The One Who Follows

We walked through the square of a small island town. A soft breeze carrying the scent of the ocean gently waved through my mother’s hair. I gazed up towards the sun towering high above, but when I lowered my eyes I noticed her playing a trick on me.

von Alessandro Gebsattel

We walked through the square of a small island town. A soft breeze carrying the scent of the ocean gently waved through my mother’s hair. I gazed up towards the sun towering high above, but when I lowered my eyes I noticed her playing a trick on me. Two shadows were following my every step. I hesitated and let myself fall back while my family continued walking. The figures still loomed around me and kept clinging to me as I tried to run away. The voice of my mother echoed over the cobblestone and for a second I almost forgot about the shadows. She called me to her, and we walked together. A few times, I checked on my followers. Still there. I clasped her hand.

      It must be over any second, I thought, as we watched the sunset above the sea. My eyes were fixed on the figures around me. The shapes elongated further and further until they finally vanished. Wait. One of them was still there. Maybe it wasn’t the sun playing a trick after all.

      Later that night, I sat on a boulder by the beach. Clouds drifted around the moon, slowly covering its faint glow. My flashlight was now the only source of light. Behind me, the shadow remained. I heard myself ask who my companion was. He groaned as if he awoke from a deep slumber. His voice was deep but forceful like it could split trees.

      »You know who I am, boy. All do, yet, some more than others. I am a part of you, otherwise, I could not be here.«

      His words echoed in my mind. I heard myself ask for a hint.

      »A hint? Mhh… I could make an exception just this once. After all, it is rare to find me beside someone so young. You get one chance, boy.«

Never shall I leave your side,

Within your heart, I will abide.

One might almost think us mates,

Yet out this prison lead no gates.

And if a friend I truly were,

My voice, you would not hear.

      I thought about his words. He must be loneliness then. But I have my family with me and friends at home, I replied. It must be a mistake.

      »Impressive, boy, and true, you speak. You are surrounded by many but that does not make me a stranger to your heart. It might make you the right one all the more. I shall only come when invited, but once there I never leave.«

      Never? I heard myself repeat.

      »Never.«

      His words echoed even deeper into my mind this time and a sudden void rose up within me. Why follow a kid? I heard myself plead. There must be thousands like me in this world. Why me?

      »Millions, boy. And I get them all. I’m the darkness in your hearts, the mist that shrouds your days. I stay with all who dared invite me and there is nothing here to save you lot. I follow till the end. I get them all.«

The mother called for the boy in the distance, but there was no answer.

Beitragsbild von Matthew Ansley