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To anyone who found themselves suffering from temporary vision loss as a result of the firework, it seems that the worst cases seem are reported to have faded after three days--though anyone who caught a glimpse of the firework may notice a strange shadow out of the corner of their eye. No matter what you do, you cannot get any closer or make out any details, but without fail the shadow seems to appear regularly throughout the day.
A good night's rest in a darkened room should have done the trick. The sparkling lights that one often got after a burst of light had dissipated which was wonderful, but now she was seeing something else. Her mind was clearly playing tricks on her and it was safe to say that on this occasion she wasn't very appreciative of it's creative process.
It had all started that morning. She'd picked up her magazines on the way to her favourite coffee shop when she had seen it out of the corner of her eye. It had seemed like a brief flicker, a shadow that leaned around the corner to peer out at her, but each time she had turned to look at it...it was gone. At first she'd been capable of ignoring it and she had taken up her usual spot in the shop, with her normal hot chocolate, as she set about reading through the news of the day.
The first bit? Whatever the massive firework had been had caused more than just startled eyes. According to the paper there had been reports of blindness and worst still, it didn't seem to be dissipating, fortunately within the next few days the report would become more pleasant in terms of a 'happy' ending. Nevertheless the explosive ball of light had not been a permitted display and Liliane did have to raise a brow at that. Did this mean that her kind would get the blame again? She couldn't imagine a reason for anyone from the Moon Courts investing time in physically harming the innocent, it just wasn't their style.
The second bit was decidedly less interesting, as was the third. The news had been slow of the last few days with only musings and observations about the strange occurences during the festivities. This included the exponential growth of flowers and crops, as well as the exceedingly high pollen counts. There were theories about Global warming and a number of columnists had failed to find an agreed stance on whatever was occuring. In fact, all they could agree was that it was odd.
Odd but fortunate.
All in all it was a slow news day and Liliane released a sigh as she brought the mug to her lips and picked up the latest of her fashion magazines. Based on current trends her very own chosen style was making a comeback. The vintage 50s dresses were proving popular again and she was just a little bit excited by this. To have a whole new array of people come to appreciate the quality of that design would be wonderful (and she'd be able to buy slightly different variants).
Her morning continued in much the same fashion, ticking along comfortably into the afternoon when she really should have been doing something constructive with her time. It was as she was coming to this realisation that she saw the flicker of shadow again, though this time it was closer and practically leaning down upon her neck. If there was ever a time to start it was then and there but she did manage to contain herself and instead, merely spit out her drink back into her mug.
Eyes wide, she turned abruptly to where it should have been, only to discover that once again it wasn't there.
What the hell was going on?
Would her phone have any details on it?
Liliane found it in her best interests to finish her hot chocolate as quietly and calmly as possible as she gathered her belongings together and made for the exit. Alas, the day was to be filled with misfortune and oddity for her as the rest of it was soon filled with flickers of shadow and the constant sensation that something was following her.
What had seemingly started as odd was quickly becoming very disconcerting; worse still, she wasn't even sure how to fix it...
(Word Counts: 650)
