They're real. All of them. And now I knew the right place to look. He told me where to find it, and what to do. He thought I'd go there without knowing why, but he was wrong. I knew exactly why.
I've waited for the darkness to cover the sky. When it came, I was already on the edge of the forest outside my town. I only had with me my clothes and my oil lamp. And then I said it. Loudly.
"Please let me in. I want to tell you a story."
I did not wait for a reaction. I walked, slowly, into the shadow laden forest. I walked, and walked, and walked, and never stopped, not even when the cold embraced me. Not even when they told me things. My death. Everyone's deaths, and all the suffering that comes before those. I never stopped, not even when I was being watched. Not even when I was being followed. I shrugged them all off.
Soon, I saw a light. It was still very far, but sometimes darkness will only help you see the light. I followed the light, maintaining my pace, until I saw the mansion.
It was an old mansion. It was impossible to determine how old it was. It simply was...ethereal. There, on the porch, sat an old woman.
I walked up to her, and did not speak. I knew better than to speak to her before she acknowledged me. She raised her head and gave me a smile that can only be described as crooked.
"What story will you tell me?" She said in a straight, emotionless face. And I began.
"Do you know about the Beast from the Shadows? Not so long ago, in the town where I came from, there roamed a monster whom no one has ever seen, except maybe some of his victims. It was said that the monster lived in the shadows, and only came out to feed. The first victim was a maiden, just about 20 years of age. She had short, red hair, a face you can never forget, with the most alluring lips you will ever see. Her name was Mary, or Margaret. I forgot. Anyway, around this time of night, the town's streets were almost empty. They knew better to loiter around when it was dark, but Mary was out. She left her house to give her lover a night visit, as her parents knew nothing about her relationship."
"Mary, as silent as a mouse hiding from a vicious cat, sneaked out of her house. She made sure to leave the window she passed through unlocked, an avenue for her when she goes home. She continued sneaking, staying by the shadows until she managed to leave her street. Little did she know, she has already trespassed the beast's domain."
I noticed the woman's lips move towards what I can say was a smirk.
"As she continued moving, her rendezvous three blocks away, she had to pass through an alley. Halfway through passing by the alley, her pace slowed, as her breathing quickened. Soon, she felt it. The piercing glare that the beast gave her the moment she entered the alley. She saw his eyes, surrounded by the beast's silhouette. She screamed, a scream that reminds you of that time when you lost all hope and gave in to your fear."
"Her scream was cut off, just as the beast lunged towards her, She never had the chance to scream again as her throat was cut along with her scream. Some say that the beast also took her maidenhood, some say the beast ate her heart, but what was sure was that her corpse was found with her throat open, the wound itself jagged, and she was missing both eyes."
At this time, the woman's lips were in a full smile, her eyes smiling along with them.
"The town was in panic. It has been a long while since the last gruesome killing happened in town. They grew cautious and careful. Soon, the town forgot what happened and started being careless again, loitering the dark streets as Mary had."
"One night, similar to Mary, a young woman named Anna left her house. She was beautiful, and had long blonde hair hidden under a cap. She gave you the impression of wanting to be a boy. Anna tried to buy medicine in the pharmacy at the town center, hiding in the shadows, because she was careful about muggers and rapists alike. Like Mary, she came across the beast, this time in the shadow of a large house. Like Mary, she screamed. Like Mary, she was found with her throat slit, and her eyes without."
"This event confirmed to the town, that there was a killer on the loose. Rumors spread. Rumors of a huge beast that lived in the shadows. Some say it was a humanoid monster residing in the sewers. Some say it was the darkness itself. Only the beast knew now."
The woman then had a complete grin, almost scary.
"The killings continued, and the nights were always empty. Everyone in town knew better than to play with the shadows. They seemed to have forgotten, their homes have shadows inside them too. So women continued to die in their homes."
"The townspeople were in a panic like never before. They have started blind witch hunts, accusing each other of the murders. Some of them believed it was a hellish beast. Some believed it was a man scorned by a woman he loved. Some believed it was a woman envious of her victims. Some of us believed it was the personification of shadow."
"They were all wrong, because the beast's true identity was.." I said, but the woman raised her palm towards me.
“That’s enough. Go inside.” She said, almost on the verge of laughing, like she learned of a secret that entertained her so much.
The doors swung open ever so slowly. I looked to the woman and it was like she forgot I existed.
I climbed the steps in anticipation, because now I can meet the beast. I wished I brought my collection of eyeballs to show him, though.
I entered the house.