If I hadn't gotten used to this I'd be gone by now. The shadows at the door. Watching without eyes.
They used to frighten me when I was small. Convinced myself they were nightmares and refused to sleep. Stared into the wall as they walked into my room and stood over me. The light only making it worse.
Then I realised they weren't nightmares. When I saw them in the day it became so abundantly clear. They were as real as you or I.
I read and I learned, slowly finding ways to keep them at their distance. But you can't keep these things away forever, especially when you realise there are things so much worse out there. The shadows stand as warning, they're almost like a shield for me now. The others must pass them before they can get anywhere near me.
That didn't protect my family....
