The Living Shadow

It is raining, and it is dark. The ground has turned into ankle deep puddles of mud, and every breath the stranger takes furls out in front of him in clouds of barely visible smoke. He carries a lantern. It is the only source of light for miles, and from inside the unlit inn, it looks like nothing more than a pin prick.

The innkeeper’s daughter is curious. She watches this stranger stand like a statue on the corner of the street through the fogged up windows of her father’s quaint little inn, wondering whether or not she should invite him inside. She should, really; she has been raised to be a kind and hospitable young woman, but it is late and she is but a twelve year-old girl – it is hardly safe for her to do so. There is an ominous air about the stranger anyway – although perhaps it is only the shadows that have been cast that gives him this presence.

But then the stranger looks at her. He lifts the lantern so that it is level with his face and looks straight at her from the corner of the street, and he grins. Ana blinks. She hadn’t thought anyone would be able to see her – especially as the all the lights in the inn had been extinguished for the night.

There is no excuse for her not to invite him in now that he has seen her watching him. Never mind that it is late – it is her duty as the innkeeper’s daughter to be hospitable to anyone and everyone who comes knocking, even if they come to knock at the most ungodly hour. Her father is in the next room, so she supposes it’s alright.

She hurries down the stairs and pads anxiously over the unpolished wooden floor towards the door. The wood feels like ice against her bear skin, and she shivers when she pries open the large door, allowing a chilly draft and an odd few drops of rain into the old inn.

But when she looks out onto the corner of the street again, the stranger and his lantern are gone and there is no trace of him. There aren’t even footsteps in the mud to prove that his presence had once been there, and the pin prick light of his lantern cannot even be seen in the distance.

Ana sleeps fitfully that night.

The stranger no longer stands on the street. He stands in her dreams with that same lantern and that same haunting grin.

And he refuses to leave.

A/N: Am I going to continue this? Yes and no. I will, I just won't update often. Just in case anyone's wondering (which I doubt).

Written for a prompt on Livejournal in the community allunwritten.