Adeline was like a child when it came to photography. Her happiness was inside the camera lens. She skipped down the yard to start her adventure. The sun shined down, almost blinding her. It was far too bright to take pictures, but she didn't feel like waiting till evening. She was too excited to explore her new land.
She was on a mission to find her masterpiece. "Don't go too far from the house, Adeline!" Her mother yelled in the distance. Adeline completely ignored her. She felt free with her camera in her hands. She began taking pictures of the tall, unkempt grass. It seemed like that was all there was outside. She was going to have to get creative. She looked everywhere. Finding flowers and insects to photograph was her goal. She walked up to the field of Dandelions and began snapping photos. She came to the edge of the woods, turning around to realize how far she had gotten from home. Time had flown by and the sunlight began to slowly fade away.
She stared into the darkness of the forest. Adeline almost felt as if there was somebody in there, silently staring back at her. She squinted her eyes, taking one step into the darkness, attempting to get a close look. Sure enough, in the distance stood a shadow.
"Hello?" Adeline's voice shook with hesitation.
"Adeline." It called back.
Her face turned pale and her body felt almost limp.
"Come inside, Adeline." The voice began to beg. "We're waiting for you."
Adeline quickly turned around and started running for her life. Why did she go so far from home? She looked over her shoulder to see the black mass take a step out of the woods.
"Adeline!" The voice sounded as if it had quickly lost its patience. "Get back here!"
"No!" Adeline screamed. She continued to run, realizing the shadow was still following after her. It didn't make sense to Adeline. It's evening, it's not completely dark out. Yet, in the light, there's a solid black mass chasing after her. She hadn't ever had visual hallucinations before. She ran as fast and she possibly could. The tall grass and dandelions flew past her. The sunlight was fading by the second and Adeline wondered if her lungs could hold up for another solid two minutes of sprinting.
She tried to focus on her breath. Breathe in. Breathe out. Don't pass out. Repeat. She panted heavily. Maybe she should have taken up cardio?
"Stop!" The voice pleaded. "Help us!"
"No!" She shouted, tumbling to the ground. She pulled her ankle into her hands and began to cry. She couldn't figure out if it was the fear or the pain. "Mom! Dad!" She screamed over and over, sobbing. The shadow continued to run at her.
"Baby!" Sophia yelled back in the distance, running towards Adeline at full speed. This is exactly what Sophia feared.
Adeline stared helplessly at the black mass. Soon it was with five feet of her, then four, then three, then two. Adeline let out the loudest, eye piercing scream she possibly could when her mother grabbed her by the arm and pulled her off the ground. The shadow vanished.
"Don't touch me!" Adeline cried. Her father arrived at the scene.
"What happened?" He asked.
"There was a shadow in was right there!" She pointed behind them.
"Darling," Her mother explained. "it's just your imagination." She tried to comfort Addy by wiping the dirt off her scraped up hands. "That must have been a rough fall."
"Don't touch me." Addy pulled away. "It wasn't my imagination! It was real! I've never seen anything like it!"
"Adeline, maybe you just need new medication."
"No!" She yelled. "My medication was working perfect till we moved to this stupid old house!" She once again began running and made it home. Her parents followed after her.
Sophia made her way to the dining room and sat at the table. Her husband was in the shower and Adeline sat quietly in her bedroom. Sophia was taking in everything the just happened. She wondered if the ghosts would really ruin the house for Adeline. "Leave my daughter alone." She said, sternly. "Talk to me if you need someone to talk to." How long could she continue to keep this secret?
She picked up the phone and dialed the doctors. It rang and then, of course, went to voicemail. "Yes, Dr. Claire. This is Sophia Bellamy. My daughter's meds aren't working that well right now. Please call me back."
Adeline sat in the corner of her unpacked bedroom. Tears fell from her eyes.
"Don't cry," She heard a young male's voice whisper.
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