𝘴𝘶·𝘱𝘦𝘳·𝘯𝘢𝘵·𝘶·𝘳𝘢𝘭 [ shadow the hedgehog x reader ]

Prologue || Down by the Bay

𝖂𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖑𝖚𝖗𝖐𝖘 𝖎𝖓 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖜𝖆𝖙𝖊𝖗?

☠

I remember the first time I saw a ghost as if it were just yesterday. Around the time I was about four or five and my mother, father, and I lived in a small house down by a lake. I would often go out to the lake with my father and we would fish or go swimming. Well, recently then, my father had passed away; suicide by taking a swan dive off an abandoned building. The police said he had been intoxicated, and most likely not thinking straight. Whatever the case, he was gone; he left me and my mom to fend for ourselves. My mom was pissed at my dad and often took out her frustrations on drugs and alcohol. Often, she would come home from work and drink until she passed out in the living room.

Because of that, I was left to my own doing most of the time, and this incident was no different. While my mom was out to get more drinks or whatever, I decided to go down to the lake for some fresh air. It was a cloudy, humid, and windy kind of day; the sky threatening to rain at any moment. I slipped on my old yellow raincoat and ran down to the lake.

At first, I didn't see him there, but as I approached closer, I realized there was a figure sitting at the shore. This puzzled me, for this was private property. I'd never seen another person who came there before, but I soon recognized this person was not a stranger.

"Papa?" I said. My father turned his head around, a warm smile on his face.

"Hey baby, wanna come fish with me?" he asked. Now, any reasonable adult would have bolted right there and then, but I was a naive baby who loved her father and wanted to be with him.

I sat down on the soft earth next to my father, feeling the dampness of the grass and mud beneath me. I would surely ruin my clothing by the time I got home, not that I cared. I looked up at my father as the rain began to pour down harder and I saw his expression was distant as he gazed out into the water.

"Papa," I began softly. "When are you going to come home?" My father's face twitched and flickered for a moment as if he was beginning to fade from reality.

"(N/n), I'll always be with you, no matter where you are. I love you, my baby," your father said, closing his eyes. I smiled, nothing but innocence in my eyes.

"I love you too papa, lots and lots,"

And just like that, he was gone. The rain began to pour harder and harder, and the sky began to tremble with thunder. This was the beginning of something much bigger than I could ever fathom.

☠

"I'm going to miss you," my mother told me, her face stern and blank as always.

"I know momma, I will too," I reassured her, setting the last of my boxes in my trunk. My mother looked at me, the walls inside of her slowly crumbling down. With her aging (e/c) shimmering with tears, she slowly reached her hands out for me and pulled me into a hug. A few strands of grey hair fell into her face as she struggled to keep her composer. I tucked those strands of her out of her face and buried myself into her neck.

"Please be safe, you're all I have left," my mother said softly, her voice cracking. I stroked her back, never once letting her go until it was time.

"I won't be far, just a phone call away," I said, trying to cheer her up. My mother nodded, wiping her snot covered face.

"Go out there and kick some ass," she chuckled, trying to regain her normal "don't-give-a-damn" look.