Mia sat at her desk, the classroom buzzing around her, but the sounds felt distant, as though filtered through a fog. Her pen hovered above her notebook, but the words wouldn't come. Instead, her thoughts kept drifting back to last night the mansion, the shadows, the impossibly tall figure who had let her go.
She shook her head slightly, trying to refocus. The teacher's voice droned on, but her mind wasn't there. She glanced toward the window, and for a fleeting second, her heart skipped. A shadowy figure at the edge of the playground, tall, perfectly still, his presence unsettlingly familiar.
Her breath caught, pulse quickening. For a moment, she was sure she had seen him the man from last night. But when she blinked, the figure was gone, replaced by the ordinary movement of students and teachers outside.
She shook her head again, pressing her palms to her face. I'm hallucinating. It has to be.
Emma, sitting beside her, nudged her shoulder. "Mia… where were you really yesterday? After school, I mean. You disappeared, and we were worried sick."
Mia blinked, caught off guard. Her friends had no idea. No one could know. "I… I don't know," she said, forcing a small, uncertain smile. "I just… wandered. Got lost, I guess."
Liam frowned. "Lost? You vanished for hours. Emma and I went around calling for you. Nobody knew where you were."
"I said I was lost," Mia repeated quietly. Her voice carried more conviction than she felt. She didn't dare mention the mansion, the car, the shadows, or the man whose presence had invaded her thoughts in every quiet moment since.
Emma and Liam exchanged glances but didn't press further. Mia's gaze drifted again to the window, scanning the playground subconsciously. Every movement felt like a shadow, every still figure a possibility.
The bell rang, signaling the next period, and Mia collected her things slowly, deliberately. The normalcy of school life felt alien, almost intrusive. She wanted the safety and the danger of last night back the strange thrill of being watched, protected, and tested all at once.
Even as classes continued, her attention wandered. Every noise, every shadow, made her pulse quicken. She felt alive in a way she hadn't before a mix of fear, curiosity, and fascination she couldn't name.
By the time the final bell rang, Mia had half-forgotten to listen to the lessons, lost entirely in her thoughts. Emma and Liam caught up with her outside the classroom.
"So… what are you going to do today?" Emma asked, frowning. "Are you going to explain more about yesterday?"
Mia shook her head, smiling faintly. "Not really. Let's just… forget about it. I'll be fine."
The friends walked off together, leaving Mia alone for a few steps. She slowed, glancing back at the school windows, half-expecting, half-hoping to see that shadow again. But the playground was empty now, ordinary and mundane.
It was just my imagination, she told herself. And yet… the memory of him lingered, sharper than any hallucination should.
Meanwhile, miles away, the man stood in the shadows of his own mansion, his dark eyes fixed on nothing in particular.
A figure stepped beside him, familiar, calm, but with a trace of curiosity. R"Why couldn't you just ignore her?" the friend asked.
He didn't answer immediately, his gaze distant. The corners of his lips tilted slightly, a shadow of a smirk. "I could have," he murmured softly, "but I didn't want to."
The friend raised an eyebrow. "That simple, huh? Just… couldn't let her go?"
He remained silent, letting the tension hang, the night and its secrets thick around him.