A Trick of the Light

When I was little, I was highly prone to car sickness, which resulted in my family having to leave me in the house for days at a time during the vacation season. I appreciated the time to myself and would spend most of my time writing, drawing, or watching my favorite television programs with the volume turned up FAR too loudly.

However, when night fell and I would become quite drowsy, anxiety would flood through me. I’d become jumpy, catching reflections in every mirror and window. Once this drove me to do something I’ve since regretted.

I simply allowed the light in the hallway to shine, enough so that it could leak into my bedroom through my slightly creaked door. Through the sliver of light at the foot of the door, a small shadow slowly passed back and forth between one corner to another, continuously. The shadow, to my knowledge, never left.