Ghost House in Shadow Village - part 4-Curse of Shadows: When the Last Sign of You Disappears
The Curse of Shadows: When the Last Sign of You Disappears
The rain was falling heavily, but it wasn't as cold as the darkness they'd emerged from. They stood in the middle of the muddy path leading to the village, their breaths ragged, each one examining the ground beneath their feet... no shadow.
"That's not possible..." Karim muttered, raising his hand to the moonlight, but emptiness was the only response. Even their reflection in the muddy pools was pale, featureless, as if their existence was melting away.
Sarah took a step back, whispering, "We don't exist... at least not completely."
Laila, still holding the old notebook, hurriedly opened it, but the pages were no longer blank. This time, they were filled with slowly moving symbols, as if alive, writhing on the paper. Amidst this chaos of shapes, there was a single line in understandable language:
"When you lose your shadow... the shadow begins to live in your place."
They didn't quite understand, but her words were enough to sow silence between them. They began walking toward the village, their feet racing with their hearts. The streets were unusually empty, the houses closed, and the windows darkened, as if the town had suddenly been deserted.
At the first house, Ahmed noticed something moving behind the windowpane, but it wasn't a human. It was a shape identical to himself, standing still, his eyes following his movement. The shape slowly raised its hand, and Ahmed felt a chill that touched his heart.
"We're not alone here..." he said in a low voice, but the others had already noticed. Behind each window, a shadow resembling a human, silently watching.
With each step they took, they began to hear footsteps behind them, perfectly synchronized with their steps. But when they turned around, there was no one there!
They reached the village square, where an old fountain stood in the center. The water inside was still, reflecting their faces... but the reflections didn't echo their movements; instead, they smiled and nodded, as if inviting them to come closer.
"We have to keep going until we get out of the village," Laila said, trying to ignore the reflection staring back at her with completely black eyes.
But suddenly, the moonlight faded, and the place was plunged into suffocating darkness. The feet following them began to move faster, and strange whispers echoed from all directions, words unintelligible except for one clear one:
"The place...is not yours."
The air grew heavier, as if they were walking through thick water, and inhuman breathing sounds grew closer until Sarah felt its chill against her neck. Then, in the midst of this darkness, columns of black smoke appeared, forming in front of them, taking on a human form, but with distorted features.
Each column bore the features of a person, but with a crooked smile and empty eyes.
"These...are our copies," Karim said, his voice trembling.
The entities took a step forward, intertwining with their bodies. Ahmed felt as if his heart was being pulled from his chest, Laila began seeing flashing images of memories that weren't hers, and Sarah felt the ground disappear beneath her feet.
Karim, who had been trying to get away, stumbled and fell. When he tried to get up, he found his hand engulfed in darkness, gradually disappearing down to his wrist.
"We must part ways!" Laila cried, but there was no time to plan.
The next moment, the darkness split in the middle of the square, revealing a vast chasm leading to an endless place. From within, the voice of the same entity emerged, clearer than ever:
"You were shadows from the beginning... and now it's time to return."
They didn't know how or when, but they found themselves standing on the outskirts of the village once again. The place was completely quiet, the sky clear. But this time, there was no sign of the Shadow Village at all... the road behind them stretched into a barren desert.
They looked at each other, and the features were the same... but the eyes? They weren't theirs. To be continued...
