24. The Haunting

James didn’t sleep well after that. He saw the woman’s eyes everywhere, snow-white and glowing. He saw them in the mirror, in the metal door handles of his car…everywhere. At night, he heard grunts and squeals.

He told Marie nothing. Until, one day, his daughter awoke, screaming in her sleep. She had marks on her as though she’d been poked by a pin. That was when he knew that his idyllic, fresh start at life was careening towards an abrupt end.

25. It Goes On

Things went on like that for a month. Marie was concerned, sure that the house was not the subject of a haunting, but of a repeat intruder. James had taken a position with the sheriff’s office after the War, and Marie swore it was a vengeful arrestee who kept sneaking in at night.

Locks on the doors, exterior lights, and other security measures didn’t help. James stopped sleeping more than an hour a night. And it definitely affected his health both mental and physical. He was so worried.

26. 714s

He felt his psyche begin to fray. Though the woman had chosen to leave his daughter and wife alone, she focused all of her energy on him. It was as though she could sense darkness in James, things he’d done in the War…those things fueled her.

The doctors said he had PTSD, prescribing him 714s. James flushed them down the toilet. He had no use for things that would warp his mind and make him dependent. Finally, he decided to confront the woman head-on. They’d meet again, back in the dark as they were the first time.

27. 2 A.M.

2 A.M. and James was in the kitchen, waiting. The woman refused to appear, even though James was a prime target. The light outside the house had gone out, and the kitchen was totally dark. James faced the blackness, waiting to see her gaze.

He put his head down for a second, and that was when he felt her. She was behind him, eyes boring into his back. A hand curled over his shoulder, though he dared not look. He was mostly scared and too frightened to say anything.

28. The Answer

“Who are you and what do you want?” James repeated the question over and over, his voice trembling with a mix of fear and curiosity. The crisp, cold October air streamed into the kitchen as the hand tightened on his shoulder painfully, the grip like an icy vice.

James stared into her eyes, the whites becoming all he could see in the dimly lit room. She answered in a whisper that sent shivers down his spine, “I am a messenger, James. I’ve come with a warning, and your life will never be the same.” The air grew heavier with a foreboding presence, leaving James to wonder what mysterious forces had invaded his world.

29. Wait

“Alright, Jimmy, alright then. Go on then. Alright, James.” That mantra repeated in James’ head, a soothing, soft voice that felt like before he ever went to ‘Nam, before he lost an arm, before he had to dream about Dak To every single night when he was asleep, before he got to watch his family and friends look at him like a monster, before he saw Agent Orange come out of those C-123s.

Then, like a sudden jolt, reality snapped back. “Wait, what am I doing?” James asked himself, shaking his head to clear the haunting memories. He couldn’t escape the past, but he could choose how he faced the present.