Short Fiction: The Thing

Written by: Mazy Davis

I'm going to share a story.....its one that invokes fear in me to tell aloud. Even writing it now I feel a little bit on edge. Anyway on to my "encounter".  As a child I spent most of my time with my grandparents. They were lovely people, and an enjoyable pastime of my childhood was taking baths. All of my memories of my grandmother giving me baths we're happy, except one. This is the point of the story where I become uncomfortable. I'm going to get through this the best I can. Okay, here it goes.

 My grandmother always sat in the bathroom while I took a bath, at the time I was only four or five, not yet old enough to be taking a bath by myself. But I was a very good child, so my grandmother saw no issue with leaving the bathroom only for a moment. I don't remember why she left but I do remember her telling me that she would be right back. After she left there was a feeling that took over... like all the sound and color in the room had been taken away. Then the door slowly began began to close. Behind it was something that still freaks me out to this day. Behind the door there was a thing. It was hunched over, it was skinny and grey. It was so skinny that its bones were protruding. I remember being so terrified that I literally could not speak and just hoping that my grandma would come and save me. Then it looked at me its eyes were small a completely white.  As soon as I met its eyes, my grandmother opened the door, and the thing was gone. I remember not telling her what happened and just wanting to get out of the tub. What scares me the most was that this point I know that it was not my imagination, not in my mind but something physically there.