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The spirit’s body loomed darkly above Delilah’s body. A body wasn’t quite the right description though. It was more like an elongated orb of darkness with no other shape and defining features. The body lacked, well, parts.

“I’ve gotta still be in my bed dreaming. This has gotta be a nightmare.” The top part of the spirit shook, right where a head would have once existed. The movement caused a small stir in the air movement, making the stray papers on the kitchen table move ever so slightly, timing perfectly with the wind rushing through the trees right outside her door.

“Well, stop looming over me like that.”, Delilah exclaimed. The spirit laughed quietly but raucously - the laugh sent a chill down her spine. “I would like to be your friend, but you’re scaring me.” Delilah’s voice was barely audible- not quite a whisper, but still recognizable. The spirit laughed again, this time loud and roaring as a storm-tossed sea. Fear overtook Delilah’s body, and her body collapsed into a heap, her head rolling gently on the floor. The spirit looked on, the darkness spread like a foggy morning’s mist. The longer Delilah remained to lie on the ground, the bigger the spirit grew.

***

Delilah woke up lying in her bed, the red lights still glowing, but her curtains remained open. The memory of what happened was a bit fuzzy. “Wh- what happened?” Delilah got up and walked to her kitchen. As she sat down, her phone rang. Delilah ran back to her room to find it plugged in. The caller ID showed her boss calling her. “Shoot, what time is it?” Delilah slid the bar to answer, and her boss called out.

“Delilah, it is 45 minutes after your shift started. Where the heck are you?” Static cut in and out, making it difficult to hear her boss. “I am so sorry. I must have slept through my alarm. I’ll be there soon.” “You better. It’s crazy busy right now. We need you here.” Delilah nodded and hung up.

“Boss calling?” a voice called from behind her. Startled, Delilah dropped her phone. “Shoot.” Delilah desperately tried to catch her phone, but the spirit got it right in the nick of time. The blackness swarmed around her, almost like she was getting a hug from a 7-foot ice wall. Delilah tried speaking out but was pushed into the blackness instead. Flashes of memories flooded Delilah’s vision. But they weren’t her own.

“What’s going on?”

“You will learn everything. Let us begin.”

The swarming of images stopped and landed on a memory of her own. The vision was tunneled, everything flooded with bright and warm sunshine. Delilah was 5 years old. She laughed and ran around in a stream, but her own body kept projecting a second. It was darker. The sun kept flashing between the sun and a thunderstorm, her laughter between laughter and sobbing.

“Repressed memories can often be changed. Reformed. Especially when you have gone through a traumatic event.” The voice was different than the spirit’s and wasn’t hers. But it felt familiar. The vision in front of her changed and showed herself as if she was watching a movie. A 12-year-old girl flashed before her, half of her face smiling, the other side a tear rolling down her face. The voice previously rang through her mind again. This time a bit more menacing and less gentle. “Re. Re. RE! Repressed…” the voice deepened, causing a new wave of terror to run through her body. “Traumatic event,” Delilah screamed, breaking herself out of the vision, bringing her back to reality. Except she didn’t scream. And she was now at her job, stocking shelves. “What...just happened?”