Not Welcome

The woman stood on my front steps, rain pouring around her frail frame. Dark voids gazed at me from pitch black darkness of night, ethereal orbs under long, black hair, matted and drenched. Her pale, sickly skin, immodestly veiled by her translucently white robe, reflected the light pouring out onto the old cement block.

I forced my eyes back to the woman’s face, a mix of empathy and disgust. She stayed as silent as when I opened to her knock, unblinking, lifeless eyes boring into me.I once again pointed at the damp mat between us and took a step back. “Not. Welcome,” I said, mirroring the words on the mat with false confidence.

She swayed lightly with a wind only she could feel, water cascading around her. A wave of compassion, a desire to help, washed through me.

Was she working some kind of spell on me? Could they do that? I don’t know. It had been some time since I’d read up on them, and this was my first encounter with one. I could feel the panic rising as I went through the checklist in my mind, of what I should be doing. Should I just close the door? I don’t want her to just stand there, looking through the window, waiting for me to sleep.

Should I call the cops? I shuddered, suppressing a scoff, and pantomimed a chill.

It was cold outside. Maybe…

No.

I looked away, took another step back and made to close the door.

“Please.” Her voice was tentative, with a thick, eastern European accent.

Great.

I stopped. I looked into her eyes. The abyss pulled me in. I fell, deeper and deeper.

I craned my neck backwards and shuffled my shoulders, sending the light from my phone dancing around my small bedroom. I sighed and rubbed my eyes with my free hand.

I should really go to sleep. It’s fine.

“Help me.”

The words she had said as I had closed the door rattled around my mind. Her mouth, scarlet red, had formed the words with difficulty, as if unaccustomed to the action. Her lips had closed with finality, her face vacant, serene.

I grumbled and scrolled through the comments.

“Don’t let them in. Don’t even think about it. My cousin—”

Swipe.

“I let one bite me once. It was weird, but I’d given blood—”

Swipe.

“Like seriously, whoever says they let one in is trolling—”

Swipe.

I sighed with exasperation and let my phone fall screen down onto my chest, plunging my room into darkness.

The rain spattered against the window, an infinite multitude of water droplets hidden behind drawn blinds. Street lamp light flickered through shadowy branches, the rain and dull light dancing together on the vinyl slats.

I wonder if she stood there, if I could see her.

Her hair hung carelessly in front of her face and lay haphazardly on the tablecloth, pooling water onto the cheap plastic material. Her head was bent down over the bowl, her spindly arms resting on either side. She perched over it, ready to dive in.

In the stark lighting of my kitchen, I could see her alabaster skin was nearly as translucent as her clothing, showing every vein and distressed muscle fibre. The steady drip of water rolling off of her was an unsettling companion to the hushed sound of television filtering in from the other room and the tick-tock of the wall clock.

She looked up at me, a satisfied smile cracked across her stony face. She licked her lips and her eyes wandered lazily back down to the bowl.

The bowl full of dark, crimson liquid. Blood. Blood from…

From what?

The dark ceiling of my bedroom glared down at me.

Where would I get blood? It made no sense.

Why was I even thinking about this? So stupid.

I lifted my phone, the light almost blinding. How long had I been staring off into space? Whatever.

I closed the post and started a new search.

Until Death Do Us Part? How About Never?

A Dortmund, Germany woman made waves today when she became the bride of an…

Swipe.

10 Reasons You Should Invite Them In

And 10 reasons why you shouldn’t. You may have found yourself wondering at times…

Swipe.

I had the most surreal experience today r/ISuckBack

I [M29] just had the weirdest thing happen. Disclaimer: Don’t be me. Don’t even consider…

Swipe.

I clicked through the results, devouring the contents.

My eyes began to water and itch. I looked at the time.

Fuck, it was late.

I put my phone down next to me, enveloping me once again in darkness.

A stillness permeated me. The rain had slowed, putting an end to the performance across my window. A car drove splashing through a puddle, its passing reverberating through the humid air long after its lights had shone through the slats.

I don’t know how long I stared at the window. The mundanity of it filled me, the perfectly cut corners framing horizontal lines of nothing. Darkness filled the edges of my vision, weaving in with the night, a penumbra vignette on a shadowy backdrop.

A shade moved beyond the window.

Light spilled out onto my front porch. I stood on the precipice, my foot resting on the lip of the doorway. The heavy rain had dwindled to a drizzle, creating a halo of water around the yellowed street lights illuminating the cracked pavement. An animal yowled somewhere in the dark, echoing against vinyl siding and wooden fences.

My eyes darted down to the concrete block. An outline of splattered water droplets formed a wobbly rectangle around the not-welcome mat, the awning doing little to stop the mat’s waterlogging.

And there, right outside the ring, on the wetted concrete, was an imprint of two footprints, asymmetrically facing my front door. Faded as they were, they felt less transient than I had expected, delineated from the concrete and rising to brand themselves onto my mind.

A chill ran through me and I blinked repeatedly. I gave another survey of the neighbourhood, steeling myself.

This is stupid.

Bracing my foot further against the doorway, I leaned out and peered down the sides of my house. The cold breath of the overcast night caressed my face as I watched for any signs of disturbance.

Nothing. Well, what did—

Something cold stroked my neck. I jerked back, hand slapping my neck and brushing at it aggressively.

Wet.

I brought my hand in front of me, a water droplet quickly evaporating. My eyes flicked to the awning to watch as another offensive droplet dripped down to the concrete.

I panted in my open doorway, scrambling for my calm. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and exhaled.

I opened my eyes and shook my head. I forced out a chuckle. Jeez, I need to get some sleep. I closed and locked the door, and turned away from it. What was that about, what am I even doing?

“Welcome.” She smiled, mouth as crimson as blood.