Irrational

The silence that fills this house has never been as overpowering as it was tonight. The memories of running through the halls with a towel around my shoulders couldn’t drown out the feeling of missing life that echoed throughout the hollowed and burnt walls. The beams and vines created an abandoned home. My flashlight flickered on and off and a wish to be back at my apartment swept through my thoughts.

A gust of wind rushed through the house and while I could see that I was the only one there it felt like someone was trailing their fingers across my shoulders.

The dust and ash swept up and traced the back of my neck like breath. My heart sped up and as I walked further and further down the hall. My eyes darted back and forth, trying hopelessly to see into every dark corner, every abscess between the floorboards, every movement in the shadows that made me feel, less, and less alone.

“Hi, Honey.”

I skitter back and press against the staircase leaning against the beams holding up the rail. Standing in the doorway was my girlfriend, her hair pulled up, dirt on her pants, and a paint can in her hands.

“I know this place needs work but I think a coat of paint will make it feel more like the home you used to know.” She walked past me and into the kitchen.

My hand clutched my shirt and I tried to slow my heart rate down. Looking around this ghost of a place and out into the endless darkness that had swallowed the day, I couldn’t help think she was wrong. The shadows of monsters and hope tackled my sensibility and my hands shook as I walked down the hall, properly accompanying the coiled feeling of dread as my feet followed in the footsteps of my past.

*Original Piece

anything

could be lurking

in the shadows

even though

i know

it’s irrational

for me to think

someone

something

could be creeping close to me

i jump up at the slightest sound

switch on a flashlight

and hope to drown

the thoughts that whisper

don’t you know

anything

could be hiding

in the

dark?