Crouching
Author: Ukari
To say here is far, and to call yonder nearby. Stories on the edge of the every day, strange tales you may or may not be moved by. Strange, curious, fantastic stories told by me, you, him and her. There are many stories but they’re all concluded within a single page, each story around 200 to 1200 characters in length, a short story collection you can easily read. Please enjoy them. Updated every Saturday at 6pm.
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A few days after moving in, I noticed its presence. When night fell it suddenly appeared out of nowhere, crouching on the spot. If you looked towards the corner behind the fridge and the wall, you could see it sitting there silently, hugging its legs.
It was a transparent black colour, like a pale shadow, and thanks to its posture it was difficult to tell just what it looked like. Suddenly it was there, and just as suddenly it was gone. Judging by the size of it, it was probably a full-grown adult.
They sure got me, I thought. Thinking back on it, when they introduced me to this place it was oddly cheap. It had to be one of those places where something bad happened to the last tenants, no doubt about it. But being a poor student who relied on the money his parents sent, it wasn’t like I could just move around all the time. As much as it worried me, I gave up and settled in.
Two weeks passed cohabiting with the shadow. Of course, it never did anything. Just sat there in the corner. Sure, it never harmed me, but just by being there it brought the atmosphere down. It pissed me off, but most of all, it was depressing.
Especially on the days I came home tired, I couldn’t bear its spiteful presence. I treated it very carefully, just in case messing with it caused even more trouble, but one day I couldn’t take it anymore and kicked it. I thought my foot would go straight through, but it was more like kicking a vinyl bag.
After I kicked it, it looked up at me. As usual I couldn’t see its face, but it appeared to be glaring at me. Unable to stomach it, I hesitantly stared back. Then, it sadly lowered its face and disappeared.
After that, I never saw it again.
I have no idea what it was. But either way, thinking back on his halfheartedness just makes me angry again.