SHADOW

There was once a small town called Satyr, which included low class, middle class and high class people who all had one thing in common, the fear of death. You must agree with me that no matter how scary it may feel or sound, we are all going to die someday and it’s something we have to think about and accept as it is unavoidable. Just like many of us, people of Satyr town were so afraid of death that they were willing to do anything to avoid it including what deemed to be impossible and unachievable. Meanwhile, tales of a place were told that whosoever washed their face in its waters were to have eternal life but no one has lived long enough to tell the truth about what they called “The Secret Place.” Hence, almost everyone believed it was a myth and also that only a few selected, blessed and wealthy individuals have actually reached the place. As curious as a being as I were, eager enough to know the truth behind it all with my effort driven desires, a voyage of discovery began and it was something I wanted to add to my collection of discoveries by further releasing the known and unknown ugly and beautiful truth about “The Secret Place.”  After weeks and weeks of gathering data and coordinates of the place, I managed to find someone who claimed to have visited it and washed their face in its waters 5 years ago but wanted a fortune to be given in exchange for the location. We talked and agreed on a price and the type of information to be given, it was late on that day and banks were closed so making a lump sum of the amount asked wasn’t possible hence we pushed sealing the deal to the following morning. Morning came, the person never showed up at the meeting place but lucky enough I had gotten their address too so I left for the address only to reach there and find the police and a medical personnel taking a corpse of man to the ambulance. I managed to get close and had a glimpse only to see it was the person I was supposed to meet, I showed my id to the medical people and they shared a little information further saying that the person died in their sleep. Puzzled as I seemed, this information left me with questions of whether the person really visited the place, whether the place really existed, thinking further whether the place really gave eternal life if visited or it actually didn’t.  Thereafter, I felt powerless but looking at my job description, legacy and how my reputation precedes me, I couldn’t give up so easily because I knew if I made this discovery pull through, it would be one of the greatest discoveries I ever made hence that kept me going. After further studies for half a year, I discovered it was something to do with the Satyr River and its source was what was referred to as “The Secret Place.” So I began my journey for the Satyr Rivers’ source as my destination which was about 500km from where I was and it was deep past the excessive terrene, the thick frost and eventually the thick forests. In the seventh month of my voyage, I managed to reach my destination where I met a certain woman the moment I reached the source of Satyr River. She said to me “I was here 2 years ago and didn’t believe the whole thing even though I washed my face in the source’s water only to die a week ago and am alive now.” I looked at her in anguish and total shock, she looked so real and normal with no sign of mental illness or physical stress or physical injury. It was hard to believe what she said because it was a whole new theory of dying then rising afterwards contradicting the eternal life theory. It then paused a question of whether the eternal life comes after one has died and risen or it means someone becomes immortal so they can live a thousand years and spread the gospel or torment.  The woman further said she had turned into an owl and thought was invisible to everyone until she reached the source, saying she is so certain about that because no one could see her before me. I asked myself whether she is just a psychopathy trying to scare the s**t out of me or maybe my anxiety and determination has led me to start seeing ghosts. She sounded so damn convincing and said that if I doubt her I should probably search for a woman who died in a car blast on July 13th and compare her to herself. I did that only to find her matching the woman who died on a 100% basis but who knows? It could be her identical twin sister so I told her to stop playing with me and get straight up. I made a step further, washed my face at the source and after that I left with the same woman as I told her to take me to her place and thereafter, probably take me where she was buried for me to believe that she was actually dead and now alive. We set off for her place, and the moment we reached everyone trembled with fear after seeing her and asked how it was possible that she came back after they buried her a week ago. She then narrated everything to them though it was still hard to believe the supernatural power of the source, but they had no other hypothesis or theory to follow so they settled for that one. Among the family members was a family friend who also claimed to have gone through the same but with him he died on his way back from work as he was working in another town and was attacked on his way back and killed but told no one about it. He further mentioned that with him, he didn’t turn into an owl but a dog and sometimes people would see his dog form before reaching the source only to turn into human again and be completely visible to everyone again after reaching the source.  