I got distracted _x)
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Three girls huddled close, clutching pillows fearfully, their apprehensive faces dimly lit by the light of a single candle. The host of the sleepover, Carly, was telling a spooky story in hushed whispers. "They say tonight is the night that the ghost world and the mortal world are closest." She murmured, her hushed voice sending shivers down the spines of Jay and Leah. "Legend says, at midnight, ghosts can cross the boundary between the spirit and human realms. There might even be a ghost in this very room..." The brunette's voice quieted and Leag and Jay found themselves leaning closer, their breath caught in their throats. Then... "BOO!" Leah screamed and clutched Jay in fear, while Carly laughed with her brother Devon, who had just burst out of the closet. "You guys! That wasn't funny." Leah huffed once she realized what had happened, crossing her arms angrily. Jay hadn't moved or blinked since Dev shouted. Carly poked her tentatively. "Jay? You okay? We didn't scare you too bad, did we?" Jay shook her head, meeting Carly's eyes. "Nope. I just might need a change of pants." The room dissolved into laughter, and the scare was quickly forgotten.
Later that night, while everyone else was fast asleep, Jay woke up very suddenly. She was confused for a few moments, for there was nothing visible or audible that should have disturbed her slumber. The wind was gusting outside, quite hard from the way the shadows of the trees swayed, but the sound didn't penetrate the walls of the quiet house. The candle was still flickering dimly in the center of the room, and with nothing else grabbing her attention, Jay found her tired brain mesmerized by the tiny, almost fragile flame. An invisible wind caused the tiny light to shiver, throwing shadow and light in haphazard patterns against the wall. Jay sat up, crossed her legs, and settled her chin in her hands, gazing dreamily at the flame while a part of her still wondered why she'd woken up in the first place. Suddenly, the candle flame disappeared, as if sharply blown out by some puff of air. Jay furrowed her eyebrows curiously, now wondering sleepily why the candle had gone out. She stared at the place where the flame used to be while her eyes adjusted to the new darkness, and a flicker of movement caught her eye. A small, dark tail slithered across the floor, disappearing underneath the closet door. Jay, her common sense muddled with curiosity and sleepiness, crawled over and settled in front of the closed door. "Hi. Are you from the spirit world?" She whispered sleepily, half-convinced that she was asleep and dreaming. Nothing happened for a moment, then the door creaked open slowly and a small, dark head peeked out shyly, eerie blue eyes wide with what looked like fear. Now certain that she was dreaming, Jay smiled confidently and waved. "Hi there. I'm Jay. Are you lost?" The little figure nodded, its eyes trained on Jay warily. Jay yawned and stretched tiredly. "How'd you get here then? Where'd you come from?" The little figure pointed towards the corner of the room with the blown-out candle, and in the absence of light, Jay could see something strange. There was a small hole, with a strange feeling coming from it. Jay turned back to the little figure, who flinched at the sudden movement. "Do you want to go back there?" She asked, and it nodded furiously. Jay scooted backward and grabbed her blanket, stifling another yawn. "Well, don't let me stop you. Go on." The figure scuttled speedily towards the corner, but before it disappeared, it turned and opened a mouth, small and sharp white teeth showing as it spoke. "ThAnKeN yOo." It said, and Jay waved her hand lazily, her eyelids drooping. "You're welcome. Good night." As she fell asleep, the last thing she consciously saw was a tail slipping into the strange-feeling hole, and the hole closing up behind it.
In the morning, when everyone was awake, everything was back to normal. There was nothing that even hinted at anything out of the ordinary occurring. Carly, Leah, and Dev were relieved, if not a little disappointed. Jay was certain that she had imagined it all, and went about her day as normal. But the following year when the portal opened again, a little slip of paper drawn with a smiley face and a small flower appeared. The spirit was thankful.
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-Vee
Word Count: 758 words
YOU ARE READING
Flumptober 2023
FanfictionJust like last year, we're doing @LuckyBugBooks Halloween story prompts, one for every day in October! (More or less, might skip a few, we'll have to see).
