Chapter 10: Hate, Understanding and Him

Nadia was munching her chicken at her best, licking her fingers, when suddenly a group of boys approached our table. They looked like fourteen-year-olds-typical wackos who thought the world belonged to them and their jokes were the height of intelligence.

- Oho, what do we have here? - chuckled one of them, looking at Nadia and pretending to be surprised. - I didn't know KFC was holding a chicken convention.

Nadia, in the middle of taking a bite of her chicken, looked at him with a mixture of surprise and annoyance.

- Is there something you don't like? - She asked sharply, not taking her eyes off him.

- No, come on, you look great. Like Miss Food for the Time," added another, bursting out laughing, which was immediately picked up by the rest.

I felt my blood begin to bubble. But before I could say anything, their attention shifted to me.

- And you are the crazy one from our school, no? - said the former, with a mocking smile. - I heard that you see some ghosts or something.

- Dude is the chick who talks to herself," added another, clearly amused. - I guess you have to be completely gay to fly at you.

Their laughter echoed around our table, and I felt the whole world around me begin to spin. My hands clenched themselves on the edge of the table, and my breathing quickened. I felt like getting up and saying something, but my throat seemed to tighten, as if the words were stuck somewhere deep inside.

Nadia, however, did not have this problem. She threw her chicken on the tray and stood up, facing one of them. She was shorter than him, but her posture made it clear that she was not going to let go.

- Listen, little sucker," she began, pointing her finger at his breast. - You'd better shut your stupid mouth before I feed you your own micro penis with it. Do you understand?

The boy looked at her surprised, but quickly tried to pull himself together.

- Relax, staff. It's just a joke.

- The joke is you. And a weak one at that," Nadia replied, measuring him with her eyes. - Now get out of here before it gets really thick in here.

The rest of the guys started laughing, but the one Nadia was looking at lowered his gaze. Finally, he turned around and threw something under his breath that was meant to sound like "crazy people," after which the whole group walked away, still laughing.

She sat back in her seat and took a fry as if nothing had happened.

- Morons," she muttered, putting a french fry in her mouth.

I, however, still felt my heart pounding like a hammer. Their words kept reverberating in my head. "Crazy." "Ghost." "Gay."

- Why didn't you say anything? - She asked, looking at me with slight reproach.

- Because... because it wouldn't change anything anyway," I replied quietly, playing with the straw from my drink.

Nadia sighed heavily, but did not press on. It took us maybe five minutes to eat the rest of our meal, but it seemed like it took an eternity. I felt as if suddenly the whole world was focused on me, even though I knew that no one else was paying attention to us.

I wanted to get out of the gallery as soon as possible. I could feel the walls starting to close in on me.

Nadia, as Nadia is, did not let me leave the mall so easily. Before I had time to protest, she grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the next store.

- Just one more stop, I swear! I have to buy perfume for my mother, because I completely forgot, and today is her name day," she said with a smile, as if nothing had happened before.

I didn't have the strength to protest, so I just followed her, trying not to think about what I heard a moment ago. We entered the drugstore, where the scents immediately hit my nose - sweet, floral, citrus.... There was too much of it, but Nadia seemed to be in her element.

- Okay, so what do we have here that's interesting? - she said, grabbing the first bottle from the shore and puffing it on the tester. - Well, smell it!

She slipped me a strip of paper with a scent on it. It was slightly floral, with a hint of something that resembled vanilla.

- Nice, but I think it's a little too sweet," I assessed, and Nadia nodded, putting down the flacon.

- You're right. Mom would have killed me. Something else... Oh, maybe this! - She grabbed another flacon and puffed again.

We tested scent after scent until Nadia hit on something that made her face light up like a child who had just discovered a new toy.

- This is it! Perfect! Smell it! - she said enthusiastically, almost pushing the tester under my nose.

The fragrance was subtle, slightly woody, with a delicate hint of citrus. In fact, it suited her mother - balanced, elegant, but not overly heavy.

