What We Think We Want

When I was a kid I was really into mythology and the supernatural. You could always find me with my head stuck in a book ranging anywhere from the Greek gods to some type of hippie cult. And after years upon years of filling my head with that crap I became tired of the normal life I seemed to lead. The key word here though is seemed. So when things started to get... strange, I was kinda happy. The first time I experienced something paranormal was when my grandmother got me a painting from a yard sale. It was of a beautiful fairy who sat in the grass looking at the flowers that surrounded her. At this point in time I didn't have any friends due to the fact that I was into some pretty weird shit, and I couldn't blame them. So I started talking to myself and it later became habitual. So when I heard the painting talking to me I chalked it down to my subconscious or something scientific just to ease my mind. Though something at the back of my mind told me otherwise so I just went along with it. I was still just a kid so my parents assumed that I just had a imaginary friend. We talked regularly and I had the painting for quite a while before things went downhill. It promised me salvation from my hell of a life in return for spilling my blood on the painting. Though the offer was tempting I had to pass. After all I couldn't ignore the golden rule: be careful what you ask for because it always comes at a price. So I ended up burning the painting in my yard and I was rid of the problem. The second time was when I got out of a bad situation and moved into a new house. I was still just a kid at the time so I lived with my mom and my stepdad. They kept complaining that shit went missing but I honestly think that it was just a coincidence. But the tall looming figure that watched me sleep every night was a grim reminder that maybe it wasn't just a coincidence. Imagine an eight foot tall shadow with no face just standing in the corner of your room at 3am. That was what I had to deal with when I turned off the lights. Soon I started to develop depression with some very unhealthy coping mechanisms that made my life hell. After some discussion with some friends from school we concluded that it was the shadows fualt. After performing a ritual to banish it me and my friends were called down for supper to my mom's famous baked pasta. I tasted victory twice that night. I never saw the shadow again. The third time I will never forget. I always took pride in knowing exactly what to do in these kinds of situations. But third time's the charm I guess. Summer was coming to a close and my cousin wanted to go ghost hunting as the grand finale. She was into horror movies and scary stories so I was her go to for anything spooky. I thought this was a good idea so I brought up a old cemetery about an hour away from my house. She then asked me if her boyfriend could come, I said sure. The more the merrier I guess. So after making plans we decided that her boyfriend would pick us up and we would pass the long drive with some good tunes and some fast food. Before I knew it I was getting ready for some good ol' trespassing. We parked a little ways off and decided to walk there. My cousin thought it would be a good idea to hop the fence so we wouldn't get caught. The only problem was that I was 4'10, so I had to have help over the fence. Once we got in we realized it was smaller than it looked so that was a bit disappointing. But on the plus side no one seemed to be guarding the premises. So we proceeded to dick around for a few hours. Though overall we found nothing, the night was a bust. Me and my cousin wanted to stay a little bit longer but then decided against it, it would be morning soon. Her boyfriend went ahead to get the car which left me and my cousin to some juicy gossip. She went over the fence first and I was left to scale it myself, which was fine I didn't need help up the fence. When I got to the top I went to push myself over but my hoodie pocket got caught on the top of the fence. The only thing I was greeted with was the cold hard earth as I fell over the fence. Wait that's not right I was still in the cemetery. Laughing it off I started to scale the fence again. Must have hit my head a bit to hard, there was no way I could still be in that cemetery. This time I was extremely careful climbing over the fence and i puffed out my chest proudly as I made it over without further injuring myself. So when I looked around my blood ran cold. I was still in the cemetery. But that was impossible the cemetery wasn't this big. I checked my five senses to make sure I wasn't dreaming, and I wasn't. I looked around me and saw no one there, not a single soul in sight. It was as if the fence now seemed to loom taller above me and the untamed grass seemed to grasp at my feet. At that moment I took off further into the cemetery. This was something completely out of my playing feild and worst of all, I was in it's domain. It started softly at first, the whispering, but then it grew into a deafening roar. I covered my ears, shut my eyes, and dropped to my knees. The voices didn't quit, but only got louder as I curled into a ball. Then nothing. The voices stopped. I felt the presence before I saw it. Opening my eyes I decided to face what was before me without surrendering. Words will forever fail to describe just how afraid I was at that moment. For once in my life I was actually afraid and I instantly regretted ever coming here. The thing that stood above me looked just like me only it was twisted and sick. My eyes were bloodshot, my short hair was matted, clothes torn and dirty, and I wasn't wearing any shoes. It had sores and scabs all over it's skin and I assumed it was from the thing picking at it's flesh, because that was what it was currently doing. After the long staring contest it smiled cruelly. When it spoke it's voice sounded exactly like mine but raspy and slightly deeper. "Ask me a question, to which you shall receive an honest answer". Before I could even process what was going on I asked it a question. "Why am I here"? The thing only chuckled and started to circle me. "That's a funny question for someone who was not meant to be". Before I could say anything it grasped me by the shoulders and leaned in so close I could feel it's breath on my face. "I like you Victoria so I'll let you in on a little secret, your just like one of us, and would you like to know why?" At this point I was curious and I thought the odds would be in my favor if I played along. So I did. I nodded very slowly not dareing to breath. "A child who rises from the ash must return to the ash, a child born of a deal must return to the dealer," it exclaimed as it took in a deep breath "you think you are better than us because you don't submit to our ways, but you don't have to, because you were doomed from the start." Then in a flash it slammed something hard over my head and everything went black. My cousin told me I fell from the fence and was knocked unconscious but I know that wasn't true. Because every time I look in the mirror. Those bloodshot eyes stare right back.