The Celestial

Close Encounter

The hairs rose on Jenny's neck, a strange unsettling sensation that caused her to shudder all over. The unmistakable feeling of someone watching her, or more accurately something was watching her. Jenny took a wary step away from the shimmering air before her. A low throaty chuckle whispered out from the space in front of her, but the speaker remained hidden.

"Young girl, Young girl," the raspy voice whispered, "Come with me."

"No, thank you," Jenny responded flatly.

"What if I said please?" the voice groaned sarcastically

"No," Jenny said even more defiantly.

"Such a pity," the creature sighed and went silent.

Jenny could still feel its presence there, unseen but unmistakably still there. Like a spider waiting for the fly. She knew that if she stupidly ventured too close, it would undoubtedly strike and she would find herself on the other side. Though she often wondered what the other world was like, Jenny didn't want to find out first hand. Then she heard it. A low voice, sort of chanting from the other side. The chanting was hardly audible yet made every hair on her body stand straight. Giving the dangerous patch of air a wide berth, Jenny hurried past and continued on her way.

The sky was beginning to darken as Jenny rushed home. She was desperate to be safely inside before dusk fell. But first, she had to face another hurdle, the front door. She unlocked it with bated breath before quickly opening it and jumping backward. She studied the air in the doorway, once satisfied it was as it should be, she passed the threshold and closed the door behind her. Jenny had learned that anything that counted as an "in-between" could also spawn a passage to the other world, though these gateways were smaller and seldom saw the more dangerous creatures. Normally it was mischievous gremlin-like spirits that came through these gaps between worlds, the types that hid your belongings, switched your appliances on and off without warning, or plagued you with insomnia or nightmares during the night.