Halloween Tales

A Spirit In Me

Three days before Valentine's Day, Zara started on a quest for the perfect gift for her boyfriend. The town mall, once familiar, now felt confusing as she wandered through its corridors. She entered a store filled with toys and board games. She had gifted her boyfriend clothes and shoes, but today she sought to surprise him with something he wouldn't expect. The alleys looked familiar and memories of an old flame seeped into her mind—memories of visiting this very store with her ex-boyfriend, their laughter now haunting echoes in her ears.

Pushing the past aside, she ventured to the section housing miniature vintage cars. Her now-boyfriend, Hassan, had an insatiable passion for cars, particularly vintage ones. His dream had always been to own one or, at the very least, drive one. Zara hoped to kindle that dream with a collectable set of vintage cars.

After making her purchase, she retreated home and hid the gift in her closet. The following day, as Zara readied herself for work, she opened her closet to grab a dress. Her eyes were drawn to an unsettling sight. The gift she had hidden so carefully was missing, replaced by a basketball. She frantically searched her room, her anxiety intensifying with each passing moment. Desperation drove her to the living room, where her efforts were in vain. Returning to her closet for one last search, her heart pounded in her chest as she discovered the gift where she left it.

Doubt clouded her thoughts. A haze descended upon her, making her feel disoriented and vulnerable. She collapsed onto her bed, unable to make sense of the eerie events unfolding around her.

In her haste to leave for work, she selected her attire with trembling hands. But when she began looking for the Daniel Wellington watch, which was a gift from Hassan, she couldn't find it where she had left it. She scoured her vanity, her drawers, and her room, but it had disappeared without a trace. In one of those drawers, she found an old coach watch, tarnished and ominous. Time itself seemed to be slipping through her fingers.

During the day, as she attended meetings and tried to focus on her work, she felt a growing sense of dread. The office bathroom, a place of solace, became a chamber of horrors. Alone in a toilet stall, she was subjected to violent pounding on the door. Her voice quivered as she demanded to know who lurked outside, but the relentless pounding continued. With trepidation, she pushed the door open to confront her tormentor, only to find an empty, silent bathroom. However, the message written in blood on the mirror left her shaken to her core: "I'm coming for you, Bitch."

Her screams echoed through the office as she fled the bloodied message. The janitor, her only witness, had seen nothing. The mirrors, once tainted with blood, now reflected a deceptive cleanliness, masking the malevolent presence that lingered.

Her paranoia grew as her day spiralled into chaos. Racing to her car in the dimly lit basement, she felt an unseen presence trailing her every step. Panic surged within her, and the darkness seemed to swallow her whole as she locked herself inside her car. Her pursuer remained invisible, and the sinister whispers of her mind only intensified.

She then received a message on her phone: "See you soon, my honeybee." The trail of sinister emojis, like malevolent tulips, connected her to her deceased ex-boyfriend, James, the only one who had ever called her "honeybee." His death had been shrouded in mystery, and now his ghostly presence loomed over her.

Returning home, the night was a never-ending torment. Sleep eluded her, replaced by relentless thoughts of impending doom. The next morning, a call from Hassan seemed like a lifeline in the darkness.

"Baby, I'm boarding the flight now. I'll see you soon."

Desperation laced her words as she replied, "I can't wait to see you." Her eyes betrayed her fragile facade, but Hassan dismissed her fears as mere stress-induced hallucinations rooted in his unwavering atheism.