Shadow�BY:��Aglaia��Raya��Aleksander��Detelina��Gabriel��Georgi��Niya��Stefania��Violeta

I GOT OUT OF MY BED AND WENT TO THE KITCHEN. MY FATHER HAD MADE PANCAKES AND MY FAMILY WAS EATING THEM. I WASN’T HUNGRY, SO I JUST TOLD THEM THAT I WAS GOING OUT FOR A WALK. IT WAS RAINING, SO I DECIDED TO GO TO THE BOOKSTORE, SINCE IT’S THE CLOSEST SHOP TO MY HOUSE.

I OPENED THE DOOR AND I CAME IN. I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT BOOK TO GET, SO I JUST WALKED AROUND THE STORE, TRYING TO FIND SOMETHING INTERESTING. SUDDENLY, I SAW A WEIRD BOOK HIDDEN BEHIND ONE OF THE SHELVES.

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I OPENED IT AND I STARTED FALLING. I FELL ON THE GROUND. I WAS OUTSIDE. THERE WERE FLOWERS EVERYWHERE. THE SUN WAS SHINING AND EVERYTHING WAS PERFECT. I STARTED WALKING WHILE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE I WAS. SUDDENLY, I SAW MY HOUSE. BUT IT LOOKED BETTER. IT WAS BIGGER AND THERE WAS A GARDEN FILLED WITH STRAWBERRIES IN FRONT OF IT. I DECIDED TO GO INSIDE. IT WAS EVEN BETTER. IT WAS DECORATED WITH THINGS I LOVE AND IT LOOKED AMAZING. I WALKED INTO MY ROOM AND I COULDN’T BELIEVE WHAT I SAW. MY WHOLE ROOM HAD POSTERS OF MY FAVORITE BAND AND THERE WAS EVEN A PICTURE OF ME WITH MY FAVORITE ACTRESS IN IT. I WAS REALLY SURPRISED. �

SUDDENLY, I HEARD SOMETHING COMING FROM DOWNSTAIRS. I HID BEHIND THE DOOR IN MY ROOM WAITING TO SEE WHO WAS MAKING THAT NOISE. THEN I HEARD MY MOM TALKING. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE WAS THAT HER VOICE WAS DEEPER. I COULDN’T UNDERSTAND WHAT SHE WAS SAYING, SO I DECIDED THAT I WAS JUST GOING TO FIND HER AND ASK WHAT WAS GOING ON. I SAW HER. BUT SHE HAD BUTTONS INSTEAD OF EYES. SHE SAID SOMETHING IN AN ANCIENT LANGUAGE AND I TRIED TO GET OUT OF MY ROOM BUT EVERYTHING STARTED DISAPPEARING. I QUICKLY RAN OUT OF THE HOUSE. THE GARDEN WAS RUINED. THERE WERE INSECTS EATING EVERYTHING. BUT THEN I REALIZED I WAS NOT IN MY DREAM WORLD. I WAS IN A NIGHTMARE .�

The air started getting hotter and drier as I went further in. Suddenly, I was in a forest but not a normal one because the trees were red and in very strange shapes. Some of them even had like screaming faces on them. This place was creeping me out more and more with every step I made. In the distance, I saw a shadow. I thought I was saved but when I got closer, I found out that it was a creature, which was too tall to be a human, and it had no face. After a little bit of walking the road started to burn my feet and I felt exhausted.

Suddenly, it became too dark and I saw my favorite doll Anabel. But she looked strange, more like scary. One of the eyes was closed, its face was covered by stitches and the mouth was bleeding. Anabel opened it and screamed at me:�‘’Where is your mother, sweetie?’’�All my body was trembling and I couldn’t say a word. Anabel repeated its question in a rude way:�‘’Where is your mother, stupid girl?’’�Then I saw a light in the dark space. I recognized my mother who appeared from the light. She looked joyful and was smiling to me. I calmed down and ran to her. But when I reached and wanted to embrace her, she changed her face - it became ominous.

She looked at me with her evil eyes and said:�‘’I am not your mother! Ha-ha-ha…’’�I screamed, turned around and started to run. My fake mother was following me. I was hearing her steps and her hard breathing behind me and I was in panic that she would catch me. �But then I lost all my power and didn’t have any hope that I would escape.�

As I continued walking, my legs were trembling and I felt like I was about to collapse. There were millions of noises surrounding me. But I still couldn’t dare to look back. It slowly started to rain more and more heavily. Within seconds it had turned into a thunderstorm. But out of the blue I saw something strange… It was in the distance. It was like a shadow but not of an animal or some monster. It was a human shadow. For a moment I was so relieved that there was going to be someone else except me in here, but what if it wasn’t? What if it was some kind of a possessed person? But at that second I felt something strange as if I was being stared at.

I wanted to run, I wanted to run away from whoever it was. I quickly turned around, but suddenly bumped into something and fell on the ground.

‘’Ouch!’’ I said.

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Then I heard a male voice:� ‘’Need some help?’’�� I looked up… I saw a handsome boy about my age, with black hair, pale skin and eyes as black as the midnight sky. He was giving me a hand and I… I took it…

The moment he helped me to my feet I looked at the expression on his face and I was very surprised that I wasn’t alone. There was a little scar on one of his cheeks.

‘’Your name?’’ he said.

Wait! I’m not alone? - I thought to myself - How has he come here? Was it through the book too? How long has he been here? What if …?

‘’I asked for your name.’’ he repeated his question.

I had been thinking about him for several minutes but then I heard his voice again.

‘’I guess you don’t have a name then?’’

‘’Loren. My name’s Loren.’’ I said awkwardly.

