Those Who Live in the Shadows

Chapter 3

The sunlight was coming through her window, lighting up her face, making her delicate features gleam. Her dark brown hair was sloppily put in a messy braid on her back. Her wide but empty blue eyes were staring at nothing. Her body was surrounded by a weird dark aura, particularly gathered at her eyes. Strange. She put on a white tee-shirt with black pants, even if she probably didn't even know their color. I was near her window, in her room, while the girl dressed on the other side. I went closer to her and said: "Hi."

She jumped and turned. She stepped back.

"You again! What are you doing here! Leave me alone, stalker!!" she screamed at me.

"What's a ... stalker?" I asked, puzzled by her accusation. "I am a Nightmare, a creature of shadows." Was a stalker like a ninja? I surely hoped so. I am kind of a ninja after all: I have completed step 1! But I wasn't a 'stalker'.

"You are clearly mad. Could you please go?" she asked, taking another step back. I had finally someone to talk to after all that time alone. And it could get very interesting. I wanted to know how she could hear and feel me. I wasn't going to let that opportunity pass away.

"I don't want to go away. You are the first human to ever sense me. I want to know why."

"Look, I don't care what you think you are, but go find someone else, or I call my parents and the police."

"Yeah! Good idea!" I exclaimed. "I can prove you that I am a Nightmare by that!"

"...What...?"

"I'll be right next to you, okay? I bet your parents can't see me."

"If this is what you think, fine." She clearly did not believe me at all. I didn't care. She will, one day.

"Mom! Could you come here for a moment?!" The girl yelled.

"What is it, Camelia?" asked her mother when she came in. Camelia... What a pretty name.

"Hello, mother-of-Camelia-who-can't-see-or-hear-me," I greeted. Camelia flinched, but, as expected, her mom didn't react. I took the girl's arm. "See? I'm just there," I whispered to her, "And yet she can't see me or hear me." Camelia began trembling.

"What is it, dear?" Her mother repeated. "Is something wrong?"

"No..." the blind girl started. "I... just... wanted to know what time it was!" she ended with fake enthusiasm.

"Darling, you could have told me that downstairs!" Her mother sighed. "It's 8:15. Hurry up. Fabian is coming to get you soon."

"Yes, mom." What a nice daughter. Lying and faking happiness to make sure her mom doesn't suspect that something is wrong. Humans are so double-sided.

Camelia sat on her bed and took her head in her hands. "I am turning crazy..." she muttered.

"No, you are not. I've already told you, I am a Nightmare. I exist independently. The world doesn't always revolve around you, you know," I said.

"Well then. If I'm not imagining you, prove it!" she almost yelled. Wow, someone did not have enough sleep last night. Oh, wait, I just remembered what happened last night. Never mind my previous comment.

I sighed.

"I've already proven it to you with your mom!" I complained. "But if you want more, I can give you more. I know what your nightmare was last night, because I was the one who created it."

"Then what was it."

"You dreamt that you were stuck in a house with a killer and the killer killed all your loved ones one by one, till there were only you, alone," I detailed. Yep, that was a great piece of work. Not my best though.

"How did you... Never mind. I am turning mad." She got up. "I can live without you, creation of my mind, so go away."

"I won't go away, and you know it," I replied. "Just accept the truth."

She royally ignored me. I wasn't used to people ignoring me when they actually noticed me! Wow, I don't think that last sentence made much sense. Anyway.

Camelia walked to her door and went downstairs, helping herself with her hands and the ramps. She was doing pretty good, considering that she could not see where she went. I followed her in silence. I did not want to bother her, making her loose her concentration then fall down the stairs to her death. That would be bad. Camelia went to the kitchen were some toasts were ready for her, along with some juice. She sat down on a chair and started eating. I didn't see her mother. I was getting bored, after... a minute, let's say, so I decided to talk to her, even if she was ignoring me.

"What does your name mean?" I asked. "Is it some kind of flower? I know a couple of flower names, like Rose, Violet, Marguerite, Lily... I don't know about a Camelia though. Does it mean something else? Like, I don't know, beautiful sun? Shiny rock? Stuff like that? People all have weird significations to their names."

She didn't answer and finished eating. I looked through the kitchen's window. A blond guy was coming towards the entrance by the house's alley.

"Hey, someone's coming. A blond guy. He seems...discouraged," I added. "Is he coming for you?"

The doorbell rang. Camelia came to answer it, and succeeded without falling. Yeah, I was definitely impressed by her skills. If I were blind... I would probably die, since I wouldn't be able to feed anymore, if Ally didn't kill me before. Camelia was lucky to have people caring for her and helping her.

I was so taken by my thoughts that I had forgotten to follow her. I quickly joined her.

"Is this your boyfriend?" I asked, behind her. She had invited in the boy and was now putting a coat on and taking her school bag.

"Fabian, is someone behind me?" demanded Camelia while putting her bag on her back.

"No, why?" Fabian replied.

"No reason in particular. Just had a strange feeling. Anyway, let's go."

"I'm not a strange feeling, I am real you know." I felt as if I was speaking to a tree. Maybe a tree would be better conversation after all. I hadn't really tested it out. I should try it out if I really have nothing better to do.

"Okay," answered Camelia's friend.

They left the house and went outside. Hmm, I didn't really want to follow them to school. If there was one place where she wouldn't talk to me, it was there, surrounded by people. Her friend, Fabian, was probably helping her at school, with directions and stuff. I didn't really know what they did at that place, except that there was always about half the people in it who were sleeping. And almost all teenagers. It was a good place to gather energy during day.

So I did not go with Camelia and instead decided to go back to my world. I turned into my shadow form and quickly searched for a mirror. I found one in the upstairs bathroom, beside Camelia's bedroom.

Nightmares could use any reflecting surface as portals between our world and the Earth, or to simply go to one place to another. We only thought about where we wanted to go, and got there. For example, I could wish to travel to where Camelia was, then I would see a reflection of the place where she was at this moment, and if I went in the portal, I would end up wherever she was.

So I wished for a precise place, passed through the reflecting surface and arrived into my world, Nightmares' world.

Our world basically looked like a huge desert: beige sand dunes everywhere, with spots of dark rocks, and some oasis. It was always night time, since we feel better and are more powerful in the dark. We usually come here to relax, away from the humans. It was also a place to fight with enemies, but we didn't have any wars, because we only lived in small packs, Nightmares usually being solitary.

Our world was peaceful and quiet. I liked it quite much.

I wanted to know if another Nightmare had already encountered a human who could sense us. So I went to places where I knew the kind of Nightmares who like being in the human world –like me- hang out, and asked them if they ever met a human like Camelia. I questioned a couple of Nightmares, without having any luck. They were all certain that kind of human did not exist.

But then what was Camelia?