The Call of the Shadow 2

It was around midnight. The world was silent. The sky was clouded, and the moonlight was swallowed by black clouds. Somewhere far, a dog howled mournfully. Onik walked alone down the old mango grove beside his grandmother’s house.

This grove had been there since his childhood. He had played there many times, but after dusk, no one dared enter. The villagers believed a "shadow" wandered the grove at night—some said it was a woman, others said it had no face. But all agreed on one thing: the place was dangerous after dark.

Onik didn’t believe in superstition. He was a city boy, not easily scared. With his phone’s flashlight on, he walked deeper in, planning to make a video for his YouTube channel. He didn’t realize when he had taken the wrong turn.

Suddenly, the flashlight went out.

He thought the battery was dead, but he had fully charged it just half an hour ago. No matter what he did, the light wouldn’t come back.

And then he heard it—a soft whisper through the trees.

"Onik…"

His blood turned cold. So close, as if someone stood right behind him.

“Who’s there?” he called out, voice shaking.

No answer. But a chill crept down his neck like breath from something unseen.

He turned slowly—and that’s when he saw it.

A shadow emerged from behind the trees. Black, hazy, like smoke, yet taking the shape of a woman. Long hair, but no face.

"You said my name…"

The voice wasn’t heard, it echoed inside his head.

Onik tried to run, but his legs wouldn’t move. From beneath the earth, dark hands emerged and grabbed his ankles. He fell to the ground.

The shadow leaned in closer. And just before everything went dark, a horrible screech—like a scream mixed with a cry—rang out.

Onik fainted.

---

Two Days Later

He woke up on a bed in his grandmother’s house. His head was bandaged. His grandmother sat beside him, eyes swollen from crying.

“You went into that grove, didn’t you? I warned you…” she said, trembling.

Onik could barely speak. She placed an old red cloth-bound notebook on his lap.

“Your uncle once went there too. Never returned. A day later, the shadow called his name. I never answered.”

Onik opened the book. The drawings inside were disturbing—faceless figures, upside-down reflections in mirrors, shadows hanging from trees.

His grandmother said,

“Years ago, villagers killed a girl in that grove. They thought she was mad—said she could see shadows. Before dying, she swore, ‘I will return, and those whose names I know... none will escape.’”

Onik asked, “Did I say her name?”

She turned her face away.

“You muttered it in your sleep. I heard it.”

The room grew colder.

“Am I doomed then?” he whispered.

“You haven’t called her again. She can’t fully enter you yet. But you must follow the rules—never be alone at night, avoid mirrors in the dark, and no matter how familiar the voice sounds, do not answer if someone calls your name.”

---

Three Nights Later

Everyone was asleep. Onik lay awake, staring at cracks in the wall, where shadows seemed to move. Then came a knock. And a voice—his mother’s.

“Onik, open the door, son…”

He stood up, walked to the door, ear pressed against it.

“You know who I am…”

“I know you’re not my mom!” he shouted.

Thick black liquid began seeping under the door, spreading like a cold mist.

He turned toward the mirror—and saw not himself, but a face. Pale, hollow-eyed, smiling with dead lips.

“Onik…” the reflection whispered, “You called me… Now open the door.”

The light went out.

---

At Dawn

His grandmother opened the door to find the room empty. No Onik. Just a phone placed on the chair in front of the mirror.

On the screen:

"I knew he’d call me eventually."

---

The End