She could only see the soft glow of the lantern ahead of her. It was disquieting. She’d always loved the darkness, but tonight it felt unsettling. Fear of the dark was one of the most widespread fears, she remembered reading once.

As she hurriedly moved along the street, her hoodie pulled tightly around her body, she felt the shadows shift. She shivered and kept her gaze straight ahead. She didn’t have that much further to go. Just a few more corners.

Then she left the cover of the streetlight. The paths darkened again. There was no lantern around here, but she’d always thought that was the cool part of her journey. No one could see her, as though she were a part of this darkness. Not tonight. Tonight the darkness was even darker and she was no longer a part of it.

She thought back to their argument. She couldn’t even remember how it had started. Who had started it. But it didn’t matter anymore.

All that mattered was that she had to get away from him.

She thought she was almost safely at home when she heard the footsteps behind her. She broke into a run.

©2018

Image from free photo stock Pixabay.com