The Shadow People

Chapter 2: Trepidation

 Maria’s parents didn’t believe her. They never did. They thought her wild ramblings were a part of her imagination. They believed her ideas were conjured up out of lack of attention on their part.

 Granted, they did barely have any time for Maria and always stuck her with a different babysitter every week – not by choice – so they felt guilty.

 Yet they did nothing about it. Instead, every once in a while they bought her gifts for when they returned home from work, which seemed to bring a smile to Maria’s face, but it never solved ‘the issue’.

 The young girl still spoke to herself and shut herself in her room for hours on end. And she would wake up screaming every other night in a state of panic, trying to explain to her parents – which was difficult to do amongst the crying and hyperventilating the girl always experienced at the time -- that there were Demons after her, trying to kill her.

 She would describe them as large black clouds hovering above her bed groaning like a hungry wolf. They would dart across the room from left to right and weaved through the walls and ceiling. Then they would try and ‘eat’ her.

 Her parents never bought her story, nor did they even try to. They believed her frightening tales of the ‘Demons’ were the reason why her babysitters always wanted to quit. They believed her wild stories made them all superstitious.

 They would speak of disembodied voices and shadows stalking them. One even admitted to having an object thrown at them.

 Not that Maria worried about any of that; she always hated her babysitters.

 They mistreated her. Neglected her. Punished her for being too noisy or complained about her dog, Lucifer.

 Their experiences never frightened Maria. Simply because the ones frightening them weren’t the Demons that were attacking her.