Horror

“There are four ways you can handle fear. You can go over it, under it, or around it. But if you are ever to put fear behind you, you must walk straight through it. Once you put fear behind you, leave it there.” ~Donna A. Favors

We ran out of the bathroom, closed the door behind us, and stood staring into each other’s face. Sheer horrors were reflected in our eyes.

Just a moment ago, I was taking a shower. Angel couldn’t sleep without me beside her so she decided to keep vigil by my side. Just as I was almost done, it happened. Angel bolted up from the toilet seat where she was resting on. She had felt something brushing callously by her hair. Before I could stifle my laughter, both of us spotted it at the same time.

It was the dark monstrous devil itself.

We could feel its cold stare boring through our petrified souls. With a flap of its hideous wings, it took flight and cast an evil spell of unspeakable fear onto us. Never did I expect a blissful late night shower to turn into a tragic end.

We tried to dodge the dark creature in the impossibly tiny confined area. Our hope that the demon would exonerate us diminished every second as all four eyes stayed fixated onto the devilish shadow. The devil timed its stride towards us while flicking its wicked tentacles as if waiting for the fear within us to peak to its highest point. Then it struck again.

This time it swooped so low that it gave us no space to elude. It was then I let off my first horrified scream. But compared to Angel’s shriek of pure terror, mine sounded like a whimper.

Grabbing the towel and barely wrapping myself, I opened the door and scampered out of the tiny cell, with Angel right on my heels. We did not waste even a second to slam the door shut before the devil gave pursuit.

Water dripped onto the ground from my trembling frame. I couldn’t tell I was shivering in cold or fear, or cold with fear.

“Mummy, where’s your clothes?” Angel’s voice sounded hardly a whisper.

“Inside.” Mine didn’t sound any better.

Both of us turned our gazes onto the closed door and managed to contain a shudder. Without speaking aloud, we both know what was racing through our minds. No way were we going to open that door!

With her eyes still on the door, Angel backtracked to my wardrobe and got me a fresh set of pyjamas. I put it on as nimbly as I could while my eyes darted around the door, looking for any gaps where the monster could seep through.

There were unmistakable thuds on the door as the disgusting silhouette occasionally battered on the door.

Finally realizing that we had escaped a catastrophe, I huddled close to Angel and we hugged each other in comfort.

“Mummy, why is there a cockroach in our bathroom?”

“I don’t know, dear.”

We cast a last look on the tightly shut door and decided to leave the nightmare behind us.