shadows

black was her shadow (7)

The hospital was quiet at night. And it was more than the quiet of everyone asleep. It was the quiet of stillness. But even that wasn’t entirely true. At least not outside the room. It was in here that everything was frozen.

The two women inside, one lying in the bed risen just enough and the other sitting in the chair pulled right next to the bed, were staring at the corner across the room, where the night was darkest. One could see what they were looking at. The other believed it’s presence. And the largest of their observation was the dark shadow standing still with endless patience. Waiting for what was inevitable to happen.

The only thing that moved, if it could be called moving, was the clock on the wall showing numbers in bright red. It read 10:35.

Outside, a storm was brewing. Dark clouds blotted out the sky. Winds were picking up speed. Trees were shaking violently. Some even uprooting. The noise was so great, and so sudden, no one but the deepest sleepers remained asleep. Thunder was so powerful, windows rattled. And the first lightning lit up the world like it was the middle of the day, albeit momentarily. And then fell rain. Sounding like gravel falling from the sky. With the howling winds, it sounded like the orchestra of demons.

The violence was enough to knock out the lights. At that very moment, a bolt of lightning thick as building sliced the night. The next moment, the emergency lamps camp on in the hospital.

The two women were glued to the corner. They heard the storm, the racket. Emilia jumped at every rumble. But their eyes wouldn’t leave the corner. Right until that exact moment when the lights went out. As the world flashed outside, the shadow moved up. And when the lights came back on, the shadow was right at the bed. And a scream escaped Emilia’s lips. A scream that would never be separate from the explosion of noise.

The wind had torn a billboard right off of the metal frame. Spinning and throwing the wood like a bullet. The billboard was to right of the hospital, at a height that measured the fifth floor of the hospital. The wind spun it like a top and sent it crashing into the room up on the seventh floor of the hospital, which didn’t even look in the direction of the billboard.

Fanny felt it before she heard the scream. And so, was turning toward her friend already. Her eyes moving along the same trajectory and the same speed as the broken piece of the billboard. She leaped onto the bed and pushed Emilia down, as the large projectile burst through the window, even slicing through the wall, into the room. Flying just over the bodies. Ending its long flight at the other end of the room.

Emilia’s scream. The bursting window. The breaking wall. The crashing piece of billboard. The noises were all one big, indistinguishable explosion.

Emilia fell silent hugging Fanny tight, while her eyes were glued to the shadow floating above the bed, glaring at her through those dark pools.

“Is it over?” Fanny asked, still on her friend.

“No,” Emilia whispered. “It’s right on us. Angry. Hateful. So close.”

The nurses bursting into the room broke the moment. They were horrified by the scene. Broken glass and broken wall everywhere. The piece of billboard lodged into the wall a foot off the floor. The wind and the rain leaping into the room unstopped. The women on the bed, trembling, drenched. The sky rumbled just then, making them jump. Lightning flashed, lighting up the broken room in an eery light.

And then, the nurses got to work. They rushed over. Helped the women to their feet. And out the room.

“What is going on?” One nurse asked.

“It’s like a horror movie,” another answered.

The third said nothing. Her silence strengthening the silence of the women, the patient and her guardian, who had experienced the incident.

Out in the hallway, the lights flickered. What now, they all wondered. They stopped at the nurses’ station. They needed to report and find another room, and gather information. The head nurse was on the phone with the chief, reporting the incident, and had an answer ready.

“Take them up to a suite,” the older nurse said to the nurses. And to the two women, she said, “We regret that you had to experience something like that while you were here. We are giving you a suite, hoping to make up for the inconvenience even if only a little.”

“No problem,” Fanny said. “It wasn’t your fault. Is anyone else hurt? It’s like a storm from a horror movie.”

“No,” the head nurse answered. “There was no other incident.”

“Thank god,” Fanny said, meaning it. “And thank you.”

The other two nurses left to attend to other patients. The quiet nurse showed them to the suite two floors up.

“We’ll take the stairs?” The nurse suggested.

“I think that would be for the best,” Fanny said in agreement. “Seems like our luck is quite shitty today. Hopefully nothing will happen on the way.”

The nurse pushed open the door to the stairs. Her foot was in the air, almost out the doorway.

“What is it?” Fanny asked.

The shadow was leaning onto Emilia. She could feel it, tingling on her back. She looked at the stairs.

“Come back,” she said.

At inhuman speed, the two of them grabbed the nurse and pulled her back, so her foot landed on the right side of the doorway. The pen slipped out of the pocket on her chest, flew out the doorway, and landed on the other side. There was a splash. A spark. And the lights went out.

The lights didn’t come back on. At least not all of them. Only red lamps, connected to a secondary generator turned on. Throwing the hospital into a world of red.

