I seem to have misplaced my car keys.
All the windows are closed, but there is still a breeze.
A chill that lingers and then suddenly fades.
Am I being watched even though I've closed the shades?
Am I paranoid or are my surroundings truly distorted?

I think I'm being haunted.
There was a flash of light down the hallway,
A shadow passed by a doorway,
But I'm not sure if it was my own.
I thought I was home alone…
Keep telling myself “It's just this old house.”
Still, I'm having doubts.

Footsteps sound like they are coming from
every direction.
I try to call for help but there’s no connection.
I look in the mirror because I noticed something strange,
Standing behind me, completely deranged.
Spinning around, no one is there…
At the empty space, I continue to stare.
Dizzying feeling, I lose my balance.
Everything went black, filling with malice.

I wake up on the floor,
Not where I was before.

A long Silence…

Then all at once the house took a breath with violence.
Doors slamming, chandelier swinging,
High-pitched, and mechanical, my ears are ringing.
Lights flickering, glass shattering.
Nowhere to escape, it is maddening.

Chairs standing on end,
Alone, I think not; I can no longer pretend.
A scream from my bedroom,
But I have no idea whose.
Do I really want to find out?
“Is anyone there?” I shout.
No response…
Questioning the air softly, “What do you want?”.

The air became brisker.
There was a whisper,
From a darkening corner.
A woman came out of the shadows,
She murmured, her breathing was shallow.
Bruised handprints around her throat.
I can't move, as she slowly approaches.
I apologize, “I’m sorry, I shouldn't have provoked you!”
She looks familiar but unglued.
Her face inches from mine.
Cold runs down my spine.
She is eyeless.
Her lips are blue and her skin is lifeless.
She has deep wounds on her wrists.
She looks as though she came directly from the crypt.
Skin rotted, hair matted, and her grey dress torn,
Disheveled and deformed.

I don't know who she is, maybe I've seen her in passing?
I am afraid about even asking.
Is she the ghost of someone I used to know?
What made her come up from down below?

“Who… are you?” tripping over my voice.
“What do you mean?” She almost seems annoyed.
“You don't know who I am?” her lips perched, smiling in a slant…
I want to say something, but out of fear, I can't.
She laughs and sneers.
“You’ve known me for years.”
She scowls.
“Girl are you truly that numb?!” growls,
From behind her closed lips.

I delve into the deepest dark of my mind,
I'm afraid of the answer I may find.
I ponder over the words of this creature.
There is a resemblance in her features.
It swells in me like choppy water on the ocean.
I'm finally able to make an awful notion.
A retort that I feel is impelled.

I am haunting myself.

© A. Tenney