Fingers brushed over flushed cheeks and rubbed vigorously at her tired eyes. It was another evening of restlessness and Sarah failed to surrender to slumber - again. In a way, it wasn’t too terrible; she was able to venture out when the streets were nearly emptied and enjoyed a bit of cool air. With umbrella in tow, since the forecast predicted rain, she buttoned up her coat and left her flat behind to greet the evening.
It started out rather lovely, honestly, it was one of the better walks she had. The heavens started to open up slightly, and she did not regret taking the umbrella. A light drizzle started up, indicating that her trip was nearly over. But, just as she was about to turn on her heel and head back to direction from whence she came, she noticed a few silhouettes and cars in the vicinity. There was some soft commotion taking place and she failed to understand what they were saying.
But their actions had spoken enough.
A transaction was happening, not uncommon in these parts. Recreational drugs were exchanged for money. It was everywhere in the city - especially now under the blanket of the night.
But she had never seen this sort of transaction take place. There was a formation of darkness that loomed over the smaller, human figures, underneath them. It stretched out toward the individuals that were taking a substance in their mouths. Wide, green eyes, stared at hallucinations; the nightmarish visions with eyes of ember that peered out from the shadows. They twisted around, as if showing off; as if those people it surrounded could actually see it.
Sarah claimed she was seeing things. At this hour, her mind could be playing tricks on her. She was not a stranger to hallucinations. And, not wishing to proceed forward, she found this to be a good time to turn around and consider sleep. Off she went, thinking this night was to be shelved in her memory.
Little did she know, she had been a witness to events leading up to a crime.
She managed to sleep when she got home, after what she saw, she had some tea and took some sleeping aids to assist her. The nightmares were not so vivid this time, which was equivalent to her having a decent night’s rest. Her routine was simple, get up, clean up, put on the telly before taking off to the coffee shop.
Everything seemed to be going according to her ritual, except the news in the morning stopped her dead in her tracks before she was on her way out. Right before a commercial break, there was news about a murder. A murder that happened in the same street she found herself last night.
Their eyes were emptied out, as if someone had taken a spoon to the sockets. They lacked tongues, according to the report but there were no other injuries found on their person - no other indication of foul play other than what was mentioned.
It took a long, a very long, moment for Sarah to snap out of it and turn off the television. Grabbing a long coat, and her purse, which she had just dumped a small notepad in, Sarah went to figure out if her hallucinations had some sort of merit. Surely, what she saw couldn’t be linked to this crime.
And if it was, she was a witness - a witness who was spotted by the very thing that gave her nightmares. But to believe that some sort of spiteful spirit did this .. was a bit far-fetched, was it not?