to see if they had shadows. None did.

That changed when I had to attend a high school that catered to several towns, and I noticed another girl with a shadow around her. Because Armaros could see through my eyes, he saw her, too.

"Any chance I can stop you from becoming friends with that girl?"

"Why?" I whispered under my breath.

I had made an art form out of talking to him so no one else could hear. As a child, I nearly ended up in the hospital because I had complex conversations with an imaginary friend whom only I could hear.