The Whispering Shadows

In the small town of Willow Creek, nestled deep within a forgotten forest, there was a house that no one dared approach. Its windows were black, its door slightly ajar, and shadows seemed to stretch from it at odd angles, even in broad daylight.

Mira, new to the town, dismissed the warnings from her neighbors. "It's just a house," she scoffed. One evening, out of curiosity—or perhaps arrogance—she wandered towards the house as twilight thickened into night.

As she approached the front porch, the air turned colder. The breeze that whispered through the trees seemed to say her name. She hesitated, glancing at the street behind her. Empty.

Mira stepped inside.

The door creaked shut on its own, and the house swallowed her in silence. She scanned the room, but what caught her attention was the large mirror in the hallway. Though her reflection looked normal at first, a faint shadow moved behind it—though nothing stood in the room with her.

She laughed nervously, shaking off the unease. But then it happened again. The shadow this time seemed closer, clearer. A silhouette of a figure, tall and thin, began to emerge, its fingers stretched longer than any human’s should be.

Mira backed away from the mirror, heart pounding. Her breath quickened as she felt the presence behind her. Turning swiftly, she saw nothing but the empty hallway. Yet, the reflection… it smiled. Not Mira's face, but the shadow.

The mirror began to fog up from the inside, and in shaky writing, words formed:

YOU CAME TO ME.

Mira stumbled backward, bumping into the wall. A chill ran through her as she realized the shadows had lengthened, stretching toward her feet. She ran for the door, but it wouldn’t budge.

Behind her, the mirror cracked.

The shadow stepped through.......