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Hello Paranormal Community and welcome to our newest word prompt! Remember that you're free to interpret our prompts however you want, be it literally or figuratively. You're also more than welcome to use any of our prompts as ideas for a new story on your profile. For more information, make sure to check out the guidelines below!
WORD PROMPT:
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WINNERS:
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I cover my ears and close my eyes. In my mind, if I can't see him, he can't see me. And if he can't see me, he'll go away. "Come on, kid. I'm not going to hurt you."
It's been going on for too long. I'm almost ten, and Mama always says I have to be brave. Now, I must be brave and talk to the strange, floating man in the corner of my room. I take my hands off my ears and open my eyes. "Mama says I shouldn't talk to you," I say. "You're one of the bad men."
He chuckles. "Of course, that's what she would say." His hazy figure sharpens, as if my words have brought him to life. His eyes, blue as sapphires, glow with a new light. "You see everything, don't you, kid?"
"I don't," I whisper, but my voice comes out shaky. This...this 'ability', as Mama calls it, is a curse. I can see them. I can see all the bad men and the bad women, floating around every room in the house. Some are crying, some are angry, some have no faces. But none are smiling, except for him. He grins.
"You're a bad liar, kid. But really cute." He floats over to my chair, settling himself in it. He could almost be a real person, if it weren't for the foggy translucence of his features. "Just to let you know, we're not the bad guys, kid."
"Mama says you are."
"Like I said, of course she would say that. She wouldn't tell you about how we came to be." He laughs, as if recalling old times. "She wouldn't tell you about how this used to be a boarding house, back in the old days. Her the landlord, we the lodgers. She wouldn't tell you about how she poisoned us. You're her kid, after all."
His casual statement feels like it's choking me.
He smiles again, warm and friendly. "But don't worry, kid. As long as you can see us, we'll protect you."
Some will tell you that the suspense is killing them. Well, I tell you that ignorance is bliss. You ask to be all knowing, but it is a curse. My curse, to be precise. The helplessness consumes you when you see a man plunging his knife deep into the heart of another a couple of miles away, knowing that there is nothing you can do to stop it. The little surprises in life mean nothing to you, for you can see it all before you are meant to see them. A simple game of Hide and Seek is a luxury that I can't afford.
Do you know what's worse than just being able to see everything? It's the fact that you know no hope. You look at your feet only to notice all those microbes that you inadvertently kill with a single step. You look up at the sky trying to see the Sun, but all you see are the millions of atoms breaking apart and coming together. You try to enjoy the beauty that nature presents to you, yet all you see are the little veins in their leaves and stems.
There is only one solace- unlike the living, it is far easier communicating with those long gone. No sights of cells and tissues. No- it is far more pleasurable to talk to those that have no substance. Others may go mad, yet the ghosts are the only ones who keep me sane. It's not that I have X-ray vision- no. I just have the curse of seeing everything.
I feel him rather than look at his faint silhouette. Sometimes, I rather wish I'd be blind, for then I'd be doing the same thing I've been doing all my life-rely on my other senses. That's why I take him up on his offer when he offers to possess me. It may be insane but at least I can harbour the hope that he will be dealing with my curse instead while I enjoy my peace locked up in my own mind. I watch with morbid curiosity as my eyes begin misting over. Gradually, it all turns dark as I find myself safely hidden away in the confines of my mind.
25/11/19: Dear Diary, I’m so glad I have you at least to talk to. I’m going a bit stir crazy. Goats are stupid boring. Hunger. Thirst. Sleep. Repeat. Occasionally some excitement from the whiff of wolf in the woods. Had a visit from a devil last night. Been a long time! Guess my rep is getting around because right before he poofed away he said, “Everyone’s right. You are no fun!” Not my fault I see through their tricks. Maybe a friendly ghost will take up residence in my humble little cabin. It’d be some company at least. I’d really like the angels & other lovely creatures to visit more, but maybe they’re too busy. Only good things to see in them. The unicorn was the best. Ate out of my hand. Such a rush of love! Hope Mom & Dad are doing ok. Miss them lots, but the thought of being around anyone is so HEAVY. All those hopes & fears & good deeds & sins & secrets & stuff I just don’t want to know & can’t not know, once I do. Sigh. Don’t know which hurts worse to know: the depraved crap people do, or the good stuff they hide inside. Why hide away all that Light? Better to stay isolated here. I’ll at least keep my sanity. If I don’t write tomorrow it’s because I died from boredom. Cause: goat company. Argh.