There were screams from all around them. To the three women, all of that was white noise. They were in shock.

“What was that?” The nurse asked.

“I think,” Fanny said, “another close escape.”

Emilia nodded.

The three of them were still fallen on the floor, when other nurses rushed over. The head nurse had answers.

“Are you okay?” The older nurse asked them.

The three nodded. The head nurse was relieved.

“Rain. Loose wires or something in the generator. Something shorted the circuit. There’s water on the stairs. You’re lucky. Would have been quite the shock.”

The three women nodded dumbly. They didn’t need anyone telling them how great a shock it would have been.

“We’ll just take a room on this floor please,” Fanny said. “Don’t mind sharing. Actually, I think we’re better off somewhere in the hallway. As far from the storm as possible.”

The head nurse attempted a smile. Failed. Gave up. Showed them to the nurses’ station. She understood how they must feel. Two incidents in less than an hour. Both of which could have been fatal. Both close escapes. The red light didn’t help. All she could do to calm them, to help, was bring them the baby, who was doing fine. The doctor was bringing over the little guy himself. While they waited, the head nurse took their pulse. Asked if they would like something to calm their nerves. They refused. The baby was all they needed. The nurse understood. And stood with them, waiting.

The doctor arrived ten minutes later. With their baby boy. The doctor and the nurse gave them the baby and gave them space.

Emilia looked into her little boy’s face and felt a burst of warmth from inside her chest. He was finally here. In her arms.

“I made it, little guy,” she whispered to the sleeping baby. “I lived.”

She looked up at the clock on the wall opposite the nurses’ station. 11:58.

“The day’s almost over,” Fanny said, following Emilia’s eyes. “That’s great, isn’t it? It’s over?”

Emilia wanted to say yes. Wanted to nod. Unfortunately, the shadow wasn’t gone. Still hovering. But not as close as before. Still watching. But she could feel a difference.

“What is it?” Fanny asked.

“It’s still here,” Emilia answered.

Fanny stiffened.

“But, something’s different,” Emilia added.

“Different?” Fanny asked.

“Yeah. Different. I don’t know how to explain. It’s not even something I can see. Not really. I just feel it. It’s different.”

The two of them forced their eyes toward the baby in their arms. It was easier cooing over the sleeping guy. He was ugly. And still so cute.

“Imagine how cute he will be when he looks better,” Fanny gushed.

“He’ll be the most handsome boy in all of the world,” Emilia said, as if stating a fact.

And as far as the two mothers were concerned, that was a fact.

“He has to be,” Fanny said. “With two mothers. Such great mothers too.”

“Two mothers?” Emilia teased.

“Of course. You. I. You might have carried him, but the both of us birthed him. Today was the both of us equally. As will be everyday from now onward.”

“Thank you.”

“No need. Let’s not let any guy get between us again. Alright? Can you promise that?”

Emilia nodded.

“Easy for me. This is going to be the only guy in my life. What about you though?”

“I can’t say the same thing with the same conviction. I can’t shake off this feeling that I will be falling in love. But I guarantee this. Whoever the guy, he will accept that he comes second. That I already have a son. And that my son will always be first.”

“The doctor?” Emilia asked.

“What are you talking about?” Fanny cried, blushing. “Shut up.”

“It’s okay. I think the doctor will make a good father. Two mothers. A doctor father. Emil will like that.”

“Emil?”

“Yeah. Isn’t that a great name? It just occurred to me. Emil. From Emilia.”

“What about me?”

“What about you?”

“Where’s my name in his?”

“Can you think of any combination of our two names that would make for a good name?”

Fanny couldn’t. And she wasn’t sure she wanted to. Emil was a nice name.

“Emil it is,” Fanny said.

“Yeah. And, seems like you quite like the idea of the doctor too. From your lack of objection.”

Fanny stood with her mouth hanging open.

Right then, the numbers on the clock changed to 00:00. A new day had dawned.

Emil opened his eyes. Stared into hie mothers’ eyes. And let out a giggle. The lights came back on. Forcing the women’s eyes up. And in that moment, when they looked up and before their eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness, the shadow became visible to both.

Emilia gasped. Fanny gasped. Hearing that, Emilia gasped again. The black shadow was etched into their eyes. And then, it was gone.

“You saw it too?” Emilia asked after a full minute.

“Yeah,” Fanny said.

“And you don’t anymore.”

“No.”

“Good. I don’t either. It’s gone. It’s over.”

“It’s over.”

The two of them looked at each other. Smiled. Saw the tears in both of their eyes. Burst out laughing. And looked down at little Emil who was laughing too.

“It’s over Emil,” they said together.

And they heard the voice in their heads.

“It’s over.”

And they knew, it was Emil.