(Under Quick Construction) Elemental House Series: Sea of Flames

Chapter 1: The Dark Figure ☽

I was never the best at remembering dates. I can lie to myself all I want to boast my ego, but no matter how much you sugarcoat the truth in the end; you'll always find it sour. Maybe I'm a little slow. Maybe I just don't care. Probably a mix of both. But there's always one date I'll never forget: July 29th. And no, It's not just because that date just so happens to be the birthday of the beautiful and talented yours truly. July 29th was the day it first happened. It marks the beginning of a completely different future. It was then, very then, that I decided to peep out my window. But it was not an abstract canvas of golden yellows and fiery oranges I saw that summer evening, oh no. It was far off from a masterpiece. Painted outside was an eerie figure, taking a dark shape of a man. Once: imagination. Twice: Coincidence? But how about 30 times? 32 and counting to be exact. Then what do you call it? A stalker, shadow, serial killer!? But I know what you're really concerned about. Why haven't I called the police? Why haven't I told someone? Well in fact, I did. (Tell my guardian at least). All I get is a laugh and sneer.....pure mockery. "It's just your imagination," she says. "It's nothing," she says. But I will not rest until this "dark figure" is put to justice. (Or at least until I'm put in a mental institution).

Either would be fine at this point, because July 29th doesn't just mark the day of my shadow stalker. It marks a day of regret and agony. Pure distress. Fire and rage from the darkest pits of hell, tears and sadness from the darkest storm cloud—it was the day of my parents' death. Sunday, July 29th, 2001.

My face went absent as I swallowed hard, recalling the events of that fateful day.

My aunt had said that my family and I were driving back home from New York City and got into a fatal car accident on my birthday. My mom and dad immediately died due to a violent head trauma along with my twin sister. I was the only one to survive the accident at the time, being barely three years-old. Appalling to know, but I can't change it. Futures don't change....so I thought. But even though I never got to create a strong bond with any of them; I'm a sensitive crybaby, as always, on the subject.

But what I didn't know was that my aunt is a lying bitch.

We go back to Sunday, January 31th, the day of the 30 something sight of the dark figure.

***

How am I going to endure with this.....will I tell her?

I inhaled deeply trying to ignore the dreadful—sharp pain that was pounding excessively in my head. I felt like I was swept off the shore by an astronomic wave, crashing right on top of me, flinging me into the sand head first. "I swear I saw it.....I'm being watched," I said aloud, rubbing my eyes reevaluating that what I'd seen was really there.

I hurried to my window, hands pressed up against it, probing anxiously again for the figure. But, all my delicate eyes could distinguish outside the window on this frigid, winter evening were pine trees coated with a thin sheet of snow. My breath fogged up the window as I stood.

"No! I swear-I swear I saw it—it was there just a moment ago." My heart was beating out of my chest. I looked around my room, panting heavily and wide-eyed.

"That's it.....it's gone."

The head pounding and tears were too much. It sure isn't a hard task to drive me into a wall. I immediately sunk back onto my soft bed, unsettlingly pondering.

"Did I imagine it?"

"No, It was too.....real." I laid there trying to make sense of what I just saw, but it was no use.