Lying in the dark she was afraid to close her eyes. When her eyes were closed is when she  saw…….well she wasn’t sure what it was she saw. A shadow? Yes, a shadow was the best way to describe it. And yet, it was more then a shadow. It had substance, a form, a feeling about it.

A ghost? No she thought, it couldn’t be a ghost. You saw those with your eyes open. She didn’t see anything strange when her eyes were open. Only when they were closed. A dream? No! She knew she wasn’t dreaming. She was wide awake. And that’s what scared her. She was wide awake!

She tried to remember back to the time the shadow first showed up. She sent her mind  reeling back in time. It seemed like it was years, yet she knew it was only months since  the first time the shadow came to her. Months. Yet it might as well be years. It’s like she couldn’t remember a time it wasn’t there.

It really didn’t do anything. She didn’t even know why she was afraid. She thought it was because it should do something! Anything! But, in all these months it was just there. She sensed it was male. Why? She wasn’t sure. That’s just what her senses told  her. It was male, and it wanted something from her. Or it wanted her. Again, she wasn’t sure. So she waited. Afraid to close her eyes.

One day she thought, one day she will fall asleep and the shadow will make its move. She knew this as well as she knew her own name. What she didn’t know, what she wasn’t sure of, is whether it will harm her.

She was tired, so very tired. She could feel her lids closing. Sleep was beckoning. She took one last deep breath, felt her heart pound, and then slowly her lids closed and she was his.