Blackened Cherry Blossoms

• 5 •

Water splashed in my face and I jumped in surprise. I wiped my face with my hands and saw that my face wasn't the only reflection in the water.

The faces of five black tabby cats looked back at me with black eyes.

"Run child," they chanted simultaneously.

"What are you talking about?" I sputtered perplexed.

"It won't be open for long. Run."

Realization hit me. They were talking about the door. "Where is it?" I pleaded.

"Run," the cats hissed before they all retreated behind a tree nearby. At the last second an onyx black arm seized out from behind the tree and lacerated the trunk emitting the sound of a blackboard being scratched. The claws left deep indents into the tree and left me trembling.

I sprinted away from that tree as fast as I could and avoided looking back at all costs. I had no idea what that arm was or where it came from but that had completely crossed the line of horrific things for one day. Tears were raining down my face and all I wanted in that moment was to be in my bedroom safe from harm and this place. I couldn't wait to find the door wherever it was.

I ran alongside the river towards an elegant garden with lavish hedges and flower beds with decorative statues and fountains. I don't know what brought me in this direction but I was heading where my feet were taking me, and that place was inside this garden.

To my dismay the garden was filled with those creepy orange tabbies and more of those pitch black arms were sticking out towards me through the hedges. I dodged them skillfully but just barely. I started to see that attached to those appalling arms were full grown shadowy raven

figures. One of them stared right at me with piercing red eyes and a set of grinning razor-sharp teeth.

I gasped and jerked my head around and started running for my life. I had finally found the dratted door wedged inside a hedge meters away from me. I glanced a look back and saw that the figures had disappeared. The door was getting closer and closer. My heartbeat was out of control and I was sweating profoundly as I gave my last bit of strength and dashed through the door.

A familiar ice cold breeze hit me from the other side of the door and the bright light of daylight struck me in the eye and I squinted them shut. After blinking a few times I saw that I was standing at the doorstep of a large grey house and the inside of it was all grey with small lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling. The outside of it seemed a lot like my neighborhood. The streets screamed winter with dead trees and snow covering the ground. Three teenagers emerged- two girls and the boy from last night- out of no where and looked at me in shock. I gazed back at them extremely bewildered.

"Wow! Birthday girl made it out faster than I expected. Well it's shocking that she made it out at all," chuckled the tall man. The two girls giggled along with him, but soon their smiles were replaced with faces of horror as their stared at something behind me. I followed their gaze and turned around.

The dark demon stood inside the house grinning wildly with its both claws reaching towards me. It lunged towards me and after that all I saw was darkness.