Danny May 2020
Glow
Phosphorus
Maddie sat up slowly and slid her feet off the bed and into her slippers. She shuffled down the hallway and then downstairs to get some water from the kitchen. As she approached the kitchen, she heard some clinks and tapping sounds. She furrowed her brow and started to lift her sleeping mask. She thought she saw some light glowing as she slowly lifted the mask up, "Danny?" she called. It wouldn't be the first time she caught him up far too late and munching on whatever dinner he missed.
"Yeah Mom?" he called back. His voice had a strange echoing quality to it, as if he had his face in the refrigerator. She groped for the light switch and once she heard it click on she slowly eased the mask the rest of the way up. She squinted against the glare of the kitchen light on her sensitized eyes.
"Danny it's way too late to be up. You need to get to bed sweetie," she said.
"Ok Mom," he said, getting up from his seat at the kitchen table and placing his dishes in the sink. Maddie grabbed her water glass and filled it. After she finished her drink, she flipped the lights off and headed up the stairs. She paused at Danny's door to make sure he made it into his bed. He was under the covers completely, a slight glow where his face should be, "Put that phone away and get to sleep mister. You have school tomorrow!" she scolded before going back to her own bed.
She replaced her sleeping mask, popped in her Fenton earplugs, and snuggled back under the covers. She closed her eyes, ready to drop back into a peaceful sleep when a though suddenly occurred to her, 'Danny was sitting down at the table when I came downstairs, he couldn't have been at the fridge when he talked to me. What could that glow have been?' As she felt sleep begin to reclaim her, her last thoughts were, '...ghost? No, it was probably his phone again. Danny wouldn't be sitting calmly if there was a ghost around…'