what comes out at night

Chapter 2.

The guests had left after two weeks of the incident that had shaken up Shannon to her core. She had her spring break from school for 20 days. She was spending her days by going to the parks and travelling around the country with her beloved family. She always adored them because she was the only offspring. Her parents did everything they could to love her and protect her. As an only child, she understood her duties in just a few years of her life, i.e., how many responsibilities she will have in the near future. Shannon was an atypical child in the sense that she longed to take care of her parents the way they took care of her.

Upon reminiscing back to the days when her deep seated fear spiralled into trauma; her body would go rigid, the way rigor mortis sets in a corpse all the while staring, without registering at whatever is in her field of vision and have flashbacks of what had happen. The incident that had given her trauma occurred five years back, when she was five years old. Shannon used to live in another city before Riverdale. They moved to the new city to close that chapter and start a new and happy life. But who knew that she would leave that city with trauma imprinted in her mind.

Babysitters were an integral part of Shannon’s childhood, owing to the fact that both her parents worked long and arduous jobs. As her mother and her father were doctors by profession, she was left with her babysitter until they got back. Her mother continued her job after Shannon turned four years old. Many babysitters came for the interview, but none satisfied Mrs. Matthews. Then, after trying for weeks, she interviewed a babysitter who had a glimpse of a charming and friendly personality, who she believed was perfect for her baby. She hired her for the job. Mrs. Matthews unveiled every part of the house for her. She exposed her armoires as well. Upon asking to confirm the name of the babysitter, she replied, “Let me introduce myself. I am Rose. Rose Hoffman”. She followed Mrs. Matthews to Shannon’s room. She was sleeping unconcernedly.

Shannon’s room was below the attic floor, and the windows used to open in the backyard of the house. Rose started her job a week after the interview. As Shannon was just a baby, the lights were left on while she was asleep. Rose started her job blissfully. But as the days went by, she began to bully Shannon. Shannon was at the age where a child starts to express their emotions. She used to listen to bedtime stories from her mother. It was necessary to make her go to sleep. As instructed by Mrs. Matthews, she told Shannon bedtime stories, but the stories Rose told her were not appropriate for her age and resulted in her having nightmares. She missed her mother’s unicorn and princesses stories. This was a clear indication that Rose had a case of dual personality disorder. She was sweet and nice to Shannon in front of her parents, but after they left for their jobs she bullied her in such a way that Shannon could not tell her parents about what she was going through.

As the months went by, Shannon had turned into a paranoid child. Rose made stories that the house was haunted. She used to tell her that an entity, a being made of shadow resided at the base of the old oak tree, located at the very edge of their backyard. Rose had Sundays off from her job, so on every off day she used to come to the backyard, dressed in black and would stand still under the looming shadows of the tree branches until Shannon came to the window to see that “supernatural” thing.

Mrs. Matthews had a week off from her job because she wanted some time with her daughter. So, in the meantime there was no need of Rose. While sleeping with Shannon, she noticed irregularities in her sleep patterns, mainly mild insomnia and random episodes in which she would wake with a start and gasp for air. She monitored her for 2 days. She kept asking Shannon if everything was okay. Shannon could not speak after witnessing unspeakable horrors in her nightmares, the cause of which were Rose’s sick habit of narrating her spine chilling stories. She kept whimpering. Mrs. Matthews assured her daughter that nothing will hurt her. The colour drained from Shannon’s face as if she saw something. Mrs. Matthews traced Shannon’s gaze and was horrified as she saw a human like shadow, bolting out of Shannon’s room from behind the half opened door. Mrs. Matthews gave chase to the shadow which ultimately lead her to the threshold of her house’s main door, through which she was able to spot Rose in a black dress, running across the street. Shannon was terrified, and she started crying. Her mother asked her what had happened. She told everything to her, how Rose bullied her and ruined her life. Mrs. Matthews called the police and told everything Shannon told her. After those few months of horror her mother decided to resign from her job and take care of her daughter until she’s grown enough to take care her own. Mr. and Mrs. Matthews decided to leave that city and shift to Riverdale, where they can spend their life in peace. And they would focus on their daughter.