Scratches

The sun was creeping through the blinds, lingering on her coffee mug, as she was adding her usual half a teaspoon of sugar to her coffee. Her hands were still shaking, so half of it got drizzled on the table. She decided to leave it. No one ever came to her apartment anyways, so the mess won't bother anyone, she thought.

 She put on jeans and a loose black t-shirt, no bra, not that it was needed anyways, and her favorite brown sneakers. "You're shaped like a twig", her mother always used to say. And she wasn't wrong. Her body was almost anorexic, even though she ate well. Well.. on most days, at least. She put her hair in a ponytail and left the apartment without checking the mirror.

 Her therapist, Mrs Adams, worked in a skyscraper with 17 floors. She was on the 8th floor. Her office was small and not very well lit. It was very depressing. "How ironic" she thought when she first went there.

 As soon as she entered it, Mrs Adams greeted her with her usual polite smile and her "Good morning, Nora". Her smile disappeared quickly, though, when she saw how pale and shaky Nora actually was. But, she managed to keep her professional expressionless face on.

 For the first few minutes of the session, they made small talk about how shitty the weather had been lately and how Mrs Adams had to postpone her spring cleaning this year. Nora never understood the concept of spring cleaning. She thought, if you keep the place clean enough throughout the year, you wouldn't need to do all that when spring arrives. But, she didn't say anything about it to Mrs Adams. In fact, she was too overwhelmed with thoughts to even grasp half of what Mrs Adams was saying.

 And she must've noticed that too, because she immediately asked Nora how her sleep had been that week. Mrs Adams knew by then that the only thing that can make Nora this shaky and upset was her reoccurring nightmare. She listened carefully as Nora was recalling it.

 "It was probably around 1:30, Mrs Adams, since i went to bed around 1 and it didn't feel like i slept for long. It came through the window this time. I saw it's bloody red eyes staring at me as it was slowly creeping up to my bed. It seemed even bigger this time. It's hairy black legs looked a lot longer. I buried my face in my pillow and closed my eyes, trying to stay as calm as possible, like you told me to. "

 Mrs Adams slightly nodded and kept listening without interrupting.

 " Then i felt it's legs crawling up my shirt and it started scratching me like the last time. I felt like it wanted to rip me apart." Nora explained with a shaky voice. " I don't remember anything after that, but this morning when i looked in the mirror, there were scratches all over my back and.. " she started sobbing.

 " It's okay, Nora. It's okay. Look at me" Mrs Adams attempted to calm her down. "Deep breaths. In... and out" she said as she was gesturing with her hands. Nora followed the instructions and after a few breaths, she felt slightly calmer. Her whole body was still trembling, but at least she wasn't sobbing anymore. When she got calm enough, Mrs Adams continued talking.

 "Do you want to take another look at those scratches with me?" Nora nodded fast three times, as her breath still trembled.

 "Okay. Let's go to the mirror." They both walked to the big wall mirror in the corner of Mrs Adams office. Nora lifted her shirt and stared at her reflection.

 "Can you tell me what you see, Nora?"

 "Two big scratches along my spine and three little ones next to them on each side. They've mostly healed since this morning, but i can still see the traces." she explained as she started sobbing again.

 "Okay... look at me Nora. Breathe. There is nothing on your back" Mrs Adams said slowly pronouncing every word to make sure it gets to her. "There are no scratches and that thing is not real. Your mind is playing tricks on you again. It's normal, after what you've been through." she continued with a soft voice "It was just a nightmare and it's just hallucinations. It's over now, you're safe. It can't hurt you..."

 After Nora calmed down, they changed the subject and talked about other things for the rest of the session. By the time it was over, Nora was noticeably calmer and her face was flattered with a little bit of color. She wasn't afraid anymore.

 When she headed out of the building, she decided to take the longer way home, so she could catch some sunlight. Being in the sun always managed to calm her anxiety.

 As she was walking past the park, she noticed a familiar face sitting on one of the benches. It took her brain a while to recognize it, since she didn't see many familiar faces lately, and she hadn't seen this one in at least 10 years.

 It was her high-school best friend, Cindy. She had gained a little weight and it suited her well, since back in high-school she used to be "shaped like a twig" as well. She looked like she was working out and eating well. She looked healthy. Nora wondered what she was doing here. The last time she saw her was when Cindy told her she and her family are leaving the country the next day, because her grandma got sick and they had to stay with her. They had lost touch ever since.

 She decided to approach her and saw her face expressions change from confusion, to recognition, to just plain worry. Did Nora look that bad?

 They talked for a few minutes and decided to go to Nora's place to catch up. Apparently, Cindy came back with her dad to sell their house, because they decided they weren't coming back.

 As Nora was unlocking her front door, she warned Cindy that her apartment was a total mess and regretted not tidying up earlier. They went inside and as Nora was hanging their coats, she heard Cindy ask if she's okay with a worried voice. When she turned around, she saw her staring at a shirt she left hanging on her chair. The same shirt she wore to bed last night.

 "Yeah, why?" asked Nora.

 "Your shirt is covered with blood..."

 ... Right after Nora had left the office, Mrs Adams picked up the phone and made a phone call urgently.

 "Hello?.. It came back for her again... The scratches were already fading when she came, but she saw them in the mirror this morning. I don't know how much longer I can keep telling her she's hallucinating... What if she decides to tell someone?"

 She heard a long sigh on the other side of the phone followed by a few seconds of silence. Then a deep raspy voice spoke...

 "Prepare the altar... We're sacrificing tonight..."