Often one finds themselves in spots of trouble because of something they’ve done. However, sometimes it’s when you seem to be on the verge of losing your sanity that someone comes to explain things to you, someone that knows what it’s like. I was diagnosed with a fear of shadows or Sciophobia Sciaphobia when I was younger. Jumping at every single one, it was hard not to though, I swear they moved on their own. At night sometimes I would sit with my flashlight pointing it at shadows that seemed to creep closer, like they wanted to steal me away.

You see, the reason my parents decided to get me diagnosed is even after I grew out of that supposed stage of ‘fearing shadows’ I still had my flashlight. It would go anywhere I would, and if I couldn’t have it, well I just didn’t go. I refused to leave the house without it, I refused to sleep without it. They’d take it away and hear me screaming in the middle of the night, especially when the moon was full. I had them worried, they thought I was insane or something. It took trips and trips to the shrink; he tried to cure me through hypnotism at one point. Nothing worked... every time the session ended I was just the same if not occasionally worse. I wasn’t crazy though; there was something in those shadows... I swear it.

Then this stranger came, one day when I was older, he said he knew what I was going through. At a point I almost swore he came out of the shadows himself I didn’t see him standing there till I almost ran into to him; I swore I almost had a heart attack. Granted I was busy watching shadows and didn’t pay attention to where I was going until I’d almost run into the man. He seemed to notice there was something odd about me, no, no he didn’t notice, he knew. He knew I was afraid of the shadows, which I tried to avoid venturing out when the shadows were the longest. Sometimes I think he stood outside my house waiting for me, I’d peer over the couch and there he’d be; standing across the street looking at his watch. Admittedly it was a little bit creepy, then again, anyone that can claim to know what you’re going through and show up like that was a little creepy to start with.

He told me one day while we spoke, that we humans were like livestock, we were cattle? Food? For this... these... shadow things? Mankind was prey, but why? I had so many questions when he left, what was in the shadows; it only validated my fear of them. He didn’t soothe it, he didn’t clam it. I was more nervous than ever to go out. I hate the shadows; I wish this man would explain to me WHY I see what I do, not just that they’re here to take over basically. What are they? Every time I met him, he’d answer a few questions though, nothing settled my mind, I didn’t feel better about it, but I wanted to fix it. The problem was I didn’t know how to fix it, just me and my trusty flashlight. I still had it, even if I was in high school or something like that; I kept a death grip on it. One night when I was out, past my normal time, with flashlight in hand the man showed up again. He got a chuckle out of me trying to protect myself with the flashlight, turning it on every shadow that I saw... that’s when I realized I truly didn’t want to be afraid anymore.

I started to want to fight against my fear; this stranger, he got me not wanting to hide anymore. Something no one else had been able to do, it was impressive if not amazing; I felt like rising up and doing something about it. It was then he said I was ready for his offer, he held out a piece of paper, a contract. He said if I signed up, I could have a chance to fight...

It wasn’t about mankind, it wasn’t about Lucy down the street, or Marge that ran the stop and go; or even my school mates. It was about me overcoming a fear that they laughed at me for. I knew it was there, I knew the shadows were bad. I tried to show them, they wouldn’t believe me. However, now; now they’d see. I wasn’t some crazy fool too scare of his own shadow to do something; I was validated in my fear. I had finally been validated and told, ‘yes that’s why you’re afraid; there is something there and only you can stop it’. I signed the paper.

But... was it the right thing to do? I was cautious as I signed the paper. The shadows seemed to want at me more and more, I felt paranoid. It was like they knew I had found out and wanted to fight back. I couldn’t let them win though, this was my life. So I signed that paper and left a small ink blot...

The name I signed...
Aleister "Skittles" Oleander