The depth of short stories and micro-fiction 2

The White-Eyes Girl

The town of Havenswood was in an uproar. Seven-year-old Mandy Wilson had gone missing in the nearby forest, and the search party had been combing the woods for hours. Her parents, frantic with worry, had joined the search, calling out their daughter's name until their voices were hoarse.

Jefferson, a seasoned outdoorsman and close friend of the Wilsons, had taken it upon himself to lead the search. He knew the forest like the back of his hand, having spent countless hours hunting and hiking through its dense woods. As the sun began to set, casting long shadows across the forest floor, Jefferson knew they had to find Mandy soon.

As the search party moved through the forest, they stumbled upon a small cave hidden behind a thick veil of foliage. Jefferson's instincts told him that this was the place to look. He motioned for the others to follow him, and they cautiously made their way into the cave.

The air inside was damp and musty, and the only sound was the faint dripping of water somewhere in the distance. Jefferson's eyes adjusted slowly to the darkness, and he saw a figure sitting in the corner of the cave, her back against the wall.

"Mandy?" he called out softly, not wanting to startle her.

The figure didn't move, but a faint smile played on her lips. Jefferson's heart leapt with excitement as he rushed towards her, the others close behind. But as they approached, they saw that something was off.

Mandy's eyes, once a bright blue, were now completely white. No pupils, no irises, just a milky white that seemed to glow in the dim light of the cave. Her skin was deathly pale, and her smile seemed to be frozen in place.

"Mandy, sweetie, it's us," her mother cooed, rushing to her side. "We're here to take you home."

But Mandy didn't respond. She just kept smiling, her white eyes fixed on some point in front of her. Jefferson felt a shiver run down his spine as he gazed into those eyes. There was something unnatural about them, something that made him feel like he was staring into the soul of a completely different person.

As they carefully lifted Mandy to her feet, she didn't resist. She simply stood there, still smiling, her white eyes fixed on some point in the distance. Her parents exchanged worried glances, unsure of what to do.

Jefferson took charge, leading them out of the cave and back through the forest. As they walked, the darkness seemed to press in around them, and Jefferson couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched.

When they finally emerged into the bright sunlight, Mandy blinked once, twice, but her eyes didn't change. They remained the same milky white, and her smile never wavered.

The townspeople, who had been waiting anxiously for news, gasped in shock as they saw Mandy's condition. Some of them whispered among themselves, speculating about what could have caused her eyes to turn white.

As the Wilsons took their daughter home, Jefferson couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. He had lived in these woods all his life, but he had never seen anything like this before.

That night, as he lay in bed, Jefferson's mind replayed the events of the day. He couldn't get Mandy's white eyes out of his head, or the feeling of unease that had settled in the pit of his stomach.

The next day, the townspeople began to whisper among themselves about the supernatural. Some said that Mandy had stumbled upon a cursed cave, while others claimed that she had been possessed by some kind of evil spirit.

Jefferson didn't believe any of it, but he couldn't deny the feeling of unease that had settled over the town. As he watched Mnady from afar, he noticed that she was acting strangely. She would wander off on her own, and when her parents found her, she would be smiling and staring into space, her white eyes fixed on some point in the distance.

As the days turned into weeks, the town of Havenswood became increasingly gripped with fear. People began to avoid Mandy, whispering among themselves about her "unnatural" condition.

Jefferson, however, felt a sense of responsibility towards the young girl. He had helped find her, and now he felt a duty to help her recover from whatever had happened in that cave.

As he spent more time with Mandy, he noticed something strange. She seemed to be... changing. Her smile was no longer frozen in place, and her white eyes seemed to be... adapting. They would flicker towards movement, and Jefferson could swear that he saw a glimmer of recognition in them from time to time.

But as Mandy's behaviour changed, so did the atmosphere in the town. People began to whisper about the "devil's child", and some even claimed to have seen Emily performing supernatural feats.

Jefferson knew that it was all just superstition, but he couldn't deny the feeling that something was off about Mandy. As the days turned into weeks, he began to wonder if they had made a terrible mistake by bringing her back from that cave.

One night, as he watched Mandy from afar, he saw her walking towards the forest, her white eyes fixed on some point in the distance. Jefferson's heart skipped a beat as he realized that she was heading back to the cave.

Without hesitation, he followed her, his senses on high alert as he tracked her through the dense woods. As they approached the cave, Jefferson felt a sense of unease settles over him.

What was Mandy doing? And what was drawing her back to that cave? As they reached the entrance, Jefferson hesitated, unsure of what to do next.

And then, in the darkness of the cave, he saw something that made his blood run cold. A figure, tall and imposing, standing in the shadows. Watching Mandy. Waiting for her.

Jefferson's instincts told him to grab Mandy and run, but as he turned to her, he saw that her white eyes were fixed on the figure. And she was smiling.

At that moment, Jefferson knew that they had made a terrible mistake. They had brought Mandy back from the cave, but she was no longer the same person. Something had changed her, something that lurked in the depths of that cave.

As the darkness closed in around him, Jefferson realized that he was staring into the face of pure horror. And he knew that he would never be the same again.