When the Shadows Call My Name

The night was darker than usual, the kind of darkness that made it hard to breathe, let alone sleep. Sasha lay wide-eyed under her blanket, heart racing as she listened to the strange whispers crawling out from the corner of her room. The sounds had started weeks ago, soft at first, just gentle murmurs in the dead of night. She’d brushed it off as her imagination—a trick of her mind in the eerie silence. But tonight, they were louder, unmistakable. They called her name.

“...Sasha… come closer…”

She pulled her blanket up to her chin, tightening her hold on her stuffed rabbit, Milo. She wanted to call for her mother but knew it wouldn’t help. Every time she’d tried before, her mom had shrugged it off. “It’s just the wind,” she would say, ruffling Sasha’s hair. “Nothing to worry about.”

But Sasha knew the difference between the wind and this. This voice wasn’t just sound; it felt alive, a presence lurking in the shadowy corners of her room. She could feel it watching her.

“...Sasha... come see…”

Unable to resist the pull of curiosity mingled with fear, Sasha finally swung her legs over the bed. Her feet touched the cold wooden floor as she tiptoed across the room, clutching Milo to her chest. The corner was darker than the rest of the room, like it swallowed light.

Sasha whispered, “Who’s there?”

The whisper came again, closer this time. “Come play with me…”

Sasha froze, eyes wide. The shadows seemed to stretch and twist, forming what looked like a small, frail hand reaching toward her. She stumbled back, her breath quickening as she watched the hand emerge, translucent and shivering like mist. It belonged to a girl, no older than Sasha, with pale skin and hollow, tired eyes.

“What… who are you?” Sasha stammered, unable to look away.

The girl tilted her head, a sad smile touching her lips. “I’m lost. I need someone to help me find my way. Will you come with me, Sasha?”

Sasha took a step back, fear gripping her chest. Her mother had always warned her about talking to strangers, and this was a stranger of the strangest kind. But something about the girl’s face, the loneliness in her voice, tugged at her heart.

“Where… where are you from?” Sasha asked.

The girl looked down, her expression darkening. “From here,” she whispered, pointing to the floor.

Sasha glanced down, noticing for the first time a faint outline in the wood, as if something had once been carved there and sanded away. Curiosity bubbled up, and without thinking, Sasha reached down, tracing the outline with her fingers. The girl’s face brightened as Sasha’s fingers met the floor.

“Yes, Sasha,” the girl whispered, her voice echoing around the room. “That’s where I am.”

The room chilled, a biting cold that made Sasha shiver. She looked back up, but the girl was gone. Instead, the shadows on the wall seemed to pulse, almost like they were breathing, and her room became filled with a thick, suffocating silence.

Then, she heard the girl’s voice again, though this time it sounded more like a thought in her own head.

“They put me here a long time ago… They said no one would remember…”

Sasha’s eyes darted around the room, searching for the girl, but she saw only shadows and the faint outline in the floor.

“Who put you here?” Sasha whispered, feeling a surge of fear mixed with a strange need to know.

The voice was softer now, barely audible. “They wanted me to be quiet… forever…”

A creak sounded behind her, and Sasha whirled around. Her mother was standing in the doorway, eyes tired and face pale as she looked at her daughter kneeling by the outline on the floor.

“Sasha, what are you doing?” Her voice was shaky, more scared than Sasha had ever heard her.

“There’s a girl… in the floor… She’s calling my name. She said she’s lost,” Sasha replied, watching her mother’s face turn white. For the first time, her mother’s expression wasn’t one of dismissal—it was pure fear.

Her mother knelt down beside her, putting a firm hand on Sasha’s shoulder. “Sasha, you mustn’t listen to her. She… she belongs to the house.”

“What do you mean?” Sasha asked, her voice trembling.

Her mother hesitated, glancing down at the faint outline on the floor. “Before we lived here, a family… something happened to their little girl, and she was never found. But people said they could still hear her… in the shadows.” Her mother’s voice cracked. “You mustn’t answer her, Sasha. She wants someone to join her.”

A chill ran down Sasha’s spine. The whispers grew louder, insistent, like they were swirling around her, pulling at her, filling her mind.

“...Come with me… we’ll play forever… Sasha…”

Sasha looked up at her mother, fear in her eyes. “But what if she’s alone? What if she just needs a friend?”

Her mother shook her head, tears filling her eyes. “She’s not alone, Sasha. She has the shadows now. That’s where she belongs.”

The whispers faded slowly, reluctantly, as if the girl was letting go, slipping back into the darkness from where she came. The room grew warmer, the shadows still.

Sasha let out a shaky breath, holding her mother’s hand tightly. She glanced back one last time at the faint outline on the floor, feeling a strange mix of sadness and relief. She knew she’d never forget the girl’s voice, the way it had sounded both lonely and dangerous.

Her mother led her back to bed, tucking her in tightly, and kissed her forehead. “Remember, Sasha,” she whispered. “Some shadows are better left alone.”

And that night, as Sasha drifted off to sleep, the shadows remained silent. But she knew, deep down, they were still watching, waiting… and maybe one day, they’d call her name again.