The Wait - -A Short Story
Casey climbed the stairs to the lounge with windows that looked out over the parking circle where her husband would pick her up in 30 minutes. It was her favorite place to wait because it was always so quiet. Today, however, it seemed the whole building was quiet as a crypt. She sat on the little sofa and pulled from her bag her water bottle, a snack and her book. She was halfway through this horror novel and it was really getting good. Just before burying her nose in her book she noticed the door to the classroom on her right was open. She had never seen that door open before. She got up and went to look through the doorway. Casey's movement caused the lights to pop on. There was no one in the room, so she went back to her seat and opened her book. She sipped her water and munched on her treats as she turned the pages. The words in the book were raising the hair on the back of her neck.
She caught a slight movement in the corner of her eye and she turned her head towards the open doorway. A dark mass, shaped like a head, peeked out around the door. It withdrew quickly. Casey thought to herself that someone must have gone in while she was engrossed in her book. She got up to scope out the room again. Again the lights popped on. No one seemed to be in the room. She went row by row of the auditorium seating and she checked behind the door twice. No one. She went back to her sofa shaking her head at her folly.
Ten minutes passed and a little noise took her attention from her book back to the room. Standing about ten feet from the doorway was a shadow. There was no light - so no movement. The dark shadow was darker than the room itself. It appeared to be wearing a fedora. It just stood there & appeared to be looking at her. Her body went cold and she shivered. She closed her book and stared back at the shape. It seemed to be closer. She was frozen in fear. She couldn't force her body to stand & move away. The shape came closer and closer until it stood in the doorway. Casey let out a shriek as the door slammed shut.
Casey gathered her things and ran for the stairs. She did not return to her favorite quiet reading spot, instead opted for ear plugs and the main lounge on the ground floor to wait for her husband.
No politics
No judgments (no calling someone's story hogwash)
If you don't believe - don't join
All in the name of fun
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It has been a while since I have written anything and posted. So here it is. Please follow the rules.
Nice to see you back!
Thank you. I have missed you all.
Morning... thought of you the other day when it was the longest day up Northern hemisphere and the shortest day in the Southern hemisphere..
At least we are back on the winning side now..
You folks in the Southern Hemisphere are now having winter--- I envy you!
In the U.S, we've been having record breaking heat waves-- in up North in normally cooler areas (such as New England).
I've posted elsewhere that although where we live, Chongqing, has been called one of 'The Three Furnaces of China' because in the summer it really does get hot as hell, maybe because it's sort of like a bowl surrounded by mountains that could block the cooling breezes, and there have been heat waves elsewhere in China, we haven't needed the air conditioning yet - fans have been good enough. Not only is that easier on our bodies, it's easier on the wallet as well.
I'm happy you've returned. I know I've said before that there have been times when I have seen strange shadows out of the corner of my eye, and when I turn, they're gone - such appearances might not always be fiction.
Welcome back, Veronica.
Good story.
Great story! I like how she just left her spot, put in her ear plugs, and sat down to wait.
Glad to see you back