Return to

Home Page

NEW AUTHORS SHOWCASE

 

 

6M

p3

The Shadows

By

Sarah Sidibeh

 

Sample

 

The alarm clock had such a soothing tick but as soon as it was seven o’clock it was if the firemen were being notified of another task. Up popped Mavis like a Jack-in-the-box. Her husband didn’t move. When his wife poked and prodded him, Bob would roll over on his stomach, murmur and clutch the pillow. Mavis responded by ripping back the sheets. Immediately, her spouse would jump out of bed and scurry into the warm bathroom. He took much longer than his wife to wash and dress.

After a quick breakfast which was always a cup of coffee and one slice of toast, they would leave the house at eight-thirty, sometimes fifteen minutes later owing to Bob’s slowness. Both were bank clerks. The husband worked at Moorgate, the wife at Marble Arch.

At weekends, Bob would rise at midday as compensation for the hours of sleep he was deprived of during the week. Every Saturday afternoon he would bet on the horses. However, he was a hopeless gambler. On Saturday and Sunday evenings he’d do a crossword and watch television attentively. Simultaneously he’d gulp down two cans of beer and burp for hours afterwards

Mavis would spring out of bed three hours earlier than him because she liked their home to be clean and tidy . On Saturday afternoons , about three o’ clock, she’d always go shopping. In the evenings she’d watch television. Her Sundays were a repetition of her Saturdays with the exception of  the shopping.

It was a warm and sunny Saturday afternoon in July . Mavis was on her way to the supermarket which was within walking distance.

 “How I wish this weather would never end,” she said.

A great, murky, black shadow had been cast around her by the sun.  As she plodded along, the sun’s heat produced droplets of perspiration on her forehead which she wiped away with a tissue. She stopped for a moment. Her tongue was dry and rough. She felt her throat would crack if she didn’t have a drink soon. She began walking again. Mavis could now see the supermarket and it seemed like an oasis after a long desert trek. She rushed towards it.

She retraced her journey hone at four-thirty.

“It’s far too hot,” she murmured. At the pace of a tortoise she hobbled homeward and it would take forever, it seemed, to reach her destination. The combination of the merciless weather and two lead-heavy shopping bags made her feel weak. The gigantic shadow reappeared as soon as Mavis stepped into the sunlight. Hundreds of cars zoomed past and she was nearly tempted by the absurd idea of hitch-hiking. The shadow lay dispersed around her, glued to her feet. It had to suffer being trampled on by pedestrians, run over by vehicles and leapt upon by  playful dogs. This was exacerbated by the fact that Mavis was walking so slowly. The shadowy being wished to wrench itself from the shackles which tied it to its owner . Mavis now; saw the local common. Her house was only five minutes away but her lethargy was so acute she had to collapse on the grass for twenty minutes.

Immediately her feet touched the green she lay flat on her back. She hadn’t  been there for even five minutes when she became submerged in darkness. It was as if she had descended into Hell. The shadow had managed to liberate itself from Mavis and was bending over her. The woman’s eyes looked as if they were going to pop out. In them was an expression of disbelief. She began to quake.

“I no longer intend to endure maltreatment such as being trampled upon any longer,” rasped the benighted being.

Mavis was astonished. Could this really be happening or were her eyes deceiving her?

“I intend to avenge you for your wrongs!” it continued.

It growled and Mavis screamed.

The disappearance of the sun behind a cloud saved her from death. The shadow had vanished. It began to rain. The change in the weather made Mavis beam. She opened her mouth for refreshment. She cupped her hands to catch raindrops so that she could make her body cool.

When she arrived home she decided to tell her husband what had happened although he mightn’t believe her.

“An extraordinary thing happened to me,’ she began.

“What’?” replied Bob.

“ My shadow came to life while I was lying on the common.”

 Bob looked at his wife as if she were mad.

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

Mavis realised her attempt to convince Bob would be in vain therefore she said nothing more and decided never to mention the subject again. However, the experience had affected her: the word ‘shadow” would cause her to become covered in goose-pimples and it symbolised something terrifying.

The solution to avoid confrontation with the shadow again was to stay at home. Therefore Mavis stopped  working and now Bob did the shopping.

“What’s wrong with you? I think you’re going mad. You suddenly decide you’re going to stop working and doing the shopping. Don’t tell me. ,you’re getting lazy in your old age. It’s not the rain is it’? Even though it’s been raining every day since last Monday, you do have a mac and umbrella. Or have you forgotten. I don’t see why I should always be the one who has to put up with the miserable weather! You really are becoming lazy!”

After this monologue, Bob darted from the house, slamming the door.

The following week it was sunny again. Mavis was cooking in the kitchen when suddenly the black figure loomed before her. She sped across to the back door but mysteriously it wouldn’t open. She looked bewildered and stared at the window but it was too small for her to climb through. Tears began to flow down her cheeks.

“I will avenge your wrongs!” roared the shadow.

