Blue

Chapter 3: Shower lists

The not really early morning sun shines brightly through Ellie's slightly opened bedroom window, exactly in her eyes. Ellie slowly opens her eyes, squinting, only to be immediately blinded. She groans and quickly turns away, blinking furiously. She rubs her eyes and blinks a bit more, her vision slowly returning and getting used to her enviroment. 'That's strange' Ellie wonders. Normally she never forgets to close the curtains. Why would she... oh. She immediately gives an angry glare at the corner. There's no shadow there anymore. Quite the contrary, the white walls of her bedroom reflect the bright sunlight, ridding even that stupid corner over every bit of shadow, letting it almost give light. Ellie points a small finger at the corner, feeling a lot more brave now that it's daylight, daring it to do something. But of course, nothing happens.

"Didn't think so." Ellie mumbles as she puts her covers away from her and gets out of bed.

With a pride look she walks – and stumbles, as she is still a bit sleepy – out of her bedroom and towards the bathroom. Time for a 'I conquered a dark corner' victory shower before getting groceries. She undresses and, for the first time since a long time, actually bothers to comb her hair so it won't get painfully knotty afterwards. Then she grabs a towel and puts it on the sink close to the shower so it will be easy to grab later. She opens the glass door of her shower cabin and turns on the shower. Ellie loves the glass door, as the heat of the shower condensates on the cold glass, allowing her to draw and make lists of it. She remembers all of her shower thoughts because of this door. It makes showering much more fun... and expensive.

After feeling the temperature of the water, which is now comfortably warm, Ellie steps under the shower, closing the glass door. The hot water streams on her head and shoulders, wetting her hair and relaxing her muscles. Ellie sighs, feeling relaxed, and starts doodling and making lists on the now fully condensed door. She thinks of and writes down the groceries she will have to get (milk, eggs, cheese, fruit and much, much more). She really procrastinated getting those groceries, she realises as the list gets longer and longer. As she reaches the bottom of the door, and thus her list, Ellie looks up to see the top of her list has already disappeared because of the new condensation and little water drops. Ellie cups her hands together and brings them under the shower head, getting them filled with water. She always does that when she wants a cleaner new canvas to draw or write on. The remains of her list will disappear and the door will condensate more evenly, giving her a nice new start. As Ellie feels the water stream past her hands and trickling down her arms, indicating that her cupped hands are overflowing with water, she removes them from the showerhead and turns towards the badly condensed glass door. A smile creeps upon Ellie's face; this is her favourite part, destroying all her art with one single strike. She moves her hands slightly upwards and spreads them, letting all the liquid splash against the door, making the remaining of Ellie's list disappear and the glass transparent again. As this happens, Ellie screams.

There, on the other side of the bathroom, next to the door, is the black mass. Ellie puts her hand over her heart, trying to stop the rapid beating. The thing is still there, looking right at her. Black mist surrounding the silhouette, making it impossible to point out any features. Still leaving Ellie questioning what it actually is.

Suddenly, Ellie realises she is in the shower, thus naked. She quickly looks down, trying to cover herself up with her arms. Once she feels a bit less bare, she looks up again, only to see nothing. It has disappeared! Ellie blinks and slowly reaches for the shower head still eying the spot where the thing once stood. She grabs the shower head of its holder and brings it towards her, the water running against her chest. Ellie blinks one last time and takes a deep breath, before closing her eyes and brings the shower head to her face. The water stream collides on her face, trying to knock some sense in her.

After about a minute, Ellie turns off the shower, gasping for air and opening her eyes. It's still gone. Ellie puts back the shower head to its original spot. She drops her hands to her sides and slides against the wet wall towards the ground, making herself small again. She thinks about what just happened, why it happened and if it will happen again. She's sure now that, whatever it is, it's real and that she's terrified. Her pride and confidence all gone.