Beyond The Bay Window

I stood in the middle of a spacious, inviting living room filled with various furniture around me. There was a couch a few feet in front of me, a pair of armchairs on either side of it, a book shelf against the wall to my left that was connected to the staircase near the entrance. I stared into flickering red and orange flames that danced within a fireplace of brown and beige stones. Above the mantle hung a painted portrait of a man in a black suit sporting a maroon tie, his brown hair cut short and styled. Grey eyes stared back at me. A crystal chandelier hung directly above me, warmly lit.

A mesmerizing darkness lay beyond a large bay window to my right with sheer curtains bellowing gently in the wind.

Transfixed, I pivoted to the bay window.

Suddenly, I was again staring at the portrait above a freshly extinguished fireplace, ashes still warm but fading fast. The chandelier dimmed… the furniture now worn and dilapidated coated in specks of dust that floated in the air from the book case. In front of the bay window, stood a round, mahogany accent table. I couldn’t recall if it had been there before…

Again, transfixed, I took a step forward.

And again…. I was staring at that damn portrait. This time, however, I was staring into the gray eyes of the man in the portrait, the embers still smothered in the fireplace. I noticed that the furniture was now covered in white sheets, the chandelier had darkened completely.

Heart racing from the darkness, I was again captivated by the bay window. A single candle now lit the bay window from an accent table. I took a step forward...and then another until I stood directly in front of it. Compelled, I looked out through the bay window and saw beyond: a smaller window of another house now adjacent to mine. In that window I saw the barely lit silhouette of a woman. I was staring at her back and noticed her hair was long, dark and wavy and she wore a simple satin white nightgown that fell just above her knees. Strangely enough, the girl moved towards a flickering candle near her own bay window.

As I leaned forward to get a better look… I again found myself staring at the portrait. This time, as I met his eyes… the man’s eyebrows furrowed, almost as if he were concerned for me.

The spacious living room now felt closed and cold...as if the darkness was trying to snuff me out. There was that blasted candle in the window on the accent table again...its light flickering and inviting.

I accepted its invitation and stepped forward. As I stood in front of it, I was compelled to look up once more. There was that woman again. This time, she was at the bay window...but the candle wasn’t lit. It was then that I saw something move in the corner of her house, near the bookshelf. In the light of the moon, I saw a young girl with ivory skin wearing a dirty and muddy gray dress; her feet bare. My heart began to race faster as she seemed to have noticed me. She turned her head slowly to glance at me but I couldn’t see her eyes from behind her long black hair that covered her face. Then… she slowly turned to the woman who stood in front of her bay window. A chill ran through my spine as the young girl took a step.

I again was facing the portrait, this time… the man in the portrait looked terror-stricken.

I took a step towards the bay window and stopped in front of an unlit candle. My eyes widened as I saw the woman who once stood at the bay window, now in a grotesque display.

The woman’s spine had contorted backwards, her arms twisted in unnatural angles, and her head was tilted against the floor. Her expression will live within my mind for the rest of my days… I can only see the white of her eyes, hair was in disarray, and her mouth was open in a silent scream. The kicker… She looked exactly like me.

Ever so slightly...I felt a strand of hair tickling my elbow… and heard an exhale from behind.