Mavis was quaking. The being looked grotesque: a huge black mass outlined in red. There was an intense heat emanating from it. It was pointless her screaming for Bob because he’d gone shopping. The shadow slowly came closer to Mavis . The heat intensified. She thought she’d melt. As it approached, Mavis had difficulty breathing. As the persecutor was almost upon her she closed her eyes and gasped for breath. She covered her face with her hands and chafed her body against the wall hoping to disappear inside it. Suddenly, she no longer felt any heat. Very slowly she opened one eye. Now it was dull outside. The thing was nowhere to he seen. Mavis gasped with relief.

In ten minutes Bob returned. Mavis didn’t give the slightest hint she’d undergone an horrific ordeal. Bob pushed open the kitchen door and stood there frowning.

“I’ve had enough!  If its not raining its as dull as ditchwater outside. It’s so damn hot it’s sickening! But where’s the sun?  Nowhere to be seen. It’s mad weather! I wish we could have just a nice dry heat  with the sun shining. Look at this shirt, it’s sticking to me like glue. You’d think I’d just woken from a nightmare the way I’m sweating. I’m having a bath. Honestly this dull, humid weather will be the death of me.”

After this speech Bob galloped out of the room and thudded upstairs to the bathroom. After his bath Bob’s manner greatly improved.

“I’m sorry I’ve been abrupt and bad tempered. You know I hate doing anything domestic and you must admit it’s unfair of you to lumber me with the chores completely.”

“I know,” replied Mavis.

“Is there anything the matter, darling?”

“I’m fine.”

‘Then you should be alright to go shopping again which is your responsibility.”

At this comment Mavis gulped.

‘But perhaps we should compromise,” continued Bob. “Why don’t we do the shopping together?”

At this Mavis heaved a sigh of relief and agreed immediately.

“Are you now in the right frame of mind to look for another job?” asked Bob.

“I feel better. I’ll start looking soon.”

Bob was pleased with his wife’s reply.

The following Saturday it was time to refill the cupboards with groceries.

The couple trotted along to the and bought. the necessary provisions. However, on the homeward journey the mood changed.

“I don’t think I can bear this heat any longer,” wailed Bob. “I like it when it’s sunny but this is torture!”

The pace at which he was trudging gave the impression he’d collapse. The shopping bags looked as if they were trying to pull him into the ground.

He stopped so that he could throw one of the bags over his shoulder but this action almost broke him in half;  he was crouched for about ten minutes.

“I can’t stand this heat either,” panted Mavis. “I’m so thirsty and tired I feel I’m going to die.”

She plodded along behind Bob. She was so hunched as if a huge weight was trying to flatten her. The massive black shadows had appeared. They surrounded the helpless mites to whom they were shackled. The couple were unaware of’ their murky companions.

‘There’s the common! At last we’re nearly home!” exclaimed Mavis.”

“Let’s sit on the common for a while. I’m exhausted. The rest will do us good.”

“I feel as if I’ve been saved from death,” remarked Mavis.

The couple skipped with delight as soon as they were on the common. They fell down on the grass and lounged about. The weather was pleasant now as a gentle breeze was rippling across the grass. Mavis kicked off her shoes and lay flat out on her stomach with her arms spread.  Her husband stretched his arms above his head and crossed his right leg over his left knee.

Suddenly there was no longer a breeze. The sun became malicious.

“I’m sizzling like a sausage!” shouted Bob. “Let’s go quickly.”

As soon as the couple had picked up their bags and turned to go they found their way barred by two murky beings. Although the creatures had no features they were frightening because they were huge.

“At last!” they bellowed. “We’ve managed to unshackle ourselves from you pathetic people. Now we get you!”

Terror gripped the couple’s hearts. They turned to run in the opposite direction only to confront four other gruesome beings hovering in the air.

“It’s the end of us!” screamed Mavis. Nothing can save us!”

“There must be some way out.”

“There is not!” screeched Mavis whose face had become contorted from the terror within her.

“You’re finished” yelled the benighted beings.

Mavis responded by creaming continuously for five minutes, a noise so deafening it was enough to make her eardrums burst. At the same time she was  pulling at her hair and stamping her feet on the turf while the monsters watched, amused.

“For God’s sake try and calm down,” said Bob.

The obnoxious shadows formed a circle around the couple. Mavis closed her eyes. The couple were sweating so much they thought they’d dehydrate. Bob ripped open his shirt so violently the buttons fell to the ground. Both had difficulty breathing. They felt they were being suffocated.

“Help me! H-e-l-p m-e! H-e-l……! Choked Mavis.

Husband and wife were so weak they collapsed on the grass. In a few minutes they were sure they’d be dead. The couples eyes were tightly shut. They huddled together. It was extraordinary what happened next. The feeling of being in Hell vanished. They no longer felt suffocated. Also, they weren’t sweating. Very slowly they opened their eyes. The shadows had disappeared. Now it was cloudy. A storm was breaking and soon the first drops fell to the accompaniment of huge rolls of thunder.

“Thank God,” breathed Mavis

“Let’s get home,” replied Bob...