‘’IT TOOK YOU SOME TIME TO SAY YOUR NAME. FOR A SECOND I THOUGHT YOU WOULD SAY SOMETHING LIKE ANAIS, HIOMARA OR BATSAIKHAN AND I WAS HAPPILY SURPRISED THAT IT’S LOREN.’’�‘’YES, IT’S JUST LOREN.’’�‘’WELL, LOREN, NICE TO MEET YOU. I’M LUKE.’’ �SHOULD I ASK WHERE HE WAS FROM OR HOW HE CAME HERE? NO, IT WAS TOO EARLY TO TALK ABOUT PERSONAL QUESTIONS. �‘’WHERE ARE YOU FROM AND HOW DID YOU COME IN THE BOOK?’’ LUKE SAID. �WHAT?! COULD HE READ MY MIND? �‘’YES, I DO READ MINDS.’’� ‘’WHA-‘’ - I MURMURED IN SHOCK AND THOUGHT HE WAS PROBABLY READING MY MIND AT THAT MOMENT.

‘’NO, no, no, I’m not reading your mind. For now.’’�‘’For now?’’�‘’ You really are easy to play with. You’re murmuring and I hear what you are saying - some of the things I did understand and some of them I didn’t.’’�Wait! I was murmuring? Was I really?�‘’So, where are you from and how did you come in the book?’’ Luke asked again. ��

‘’I’m from London’’ I said ‘’I came in the book because it was raining and … ‘’

‘’ Of course it’s raining, you live in London after all.’’ he said sneeringly.

‘’ It was raining and I went in the bookstore near my house and walked inside. Then I saw that strange but beautiful book, I opened it and now I’m here.’’ I said.

‘’Well, I’ve been trying to get out of here for 5 years. Do you want us to make a plan how to escape?’’

‘’ I’m really happy that my mom is not here because if she was here, she would probably say ‘’Loren, do not talk to strangers that are stuck in a book for 5 years or something else.’’� ‘’You don’t have any other options but me.‘’ �‘’Well, I guess you are right… So, fine! Let’s make a plan to get out of here’’� ‘’ Great.’’ he said and we started walking into the forest. �

Luke suggested that we walk past the overgrown meadow and follow the path that I thought had no end. We left, we were all wet, hungry and exhausted. We decided to rest on a dry log and dry ourselves. It was hard for him to see me tired and weak. He walked away for a moment, and brought me fresh berries. After the stay we gathered strength again and continued on our way. �Not long after, we found ourselves in front of a huge lake, in which the moon reflected its light in a beautiful lunar path. For us, there was no choice but to swim across the water. We made a quick decision to make a raft and thus overcome this obstacle. We succeeded and I was calmer now, because the morning was coming, and with it the sun was beginning to appear. I was already hoping we’d get out soon.

We were slowly walking through the forest trying to get to the portal that could get us out of the book, but at one moment he stopped and turned to me �‘’It may be better if we go the other way.’’ �He quickly grabbed my hand and we started walking the other way. We walked past some of the possessed people but they ignored us. Whenever I was with Luke, the possessed people ignored us but when I was alone they were trying to hurt me. I had so many questions in my head. But I didn’t bother to ask.. �Then I realized what the reason for that was. It was Luke. Luke was the one possessing people and making them act like that. But why would he do that? Then I remembered.

I had read the back of the book before I opened it. He was part of the story. He looked at me and asked what was wrong because I looked pale. I said that nothing was wrong. He looked at me weirdly and we kept walking. � A few seconds ago we were both laughing, but now he suddenly became so serious. I got worried. I looked back and saw some possessed people running away from us instead of running towards us. I had even more questions in my mind, but it looked like Luke was aware that there were monsters. He didn’t look the least bit scared. Then I thought to myself that some time before that, the monsters and scary people were about to nearly kill me, but now that Luke was here they were running away from us. And they even looked a bit frightened. But they weren’t looking at me, they were looking at Luke. I quickly looked at him again and then I realized that not only his pupils were black, but his entire eyes were slowly turning black. Then it hit me, he was the one I was supposed to escape from all along.

He…he was the SHADOW!!!

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I had to try to make a plan how to escape on my own. Maybe when we got closer to the portal I could get him unconscious, run away and escape. Then I saw the portal. This was my only chance. I turned to him, hit him in the head and ran off. I looked back and saw him lying on the ground, so I kept running and running. The exit was nearby.

I wasn’t sure what to do. All that my mind was doing at the moment was just connecting the pieces that clearly told me he was ‘’the bad guy”.�� And what? I could just let him escape? No way!��I started running as fast as possible, so I could get to the portal first. But of course the worst thing that could ever happen happened. A creature jumped onto me. It had that strangely looking head with big eyes and a smile to his eyebrows. I didn’t even want to look at it. But even if I escaped from the thing, I wouldn’t be able to get to the portal. I looked at ‘’it” and saw Luke running behind it. I tried to run for the exit. �He was already there. I was shocked. I knew that only one of us would be able to leave this place. �Luke started laughing and in a blink of an eye he pushed me and started running for the exit.�

HE ESCAPED THE NIGHTMARE AND THE EXIT CLOSED! �

IT WAS ALL OVER. I WAS STUCK HERE FOREVER. WAS I NOW THE BAD GUY? DID I HAVE TO POSSESS PEOPLE? WHAT IF LUKE WAS GOOD BUT HE DIDN’T HAVE A CHOICE? ALL THESE QUESTIONS STARTED FILLING IN MY HEAD. ALL I COULD EVER DO HERE BESIDES POSSESSING PEOPLE IS TO SIT ON THE FLOOR, PLAY THE OUIJA BOARD AND HOPE THAT SOMEONE WOULD ENTER THE BOOK AND HELP BOTH OF US ESCAPE. �

I realised that I would stay in this terrifying place forever young, but forever alone!!!

Thank you for YOUR time!