Shadows

A long day at Hexside left Luz Noceda drained of energy. Potions, Abominations, Plants and Construction class in the morning, followed by trying to escape from Boscha during breaks and closing with a dense Oracle class. The human girl wanted to just get home and go to bed. Tired, she arrived at her longed-for destination by sunset. She shuffled into the silent Owl House, tossing her purple backpack away and made her way to her room, plopping herself down on the thin mattress she had looked forward to seeing so much during the day.

Luz slept…

Suddenly she awoke, still drowsy, rubbing her eyes. She could tell by the lighting in her room that she must have been asleep for at least three hours, since everything was completely dark and the waning moon could be seen through the window.

She got up and, hungry, decided to go get something to eat in the kitchen. «A snack and back to bed». She yawned her way out of her room in a state of the slightest wakefulness; she didn't want to lose any sleep. As she walked down the hallway that would lead her to the stairs, however, she felt someone staring at her. Turning behind her, there it was. In the distance, through the darkness, she could distinguish Eda's silhouette. Standing still. Motionless.

―Hi Eda ―said the lethargic teenager―, I'm sorry for not greeting you when I arrived, but you can't imagine the day I had. Tomorrow I'll tell you all about it, now I just want to eat something and go back to sleep.

There was no reply.

Luz continued on her way. She went down the stairs. She barely noticed, on one side of the living room sofa, standing upright, the figure of King. She did not bother to greet him and continued towards the kitchen.

She opened the cupboard. From a shelf she took a plate and the box of cereal. Pouring herself some, she picked up a silver spoon and began to eat. «What a delight», the girl thought as she walked around the kitchen holding her plate. But the pleasurable tasting of her favorite cereal was interrupted when, peering over the kitchen counter, she spotted a note from Lady Owl:

"King and I had to rush out to the illegal market. Don't worry, there won't be anything legal. Ha!

P.S. Don't wait for us, we will be late. We'll be back until tomorrow morning. Take care of the house"

Having finished reading it, the human felt a cold current run through her back. «Did I imagine them?», Luz wondered. She set the plate down on the bar and peeked her head into the living room, where she had seen King a few minutes ago, but there was nothing but the couch and some books.

―Hooty ―cried the girl thoughtfully, but there was no answer―. Do you think you can turn on the house lights, please?

Nothing happened.

Startled, the human groped her way to the stairs. She climbed to the second floor of the house and headed for her teacher's room, but there dwelt only the presence of silence. Suddenly the footsteps of someone running down the hallway were heard. The girl quickly left the room and looked out: darkness and nothing else.

That wasn't a prank, she knew; it wasn't the kind of pranks Eda enjoyed playing. Something was going on. Someone was inside the house. «I have to go to Bonesborough and look for Eda», she said to herself. She grabbed her pen, a notepad, and a few glyphs she already had in advance and crept toward the entrance of the house.

Once there, in front of the door, Luz noticed that she could not open it. It was stuck.

―Hooty ―she whispered fearfully―. Hooty. I need you to open the door now ―but nothing was happening.

Behind the girl, then, a creaking sound was heard in the wood of the floor. The human turned and looked at them: the dark silhouettes of Eda and King. Motionless. Standing there, staring at her. Suddenly they ran to the stairs and rushed up to them. The deafening sound of a door slamming was heard. A soft voice, like an echo that reverberated throughout the walls of the Owl House, was then heard. Smile, it said clearly.

Luz, though fearful, summoned the courage to try to resolve the situation, which required following the shadows that had climbed to the second floor. So, armed with only her glyphs, she did just that.

With each step up the air became heavier. The unknown echo constantly repeated the same command over and over again. Smile. She heard, in addition, the incessant gasping of someone, someone who, it seemed, was getting closer to the girl every second. Already in the hallway, in front of the door of her room that was closed, Luz not only heard the echo and the breathing, but she could feel it in the hairs on the back of her neck.

She picked up the doorknob. Holding it for a few seconds, undecided whether or not to do that. She turned it. She opened the door. There, in front of her, once again stood the shadows of Eda and King. Each beside a long mirror, which lay right in the center of the room. Luz held the glyphs in her hands, ready for anything that might happen.

Something strange was happening, however. The mirror in front of her did not show her reflection. No. What the human saw was something else. It was her own silhouette. Dark and vibrant. Behind it, another shadow was approaching. «Mother?». Smile. The image of Luz being hugged by Camila was the only thing looking through the object. The girl, as if in a trance, was seeing deeply into it. Come on, smile. «Mother...», she thought as she advanced towards the mirror. Step by step, dragged by a force she could not understand, the silhouettes of Eda and King watched her. Hypnotized by the image, she remained a few centimeters away from it. A part of her tried to resist, to activate the glyphs in her hand. But for some reason, she did not make use of them. Facing her shadow, Luz finally smiled.

Something happened that night at the Owl House. From outside, through the windows, a cerulean glow appeared for a few seconds. Some creatures of the forest later said that a girl's high-pitched scream accompanied it.

The next morning, Eda and King arrived at Owl House.

―A total scam ―said Eda.

―I can't believe we spent the whole night looking for your contact only to not have him show up, Eda ―King complained tiredly.

As they entered, the first thing they saw was the human girl standing motionless, just in front of the entrance, waiting for them with a huge, unnerving smile.

―Welcome guys ―she said in a monotonous voice.

―Hello, Luz ―they both answered at the same time with annoyance.

―Guys ―Said the girl, who kept smiling―. you shouldn't have those long faces. It doesn't do you any good. Instead, you should show me a big smile. Come on, guys, smile.