Tenebra

“Do you think God hears our voices all the time? Or does he only listen when he wants?” Jamie asked her mother on the way home from school. They were driving on their typical route through a suburban neighborhood with moderately sized, brick homes and grass that was sometimes a little too long. During the afternoons, it was typically very lively in the blocks by the school, but Jamie’s mother, Joann, had to work late so the space between the car window and the outside world felt all the more separate.

“Well, if by voices you mean the prayers of his followers, then yes. I think he hears them, and he listens all the time because he wants to. He’s all knowing and loving after all,” Joann replied.

“I hear them too. Does that mean I’m like God?” Jamie followed up.

“I don’t think it means you’re like God, you just have an active imagination,” Her mother replied.

“What about what I see when my eyes are closed? Is that just my imagination?” Jamie asked again.

“Yes, dear. It’s the beauty of being a child,” Her mother finished.

After Joann finished, Jamie continued to look out the car window at the passing houses. Joann’s phone was sitting on the center console of the car, with infrequent texts coming through and lighting up the phone screen – and therefore shining light in the otherwise darkened car.

Each time the light flashed, Jamie saw her face reflecting in the mirror. Her fair skin stood out every time the light flashed, but her eyes blended in with the darkness outside. Jamie was no more afraid of her reflection than anyone else, but sometimes she would catch her mom glancing back at her.

“Mom, why do you keep looking back here?” Jamie asked her mother.

“Just checking on you, I feel awful for picking you up so late. I’m just glad your teacher stuck around and kept you company,” Her mom replied. Her reply, while logical in nature, filled the car with tension. There was clearly something else on her mind, but she didn’t think her young daughter would pick up on it.

A flash of light from her phone went off again, and this time there was something in Jamie’s eyes. A look of disdain, and an unamused frown sculpted the rest of her face. Childlike features and pigtails aside, there was no mistaking that she was upset.

The phone went off again, and Joann felt as if something was growing behind her. A presence pierced her back, with a sensation like spiders crawling down her neck. She shivered for a moment and looked back again.

This time she was met with a glare from her daughter’s eyes. An unmistakable glare, that went straight through her pupils and into her consciousness. A glare that found the depths of her mind and shook her to her core. No words were exchanged, but she got the message. No more late-night pick-ups – no matter what emergencies flare up at work.

Despite being a 10-minute drive from the school back to their home, Joann felt a wave of relief wash over her as the front tires hit the bump of the driveway and she put the car in park. Jamie, while still unamused, seemed back to her normal self.

As they unloaded the car and walked inside, the clock on the stove read 7: 43pm.

“Jamie, honey, do you want some dinner, or did you already have some snacks with the money I gave you this morning?” Joann asked.

“I’m starving! The cafeteria closed early today, so I haven’t eaten since lunch,” Jamie replied.

After microwaving some canned pasta, Joann watched a strange site unfold. Her daughter started shoving the pasta in her mouth with her bare hands. Only three or four chews took place before each swallow. The sounds of ravenous hunger took over the otherwise quiet home. Each bite left some of the food from Jamie’s mouth flying over the kitchen table. Each chew made Joann flinch, not with disgust but a subtle fear.

What happened at school today? She’s never this hungry. Is this my fault? Joann thought to herself.

“Thanks for putting this together mom. I feel much better. I can hear the voices more clearly now,” Jamie said to her mom as bits of the pasta flew from her mouth onto the table. She took a look at her orange, sauce covered hands and let out a childish giggle before wiping them on her clothes and the tablecloth.

“Jamie! What’d you do that for? Let me get your clothes in the wash right now or they’ll stain,” Joann said in response to her daughter’s strange behavior.

“What for?” Jamie replied, her eyes with a dead look and black as night. “They’re just going to get dirty again. At least this way, the stains of the future will blend in.”

The stains of the future? Joann thought.

“Sorry honey, but we’ll just have to wash it again if the stains come back,” Joann replied, beginning to get tired.

“Tenebra says the stains will definitely come back,” Jamie replied, a half-baked grin on her face.

“Who’s that? A friend from school?” Her mother replied, a little worried.

“No, it’s one of the voices. She visits me in my dreams sometimes and tells me stories of the past,” Jamie replied with a still voice. A voice that blended in with the stillness of the house.

“You really have quite the imagination, carrying into your dreams,” Joann replied.

“Well, if I’m being honest, it’s not just in my dreams. She watches me from the dark corner of the room, and when I sleep, she watches over me from all around. She told me that she’s always with me, and that others can see her in my eyes when I express emotions,” Jamie replied.

“Is she here with us right now?” Joann asked, her voice shaking and her hands trembling. She felt that she was a strong woman, but her husband always calmed her down when she was anxious or scared. Tonight, he was away on business, and she felt especially alone.

The feelings from the car creeped back onto her. Starting with her neck, and tickling down her spine, she shivered.

Behind Jamie was a sliding glass door to the backyard, now acting closer to a mirror showing Joann’s reflection and the darkness around her. For a moment, she steadied herself, but then, she saw it. She saw the darkness moving behind her. It was like seeing the textures of a dark wind slowly distort the room.

“What’s the matter, mommy?” Jamie said with a smile. Her eyes looking dull again. “I thought it was just my active imagination, but I think you can see her now too. Isn’t she beautiful? Flowing around the room, watching us, keeping us company in this quiet house.”

“Why are you speaking like that? Usually, your words are so sweet and simple. Who taught you this?” Joann replied.

Jamie’s voice became extremely high pitched, piercing Joann’s ears, “No one taught me to speak like this, I have always been this way. Do you want to become this way? Just let her in. Let me in and I will transform you. You will become part of the dark.”

What do I do? I’m alone without him, and I can’t leave my daughter alone. What do I do?

In a flash, Joann grabbed Jamie by the hand and the two of them ran out the front door into the street.

“It doesn’t stop in the house, mommy,” Jamie said with a smile. “She follows us in the darkness between the lampposts. She stares at us between the trees in the woods, looks at us from the sky, and follows us behind every closed door.”

Joann, nerves calmer in the middle of the street, replied, “Stop this Jamie, I don’t believe you and this isn’t funny. Whatever you are pretending to be, this isn’t funny.”

“Pretending? Pretend doesn’t exist for me anymore. I see both the darkness and the light. She has shown me the way. I have accepted her as a piece of me, and she has taught me all she knows. Will you accept her? Please, mommy? Accept her so we can see it all, together. It won’t be scary for you anymore, it’ll be fun!” Jamie said with an evil grin, her eyes and face blackened by the night sky, with only the overhead lighting illuminating her eyebrows and the corners of her smile.