The Shadow

The shadow crawled through the room silently. To anyone watching, it would have appeared to reach out over her with what could be described as long, dark fingers. The girl slept peacefully, unaware of the dark entity in her room. It reached out and lightly touched her face. She stirred. The shadow retreated so quickly it was as if it had never been there, but when her breathing returned to its slow and steady pace, it began its stealthy crawl once more.

***

Emily was a sociable girl, always saying hello to whomever she passed in the street on her way to the market. She often skipped down the main road into town, her mother's basket on her arm, trying to keep it as still as she could in order not to break the delicate eggs inside. Though she was from a rather poor farming family, the townspeople treated her like royalty because she was just so friendly and sweet. Today was no different, though if any of the townspeople had been even the tiniest bit smarter, they would have noticed that her eyes were a bit darker than their usual sparkling gray, and had taken on a most unusual violet tone.