Dancing with Shadows

Chapter 3

Nicholas was lying non nonchalantly on the couch in the living room giving the impression he had been there all day. He heard his mother unlock the front door and quickly picked up a random book and pretended to read. The front door opened and his mother appeared in the threshold. His mother, tall with mousy brown hair, looked worried like she always did, her eyes wild and anxious. She seemed stable, but some days she wouldn't go to work at all and would just just sit in her room all day in silence. In fact, at a family reunion, he had overheard his aunt talking to his great uncle, saying, " Ever since we were kids, she was always paranoid and closed off. We of course sent her to a psychiatric facility which helped her a bit." Ever since then, Nicholas knew his mother had mental issues.

When she saw Nicholas she said, "Are you okay?"

Nicholas, confused, said, "Yeah, why?" He tried his best to sound innocent.

The corner of her mouth twitched as if she was about to smile, but she didn't.

"You're reading The 3 Day Diet," she replied.

He closed the book and looked at the cover. The 3 Day Diet was printed across the cover.
He thought fast, then said, "we don't have any more books for me to read."

This made sense, because Nicholas's mother had never agreed to take him to the library so he was stuck reading just the books there were in the house.

She didn't respond. She just looked at the floor, and walked into the kitchen. He heard her searching the cupboards for something and put something in a pot. The stove clicked and he heard a pot being set on the surface. 

While his mother prepared the food, Nicholas decided to go upstairs and get started on his math. He was homeschooled, see, and had put off work that day. 

He sat at his small, oak desk his grandfather had made and looked out the window. He contemplated the shadow he saw and wondered if he was going crazy. He assumed it was just a smudge on his glasses, and began his math. 

As he was writing, he caught a movement in the corner of his eye. He looked out and saw the shadow again. The same small figure standing, watching him. To make sure he wasn't seeing things, he took off his glasses and saw what he believed to be, not a shadow, but a girl.