Awakening to Shadows

At 2:13 a.m., I woke to the sound of my bedroom door slowly creaking open.

I whispered my sister’s name, but no one answered. The hallway was dark except for

a faint, crawling shadow stretching toward my bed. When I tried to

scream, the shadow froze, tilted as if curious, and then smiled without a mouth.

It whispered, “You’re finally awake,” as the room went completely silent.