The Woman In The Shadows

Part Eight - The Invitation

     "So, Meadow - " Jim started, turning around, walking backwards along the dirt path that ran throughout the property, " - you liking it out here?"

     Meadow stopped dead in her tracks, still looking at her screen a moment longer before looking up at her father in a state of complete disbelief.

     "Really?" She managed, huffing heavily before diving into her rant. "What's not to love, dad? I mean it's like living in the lap of luxury! I have barely any signal out here, the internet is some prehistoric dial up thing I've never heard of that sounds like two robots doing it every time I try to get on Facebook, we don't have cable yet and forget about any kind of social life, everyone out this way is probably married to their cousin."

     "Meadow, come on." Sheila said, shaking her head. "You have a loving family, a lovely new home with property - something we never could have given you in Toronto - and with a personality like yours I'm sure you'll make friends in no time!"

     "Again mom - dad - what's not to love?"

     "Well, you'll get used to it" Jim chuckled with a shrug as he turned back around to walk forward. "Dear lord, if the zombie apocalypse ever happened, I don't know which of you would die first - you or your mother." Jim laughed, shaking his head as he contemplated his options.

     Sheila shoved Jim hard, forcing him into a bush before falling into it, his feet in the air as Meadow laughed along with her mother.

     "Never underestimate a mother, Jim." She laughed, her arm now around Meadow's shoulder as they continued along the path, turning her head to yell back at Jim "Now imagine what a mother would do when she's desperate, like in your little zombie apocalypse."

     Sandra's heart raced against the inside of her chest, the hairs on her arms standing on end. Her hands pressed firmly against the locked door, she hung her head low between her arms, her eyes closed tight as she desperately tried to catch her breath.

     With each breath, the air that left her mouth became more visible, like little white puffs of smoke - the kind you see on a cold winter's day. Sandra shivered slightly, the air around her becoming colder, a gentle breeze on the back of her neck, a window left open in another room she thought.

     That's when she heard it, a quiet giggle as the sound of tiny footsteps followed, echoing through the ceiling above. Slowly, Sandra raised her head, opening her eyes to look at the ceiling, the sounds of children playing upstairs leaving her confused.

     From beneath her feet, Sandra felt something. Crying softly, Sandra looked from the ceiling back down to the floor she stood on. There between her legs, the woman from the shadows lay, her greasy looking hair covering Sandra's feet as she opened her mouth, the scars running along the sides of her mouth opening as her cheeks split with her growing smile.

     Don't you love your mother? she asked meekly, her voice gentle as her big eyes locked with Sandra's. Startled, Sandra fell back, scurrying backwards on her hands and feet like a crab, her back pressed firmly against the kitchen wall as the woman stood, turning mid air before heading towards Sandra.

     She cocked her head slightly, her eyes becoming wider like a puppy's might when begging for a treat. Her feet suspended less than a foot from the ground, the woman gravitated closer to Sandra, her voice soft, her presence gentle.

     She put her hand out to Sandra, a gesture of love as she asked once more; Don't you love your mother? I love you, why don't you love me?