The family to the woman still couldn’t believe and so they all agreed to go with the woman to dig up her burial place in the grave yard, where we all reached and started digging after getting a warrant to do so. After further digging and reaching the coffin, the woman’s corpse was seen in the coffin where immediately the coffin was opened, the woman we were with screamed and disappeared. The corpse became so fresh as if it was when someone has died with rigor mortis not having had taken place yet. We were all struck with fear and uneasiness so we reburied her and left but that told me something; the woman’s second death was as a result of exposing her previous burial position and corpse to her resurrected self. Six (6) days later, the man who claimed to have washed his face in the source’s water died and that marked 11 days from the day he was attacked and killed. That got me puzzled, maybe the source’s eternal life isn’t really eternal and not only that but it also has flaws and consequences that come with its resurrection and probably only an 11-day extra lifespan. Remember, the first death recorded was of the person who was supposed to give me information in the morning but he died in his sleep before we could meet and seal the deal, I dag through these peoples’ information and it occurred to me that they all died in their sleep on the 11th day except for the woman who saw her on corpse. I know what you are thinking but these aren’t facts, chill and understand the drill for you will know everything after the grill.  At this point I knew there was only one way to find out the actual truth, I had to die too but I would have to use the time before I die to write down everything I know about the place and if I resurrect, I will use that time to continue writing my experience and the real facts about “The Secret Place,” including whether the source is able to give life after death only for someone to die again. So I went to a pharmacy nearby and told the pharmacists I needed something really strong that can kill my bull dog in a minute but peacefully and what dosage is needed to leave no room for error. I further explained how my dog had troubled while stating why I really want it dead, surprisingly, it was so convincing and he gave me the medication to inject with only 10ml of it but I bought 100ml of the bottle and gave him £200 but told him to keep the change because I knew I was the bull-dog in metaphoric terms. I injected myself the very night of that day and a few minutes later I woke up only to see my corpse laying on the bed, I could literally see myself and it was as though I was a ghost though I don’t believe in ghosts. I walked outside and it was as if people ignored me only to find out they just couldn’t see me. It then occurred to my mind that maybe for them to be able to see me, I have to leave for the source and wash my face again in its waters so I began my journey. On my way I passed through a nearby church as a short cut only to notice a cat salivating over me and chased me, it seemed so big and it was then that I realized I wasn’t in human form but a rat, one of the creatures I hated most and am most scared of. So it seems once someone dies, the source turns you into your worst animal phobias such as a dog or an owl like those characters before.    It was like I was dead but transformed into a rat, invisible but visible so I ran for my life from the cat that was chasing me. I ran and ran at a speed like never before with my heart beating at a pulse of 172pulses/min only to see myself becoming invisible from the cat again after covering a certain distance. I noticed I was at least a 100m away from the church but didn’t understand anything though. There was morning and I was near another church only for a kid to almost hit me with a stone for it was like he could see me and many others too so I ran again only to become invisible again after some distance, so I concluded that the church made me vulnerable and visible to anything alive and living, unless I am more than 100m away from it. This explained why the woman who turned into an owl was visible and invisible before she reached the source. On the third day, I managed to reach “The Secret Place” and placed my mouth and whiskers into the water of the source where I became human again and felt so full of life. I went back to my place of settlement only to find it closed and secured as it was a crime scene as I heard people saying “he killed himself,” in low key voices so I hid myself in fear of being seen but managed to retrieve my notebook from my apartment. I then concluded something “The Secret Place” exists and is so real but has consequences as all the people who resurrected after visiting the source died in their sleep on the 11th day from their original dying day except the woman who saw her own old corpse, and everyone who washes their face there before their death has to go back there after dying to wash their face again in order to be human again. The question still remains whether someone who doesn’t go there to wash their face for the second time after dying would still die on the 11th day or would they remain the creature they are transformed into? And why does the church make the transformed being vulnerable and visible? A few days went by, and tomorrow is the 11th day so I was yet to prove the 11th day theory, was it worth it I asked myself?