Gliding
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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I left the classroom after the whole school announcement that it was home time. The sun goes down quickly in winter. I hurried down the already dark hall when I saw somebody at the bottom of the stairs. I froze and averted my eyes.
It was an old lady. She was wearing a neat kimono and sitting seiza-style. Her face looked down, her back almost hunched, so I couldn’t see her face.
Instinctively, I knew she wasn’t human. There was still some distance between us. Pretending like I hadn’t seen or noticed her, I went down the stairs on the opposite side. Slowly I turned around when, still sitting on her knees, she swiftly glided over towards me. It was like she was being smoothly pulled on a thread.
I ran, my legs getting tangled and sending my face smashing into the ground. Yet I could not allow the pain to disorient me. I quickly tried to stand up, but I was frozen. My world turned upside-down, I found myself face-to-face with the old woman’s knees.
Her gaze set my nape on fire. She was no doubt glaring at me. I was so scared that I couldn’t move a muscle. I knew she was looking at me with terrifying eyes without even looking at her.
“It’s not you,” she muttered and then disappeared. I staggered to my feet. The delayed sharp pain told me that she hadn’t been an illusion.