- Nice. Buy, or you'll still be thinking," I said with a slight smile, for the first time that day feeling something loosen me up.

Nadia looked at me carefully, then shook her head.

- Do you see the old one? You don't have to be a model at all to have fun. Sometimes it's enough to just.... piss people off.

- Easy for you to say," I muttered, looking away.

Nadia took the perfume and walked to the checkout, and I waited on the side, feeling that she was right after all. Maybe not everything in life has to revolve around what others think?

- You know, I used to think that life was about making everyone like me. And then it occurred to me that.... people will always talk. If not about me being too fat, then about something else. So why bother? - she said, returning with her shopping bag.

- But how do you do it that you just ignore it? - I asked, looking at her skeptically.

- Do I ignore it? It's not always possible. But instead of worrying about it, I do my own thing. And you know what, it usually works. - She smiled and poked me lightly on the shoulder. - You should try it too. Seriously, old girl, you have no idea how much I would give to look like you.

I rolled my eyes, though somewhere inside I got warmer. Nadia was really trying to cheer me up, and while not everything was getting to me yet, I could feel that I was slowly starting to catch her way of thinking.

- Well, let's get out of here before I spend all my savings," she chuckled with a smile, pulling me toward the drugstore exit.

On my way to leave the mall, I felt the tension that had held me all day begin to let go. It may not have been perfect yet, but for a while, thanks to Nadia, it was a little easier.

We left the gallery, and the cold evening air immediately enveloped me like a heavy quilt. It was late, the sky had already turned a deep dark blue hue, and the streetlights were spilling warm light onto the wet asphalt. Nadia was still saying something - about school, about some silly action on TikTok that I absolutely had to see, but I was elsewhere.

Something was growing inside me. I wanted to say something, confess something, but at the same time I felt that the words did not want to pass through my throat. Lina always told me not to tell anyone. But this was Nadia - my bestie. Maybe she would understand?

- Hey, old one, hello! Are you listening to me? - Nadia looked at me with a slight reproachful look.

I stopped for a moment, looking at her. She was so normal, so confident and.... human. I took a deep breath.

- Nadia... I have to tell you something. But promise me you won't tell anyone about it. To no one. - My words sounded more serious than I expected.

Nadia raised an eyebrow, surprised by my tone.

- Well, sure, you can tell me everything. After all, you know.

- No, for real. Not even your mother, not even someone you trust the most. This has to stay between us, do you understand? - I said, looking her straight in the eyes.

- Okay, okay, I promise. What's up? - She asked, leaning slightly toward me, as if she was afraid someone would overhear us.

I swallowed my saliva, feeling my heart begin to beat faster. Lina had already started talking in my head: Don't tell her. She won't understand. She will only make everything worse.

But I ignored her voice.

- Listen... There is such a ... person. But not really. Lina. She is my friend, but.... no one but me can see her. - I said this in one breath, looking at Nadia, trying to gauge her reaction.

Nadia furrowed her brow, as if trying to understand what she had just heard.

- Wait, what? You say you have an imaginary friend?

- No, not like that. She is not imaginary. She is real, just.... not from our world. - My voice trembled, and my hands began to clench nervously in my jacket pockets.

Nadia opened her mouth as if to say something, but I continued before she could interject.

- And she's not the only one. There's also a shadow. He... He stalks me. I saw him at home, in the mirror, at night. And I'm afraid, Nadia. I'm afraid he'll do something to me.

Nadia froze for a moment, looking at me as if she wasn't sure if I was joking or serious.

- Old... - began slowly, but there was no laughter or mockery in her voice. - Do you want to tell me that someone.... something is following you?

I nodded, feeling my eyes begin to burn.

- Yes. But it's not someone you can see just like that. It's something worse, Nadia. Lina says it's coming from her world and that it wants me.... - I broke off, unable to finish.

