Quick Tales

Marie sat at her kitchen table, a cup of tea growing cold in front of her as she stared at the envelope in her hands. It was addressed to her in her husband's handwriting, a script that was both familiar and yet felt foreign after so many years apart. She had been widowed for five years now, but seeing his name written in his own hand brought back a flood of memories, both sweet and bitter.

The envelope was postmarked from a small town she'd never heard of, located several states away. She couldn't understand how it ended up in her mailbox, but she knew that handwriting anywhere. With trembling hands, she slid open the seal and pulled out the letter inside.

Dear Marie,

I hope this letter finds you well. I know it might seem strange to hear from me after all these years, but there are things I need to tell you before it's too late. Things about my past that I never had the chance to share with you when I was alive.

She paused, her heart pounding in her chest as she tried to make sense of what she was reading. She could hear his voice echoing through her mind, the words written on the page bringing back memories of conversations they'd shared long ago.

I regret not telling you about my family when we first met, but it was a painful subject for me and I didn't want to burden you with my past. My parents died in a car accident when I was just a teenager, leaving me alone in the world. I never knew who my father was; my mother refused to talk about him, even on her deathbed.

Marie felt a pang of sadness as she read his words. She had known that he'd lost his parents at a young age, but he'd never gone into detail about what happened or how it affected him. She could only imagine the pain and loneliness he must have felt.

After their deaths, I was taken in by an aunt who lived nearby. She wasn't close with my mother, but she did her best to take care of me. It wasn't easy for either of us; we were both still grieving the loss of my parents and neither of us knew how to deal with our emotions.

She took a sip of her tea, now lukewarm but comforting nonetheless. She could picture him as a teenager, trying to navigate life without his parents by his side. It broke her heart to think about what he must have gone through.

As I grew older, I began to notice strange things happening around me. Objects would move on their own, lights would flicker when there was no logical explanation for it. My aunt chalked it up to my imagination running wild, but I knew better. I could feel something else in the house with us, something that didn't want us there.

Marie set down her cup and leaned forward, her eyes scanning the page eagerly as she tried to keep up with his story. She had never heard him talk about anything supernatural before, but she knew from experience that sometimes people kept their secrets buried deep within them.

One night, I woke up to find a figure standing over my bed. It was tall and thin, with long arms that seemed to stretch out forever. Its face was obscured by shadows, but I could see its eyes glowing like embers in the darkness. I tried to scream, but no sound came out of my mouth. The creature leaned down closer to me, its breath hot against my skin as it whispered something in a language I didn't understand.

She shivered despite herself, feeling a chill run down her spine as she read his words. She couldn't imagine what it must have been like for him, living with that kind of fear every day.

From that night on, things only got worse. The creature began appearing more frequently, always at night when I was alone in my room. It would whisper things to me, tell me secrets about people I knew or even complete strangers. At first, I thought it was just a figment of my imagination, but then strange things started happening around town. People would disappear without a trace, only to turn up dead days later with no signs of foul play.

Marie gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as she realized what he was saying. She had heard stories about similar cases before, but she never imagined that they could be connected to her husband in any way.

I knew I had to do something to stop it, so I started researching everything I could find on the subject. That's how I found out about the legend of the Shadow Man, a creature said to feed off the life force of its victims and leave behind nothing but empty shells. According to the stories, there was only one way to stop him: you had to make a deal with him yourself.

She felt her heart racing as she read his words, each sentence revealing more about the man she thought she knew so well. She never would have guessed that he had been involved in something so dark and dangerous.

So I did just that. I made a deal with the Shadow Man, offering him my own life force in exchange for an end to his reign of terror. He agreed, but only on one condition: I had to leave town forever and never speak of what happened again.

Marie let out a soft sob as she realized what he must have gone through. She couldn't believe that he would sacrifice so much just to protect the people he loved.

I knew it was the right thing to do, but I also knew that I could never go back home again. So I packed up my things and left town under the cover of darkness, determined to start a new life somewhere else. That's how I ended up here, Marie. And that's why I can't stay any longer.

She looked down at the letter in her hands, tears streaming down her face as she read his final words. She couldn't believe that he was leaving her again, but this time it felt different somehow. This time, she knew that he had done it to protect her.

I love you more than anything in this world, Marie. And I always will. But now it's time for me to go, once and for all. Please don't try to find me or stop me; there's nothing you can do. Just know that I'll be watching over you from afar, making sure that you're safe and happy.

Forever yours,

John

Marie folded up the letter carefully, tucking it back into its envelope before standing up and walking over to the fireplace. She took out a box of matches from the drawer and lit one, holding it against the edge of the envelope until it caught fire. As she watched the flames consume his words, she felt a sense of peace wash over her.

She knew that he was gone now, really gone this time. But she also knew that he would always be with her, watching over her and loving her from afar. And that was enough for her to find some measure of comfort in the darkness.

The end.