The Looming Shadow

Strange presences and energies were common phenomena I came across as a child. Once, I stumbled upon an area near our home garden that felt so eerie that I had my parents dig up the site, only to find two skeletons in a shallow grave. The police were immediately called to the scene, and the site was revealed to be a mass grave. The years passed by and similar experiences became a common occurrence around me, so much so that people started calling me a witch. This led us to move a couple of times before we found a relatively friendlier neighbourhood.

When I was 11, I wandered off into the woods near my school, feeling a strange presence calling out to me. I stumbled upon a cave and ventured deep into it until, suddenly, I felt everything around me dissolve into shadows. I woke up hours later and found a smoky humanoid figure standing before me, almost as if they were a being of dark energy.

“It’s not safe for you here; you must leave at once,” the figure said.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“A familiar. You don’t even know you’re a witch, child. There are dark forces that seek your power. Leave now.”

The figure pointed to a shortcut out of the cave. I thanked them and left immediately. When I emerged, I found my parents and the police combing through the woods. I was grounded for two weeks after that incident. That same night, however, my mind was glued to the familiar. They said I was a witch, but I had no powers. I wondered whether sensing strange energies was the only ability I had. The familiar revealed themself to me that night, and requested that I look into my past.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Your mother doesn’t have powers, but your grandmother… She was a witch. You need to learn your origins.”

Grandma passed away when Mom was my age, so she didn’t know that Grandma was a witch. I asked Mom if we could visit Grandpa and have a look at Grandma’s belongings. She agreed. That weekend, we visited Grandpa, and the moment he greeted us, I could see in his eyes that he knew the real reason why I was there. Grandpa made us tea, and the conversation that followed left both Mom and me frozen in our seats.

Grandma didn’t die in a car accident like we were told. Grandpa knew that she was a witch; he told us that Grandma had no choice but to sacrifice herself to save her family. The Shadow, a demon that consumes magic, had been hunting her at the time, and Grandma had sealed away her powers in a secret place only one of her witch descendants could find. The smoky figure that called itself a familiar was actually the same demon; it was using me to find Grandma’s sealed powers.

Grandpa saw the panic on my face and asked me not to worry. Grandma had warded the entire house, especially the second basement that no one else knew about. He led us there and directed me to touch the statue of a raven placed upon a desk. As I picked it up, streams of magic, and sheer warmth, swirled around us, as if Grandma was cradling us in her embrace. Grandma’s spirit then appeared before us.

“Freya, Lara, I’m so glad you’re both finally here,” Grandma said.

After a brief exchange, Grandma explained that she would bestow her powers upon me, and that she’d also bind her spirit with mine to help me master witchcraft over the next two weeks. Once my training was done, things unfolded exactly as Grandma said they would. The moment we stepped outside of Grandma’s house, the Shadow was already there, waiting for us. Grandma revealed herself at that same time, and the Shadow’s face twisted with confusion and rage.

“You! I destroyed your soul; how is this possible?”

“You only saw what I wanted you to see, demon.”

Grandma then looked at me and nodded. Mom and Grandpa stepped back, and Grandma shielded them with a barrier. Then we both attacked the demon with our combined powers, pinning it to the ground while it struggled to break free.

“All the lives you took shall be avenged, and all the powers you stole will be returned to nature.” Those were Grandma’s final words to the demon as it disintegrated before our eyes. A wave of energy erupted into the surroundings, nearly pushing all of us back. It was done…

Grandma then turned to us one last time as her spirit began to fade. “It seems my time is up… I hope you lead long, happy lives,” she told Mom and me. Grandma disappeared moments later. I was thrilled to have known her for the short time we had together, and I was also glad that Mom was finally able to say goodbye to her and let go of her regrets.