✍🏻 Little Matchmaker

16 - Christmas Morning

The main lights shut off but were immediately replaced by the emergency ones. Much dimmer but at least provided enough light for Sophie to see there is still just Yuzuru with her in the elevator and nobody else.

She pushed herself to the corner, placing her increasingly sweaty palms against the cold metal, and watched him as he put down the box, leaning to hug her. She wrapped her arms around his back but darted with her eyes to the three remaining corners of the elevator.

"It's okay, Sophie," he said tenderly, stroking her hair, "just close your eyes, they will fix it in a moment."

"Clo-closing my eyes is the last thing I should d-do." Sophie stammered out and clenched her fingers around his shirt.

She focused on her breathing, trying to keep it as shallow and calm as possible but as the seconds were passing by and the elevator was still not moving she felt her chest tightening. Didn't take long and the air was leaving her lungs completely, making her gasp for air.

"You have asthma?!" Yuzuru panicked and she shook her head, sliding down on the floor trying to inhale properly but could not. She hugged her knees and pulled them to her chin and he kneeled down in front of her. "What should I do?"

He was now blocking her way to see to the corner behind him and she extended her hand, trying to push him to the side. He did move to sit next to her and traced the way she was still fearfully darting with her eyes to each side of the elevator.

"You want to see to the corners?" He asked softly and she merely nodded, fighting with the need to catch a breath. A moment later she felt him pulling her from the corner where she sat, not able to fight him, the shape of him already becoming blurry. He moved past her and sat down in the corner where she was before, pulling her back onto him.

"There is nothing there, Sophie," he said as he put his arms around her waist, letting her now have a full view of the elevator again. "You have to focus on your breathing, okay?"

His voice was calm and soft but she still heard he is hiding the panic he was feeling. Mustering all the mental power she had, she shakily exhaled, but the inhale was still only making her wheeze, not getting enough air into her lungs.
The sounds around her became muffled and even though she could hear Yuzuru telling her something more, she could not understand it anymore.
And then the lights flickered again and even though it was dark just for a split second, she suddenly saw a tall sinister figure towering above her.
He was bent in half to make his long, twisted horns fit into the elevator, body covered in heavy furs and eyes glowing ominously.

She heard Yuzuru's urgent voice from the distance as she pushed her back into his chest, but the only thing she could hear clearly was the heavy breathing of the mighty creature in front of her.
And as it bent over, feeling its rotten breath on her face, she finally closed her eyes shut.

________________

Eight-year-old Sophie was hiding behind the door, biting her lip and listening to the anxious voice of her mother.

"Padre Delgado, thank you for coming in this late hour. I don't know what to do with her anymore."

"Hmm, losing faith at such a young age is truly unheard of. Especially with such a devoted mother like you are."

"I don't know what I am doing wrong."

"Nothing, my dear child. Even the Devil himself sometimes chooses to rather turn us into non-believers than to have us carry Lord's love in our hearts. And children are always the most susceptible to his words of deceit."

"But what can we do? She yelled at me that.." there was a short pause and her mother finished in a fearful whisper, "that God doesn't exist."

There were several seconds of silence, Sophie hearing only the loud ticking noise of the clock from the living room before the priest spoke again.