The Shadow in the Rear-View Mirror

Ice and fog covered the roads that morning. While her son, Jerry, was busy doodling on the frosted window, Sarah was just focused on getting him to his daycare on time. Luckily, the roads seemed pretty quiet, and she was able to drive for a good five minutes before reaching the first red light.

As she awaited the chance to go, she glanced through the mirror to see her boy making what looked like his attempt at a dinosaur. Strands of his light hair were already moving out of place again, and she sighed, wondering if she should have spent extra time that morning on brushing him. She also noticed that his right sneaker was untied. Sarah opened her mouth to comment on it, before she noticed a blur standing behind her car.

Sarah looked away from Jerry and tilted the mirror to get a better look. It was a figure in what seemed to be long, dark, hooded jacket. She couldn’t catch their face, but she had a bad feeling that the figure was looking at her.

The light turned green, and she drove off, trying to leave the figure behind and forget about it. But when she took a cautious glance back in the mirror, she noticed they were not only still behind her car, but that they had come closer. She could just make out how pale and bony the figure seemed to be, and, if she looked closer, she thought she could see a pair of dark, soulless eyes.

Suddenly, Jerry screamed. Sarah’s heart rate quickened when she heard the panicked cry of her little boy. Had he seen the figure, too?

No. The figure was invisible to him.

The speeding car that had swerved into their lane was not.