"Don't go into the darkness." My mother used to always tell me. "Be sure to always stay in the light. Never let there be darkness."
I remember being terrified as I child. With a dead father and grandparents that refused to come over to visit, my mother's crazy ways were the only thing I knew. Even when I went to the bathroom or got a drink of water I would run back to my room at night with a flashlight in hand, afraid. All of the lights were on, they always are, but I was convinced that the Darkness was out to get me, probably because that was what my mother told me every second of the day.
When I reached my teen years I began to accept that she was insane. She always had lights on and a night light in every plug of the house. She also covered all the light switches with duck tape, I tried to Peel the tape of one only to find it stuck, as if it was super glued on. She even went as far as to place a bunch of fake switches around the house. Especially in our bedrooms, I didn't even know which one is the actual switch. We probably had at least fifteen flashlights in just one room, half of which stayed on, facing every direction of the room. She demanded that I replaced the batteries every day. I remember this one time that I lied, telling her I changed them and one of them died, she was convinced the darkness did it and looked us in what she called the safe room where you couldn't even see dark if you closed your eyes. I learned my lesson.
Even after all, she put me though I still couldn't help but feeling sorry for the woman as I watch her get buried her six feet under. I loved her, sure, but at the same time, all I could think about is how insane she was. The screwed up part was that she died in the pitch black. The police said she must have busted everything that produced light in her house then killed herself. I guess being in light all the time is what pushed her over the edge. If only if I didn't move out the last month but I couldn't take it anymore, I couldn't allow her to rub off any more of her craziness on me.
I grimly walked away from the graveyard as I thought about how I still can't sleep without the hallway light pouring in my room. 'But not tonight' I thought to myself as I continued to my front porch steps. I won't allow that to be me. I won't have empty seats at my funeral. I will get over this outrageous fear and then off all the lights in my house. I mean what am I five?
I shut my front door and locked it behind me with shaky hands. Taking a deep breath I turned off the living room light, then the kitchen, nothing new, I do this every night. I walked to the hallway and placed my hand on it. 'Come on.' I thought to myself, 'If I can't do this then I might as well commit myself now.' With that thought, I flicked the light off with more force than necessary. I walked into my room and shut the door behind me and pulled my phone out of my pocket, using it as a light source then turned off my bedroom. I heard my breathing hitch as I quickly made my way to the bed under the covers. I looked around the room once more the laid back closing my eyes then pushed the off button on my phone, engulfing me completely in the dark
"What did I say about the Darkness?" I froze in fear as heard her voice whispering in my ear.