Nadia furrowed her brow even more, clearly trying to put it all together.

- Okay, okay. That sounds... weird, old. Really mega weird. But you know what, I believe you.

- Really? - I asked in disbelief.

- Well, sure. Just... it sounds like something you can explain. But you know you're not alone in this, right? If something scares you, you have me. We'll figure it out together, okay?

Her words were like a Band-Aid on my shredded nerves. Maybe not everything was clear and simple, but knowing that Nadia didn't laugh at me, even though she could have, gave me a bit of hope.

- Thanks, old one," I said quietly, and she only smiled slightly and put her arm around me.

- No problem. But let's go back now, or my mother will bludgeon me if I'm late," she chuckled with a slight smile, and I felt the tension in my body slowly begin to let go.

We walked through the housing development, passing a row of gray blocks of flats illuminated by the yellow light of streetlights. The evening air was cool but crisp, and each step echoed on the concrete sidewalks. Conversation was quiet, more out of a need to fill the silence than for any real reason. Nadia was still chattering about something carefree - about what her mother would probably say about perfume, about another trip to the mall, about a new episode of some series on Netflix.

I barely heard her. My thoughts kept revolving around what I had said to her. Maybe I had made a mistake? Maybe I shouldn't have revealed what was going on with Lina and the shadow? But on the other hand... Nadia didn't laugh at me. She even tried to understand.

We stopped at the intersection where the paths to our blocks diverged.

- Okay, I'm off. Thanks for today," Nadia said with a smile, correcting the bag on her shoulder.

- Thanks, Nadia. For everything. Really," I replied, trying to smile in response.

- No problem, seriously. If you need anything, call me, okay? - She chuckled some more before turning around and heading toward her apartment building.

I watched him disappear around the corner, then turned and headed toward my apartment. The streetlights cast long, eerie shadows on the sidewalk, and the wind rustled the leaves on the trees. I tried not to look around, not to look for any shapes in the darkness.

"I'm safe," I kept repeating in my mind, although I didn't feel it at all.

When I arrived in front of my block, the stairwell seemed as deserted and quiet as ever. I opened the door and stepped inside, feeling the tension in my shoulders let go a little.

- Home," I chuckled quietly to myself, as if that would give me courage.

I drew in a deep breath and began to climb the stairs to my floor, hearing only the echo of my own footsteps. I counted them in my mind, as I always did. I always counted - it helped me distract myself from anything that might be hiding in those quiet, empty stairwells.

Suddenly the light went out.

I stood as if struck, and darkness immediately enveloped me. The soft light of a lantern shone through the windows on the staircase, but it was too weak to illuminate anything. I could barely see the outlines of the railings and walls.

Silence. So deep that it seemed to pulsate in the ears.

I took a step forward, trying to make out the wall. The air around me suddenly seemed different - heavier, damp. I inhaled my nose and almost immediately regretted it. The smell was disgusting, like rotten eggs mixed with something worse, something organic, decaying.

- It's nothing, the time switch probably went off.... - I whispered to myself, trying to calm the tremor in my voice.

I extended my hand toward the wall, my fingers sliding along the rough surface. There should be a light switch somewhere. I still couldn't find it, but I didn't stop looking.

I swallowed my saliva, but my throat was dry. Everywhere was so quiet that I could only hear my own accelerated breathing.

And then I felt it.

Instead of a hard, plastic switch, my fingers encountered something soft. Tarry to the touch. This "something" was warm, pulsing under my fingers, as if it were alive.

I held my breath and withdrew my hand, and a cold shiver ran down my back.

- What...? - I choked out, feeling my heart beating so fast it almost hurt.

I slowly took a step back, but then the smell intensified even more, hitting me right in the face. It made me sick, and my eyes welled up with tears from the stench.

From the darkness next to me, in the corner, I heard a soft, quiet scraping, as if someone was sliding his fingernails across the concrete. And then I realized that I was not alone here.

Shadow.

He was here.