🌖THE SHADOW BETWEEN US🌖

Prologue – The Flicker

> “Light trembles before darkness, not out of fear — but because it remembers what it once was.”

I used to think shadows were harmless.

That they were only a reflection — a quiet companion that followed you because it had no choice.

But now I know better. Shadows remember things we try to forget.

It started three nights ago.

A flicker on the wall, nothing unusual at first. I was painting, the kind of midnight session where silence feels like a heartbeat. My brush moved lazily, blending gray into deeper gray — maybe I was trying to hide something even from myself.

When I turned to stretch, I saw it — my shadow lagged.

Not just a second behind — it hesitated, like it was thinking.

I froze. My breath snagged on my ribs.

I moved my hand again. It followed… too slow.

The light from the lamp flickered once more, and my shadow waved.

Not a normal wave.

A goodbye.

That night, I didn’t sleep.

The walls felt closer. The silence heavier.

And deep inside me, something whispered —

“At 3:00 a.m., watch carefully. That’s when t

he shadows wake up.”

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