Kill Your Darlings

Shadow

I hear the screams
echoing in a vacant hallways
decorated with cracked walls
and smashed picture frames

The voices enter my ears
shrill and deafening
causing me to flinch
and yet inch closer

The wood underneath me creaks
masking the shrill tones
for only a second
before they return even louder

I put my hands over my ears
as I step on broken glass
and wooden picture frames
letting them snap under my feet

I reach a broken door
the wood chipped and broken
the doorknob rusted
and the frame gone

I open the door
and see a shadow
sitting in a corner
rocking back and forth

When I opened the door
the screams fell silent
and as I walked to the shadow
the screams were nothing compared to the silence

"What's your name"
I asked the shadow
the shadow lifted its head
before whispering

"I'm depression.
I'm your new best friend."

~R.E.H