Suddenly

Suddenly, the phone rings. My slumber is interrupted and I hear the torrential rain cascade against the roof as if to destroy the house from the outside. I groggily walk toward the phone and answer: “Hello?” in a somewhat incomprehensible tone. I hear cracking on the other side as if the connection was lost, then laughter, as if omnipresent, the eerie laughter ceases and I hang up. My eyes open wide and sleep is no longer on my mind. I am alone. The laughter of the woman I heard on the phone echoes through my ear drums and I can’t shake it. I return to the bed and wrap myself believing I am safe. The phone rings again. The rain becomes heavier and a flash of lightning puts me on edge. I answer. The laughing begins again, and silence. I hear a low whisper of a child, I concentrate. I turn slowly; I hear my heartbeat infest my ear drums. I look at the girl in front of me, as if five or six, she wears a white dress, red shoes and is devastatingly pale. Her dark hair falls smoothly onto her shoulders and she whispers: “she came for me, she’s coming for you, the lady in black is coming… she is coming” a crack of thunder ends her sentence and she is gone. This time the phone hits the floor before I have time to hang up.  Another boom of the summer storm startles me as I scramble to rebuild the phone. The floor creaks under me as I return to my room. The lamp I turn on floods the room and the light makes me feel warm when I see the message in blood written on my wall. “She is coming”. I turn and run realizing there is nowhere to be safe, my heart rate increases and I swear someone is following me as my footsteps seem to echo. I stop and turn, a silhouetted figure stands at the corner of the room. I panic and run down the hall, I tuck myself into a corner with my head buried in my knees. A few minutes pass before I have the courage to lift my head. I stand and continue to the stairs when a cold wind makes the hair on my neck stand up. The door slams. The lights go out. A chill runs through my spine and she is breathing down my neck. I freeze and turn. A pale woman in a black wedding dress peers into my soul. Her blue eyes that once sparkled, and her wrinkled skin that used to glow makes my heart beat faster and faster. Then she laughs, the same laughter I heard on the phone. Her laughter halts and a girl is standing beside me holding my hand. She wears a white dress and red shoes. Her pale complexion and echoing voice scare me as she says “I told you”. The rain dies as I do.