Do Not Leave Us Alone - The Story of Sam Williams

Part 1. 

"Tomorrow’s gonna be Monday." Said Sam as he eyed the schedule held by a nail on the wall. He decided to set aside his materials for school - notebooks, pens, books, anyway; he was a good student, and couldn’t afford to be anything less. After all, he had to somehow make it up to his parents for everything they had done for him, and continued to do.

His parents?

Yes, his parents, despite them not sharing any blood ties, they were united by the great love they had for one another.

Remembering how lucky he was to have a family and an opportunity for a fresh start in life filled him with happiness. A smile spread across his cheeks as he stared, both out the window and at nothing. The moon peeked out of the clouds, its dim light illuminating the back garden of the large house.

To remember, to remember, to go back to those days when he was a child amongst the millions of other children who were in a similar situation as his, little ones who never met their biological parents or were abandoned by them, all gathered up in one place, led by adults who had the common objective of raising them until they were adopted by either a couple or family. The few children whom he had formed a friendship with gradually abandoned the orphanage to live with their new families.

"Doesn’t anybody want me to be their son?" He muttered with his sweet, childish voice, watching the entrance of the large building as the car started and with it, took away the last of his friends.

"You're a good boy, Sam, and you'll see that soon. People who want you will eventually come. And I’m sure that they will be lucky to have a beautiful son such as you.” He was answered by a grown man, his hand caressing the child’s back to soothe him. The kid smiled at those words and hugged him, the director of the place where his life would take a much different turn than he’d ever expected.

“Lucky? I just hope I won’t disappoint them.” The brown-haired preteen said to himself, when the abrupt noise at his door pulled him away from his thoughts, “Who is it?” he asked as he sat down on his bed.

“It’s me. Can I come in, baby?” Asked the only voice that could bring him straight to paradise.

He smiled tenderly, “Come on in, mom.” He answered, blushing slightly, as being called a baby at the age of 13 wasn’t very dignified.

As she opened up the door, light streamed in from the hallway, revealing the silhouette of a beautiful woman with light brown, slightly wavy hair, and bright green eyes.

“I wanted to tell you good night, dear. Oh! You’re starting a new year at school tomorrow. Have you got all your notebooks?”

“Thank you mom, have a good night too. And yes, everything’s ready. I’m very excited, I wonder if I’ll meet new people.”

The woman smiled and sat next to her son, giving him a warm embrace as she did every night, “I just want you to be careful, alright? And if you come across any problems, don’t hesitate to tell your dad and I. You know you’ll always have our support.”

“I know that, mom.” He gifted her with a smile and returned the hug.

The moon offered the best of its glow and the wind blew, making it a peaceful night. Despite this, according to Sam, every night held mysteries that were better off left alone; mysteries hidden in the shadows, inside the dresser, creeping in every corner; residing in the strange figures that with the blink of an eye disappeared from inside the mirror; even mysteries under his bed that made it seem like somebody was down there, whispering, waiting for him to get up; in the bedroom where the only visible thing was the white skin of a boy illuminated by the moonlight. Any other person would have given in and turned on all the lights or just left the room, but no, not Sam; he was used to seeing people whose feet were invisible, shadows not glued to the walls, even spherical lights flying freely. Was he crazy? Absolutely not, as far as he could remember he was always able to see things that others’ eyes could not pick up. Perhaps it was a gift he was born with, but no, in his perspective it was nothing but a punishment, a curse, despite him not having a choice in the matter he had to learn to hide the subject away from those he loved the most: his parents, so as to not worry them. He didn’t want to trouble them in any way, on the contrary; he wanted to make them happy, which was obviously a success as the Williams had nothing to ask of him. He was everything they ever wished for.

The first day at school went by without any inconveniences. Sam was walking back home in the company of his two new friends that belonged to the same homeroom as him.

“So...you two are siblings?” He curiously asked the boy and girl walking by his side, both sporting matching blonde hair.

“Yeah, unfortunately.” Both of them answered in unison, provoking a loud laugh from their companion.

“Do you not have any siblings, Sam?” Asked the boy.

“I’m an only child, but I would have loved to have a little sister.” He answered with a friendly smile.

“Having a little sister is Hell! They’re so annoying--!”

“And having an big brother is a total nightmare.” Finished the girl, seemingly annoyed.

“Well...I don’t see it that way. Having a little sister would make me feel more responsible, since I would have to take care of her and make sure she has everything she needs.”

As he finished that same sentence a quick, strange image of what looked like a teenager flashed before his eyes, not provoking any reaction from his companions. This made him stop dead in his tracks.

“Hey, Sam? What is it?” The concerned boy asked.

“I-I saw a girl...a strange looking girl appeared right before my eyes...and vanished in the trees of that park…”

The siblings looked at each other, hesitating, before they managed to gather enough courage to say:

“Sam...there was nothing there.”

Three months passed after that event, and those apparitions, similar to the ones previously mentioned, made themselves more frequent. Yes, he had lived through countless experiences related to unexplained events like creatures or perhaps even people only he could see, but the issue was on that particular being that flashed before his eyes without his friends noticing. That being was the same he had seen two years previous, inside of the car belonging to those who would later become his parents. He was intrigued by its persistence and his later encounters with that ‘girl’. What began as something seemingly casual became repetitive. He didn’t mention any of this to his parents, thinking everything soon would go back to normal, at least Sam’s definition of a ‘normal’ everyday routine.

Once again the natural satellite illuminated his solitary nights. As he stared up at the roof of his large bedroom, he said to himself:

“She’s following me...but why?” He stayed silent, trying to find an answer that was out of his reach, when a noise called upon his attention.

 He left the room and walked down the steps of the staircase, headed towards the living room where the noise had originated from; when he arrived there, his gaze slowly traveled towards one of the framed pictures that had been previously placed on top of a dresser, now lying on the floor. He approached it and reached for the frame with his hands, observing that not only was the glass shattered in an odd manner, but the family photo behind it seemed to have been burnt away - but seemingly only the figures of his parents and himself, as the mountainous landscape had been left intact.

 The boy lifted his gaze towards the window, where he was finally able to see those beautiful yet penetrating, luminous and sorrowful green eyes belonging to the unknown specter. In an instant that seemed to last an eternity their gazes locked with one another and, with no words exchanged, a large quantity of messages were transmitted without breaking the silence. Everything seemed to become darker, blurrier as he remained there, staring as the feminine silhouette disappeared into the darkness of his own vision.

Part 2.

The light of a new day made its presence known to Sam, who quickly regained conscience of the events that had transpired the previous night. It was inconceivable, even to him, to try and believe that he had really made contact with the being responsible for transforming his life into an absolute nightmare. It was all too clear to him that she was chasing him, and even worse; she knew where he lived, she’d been the one to break that portrait...was it some sort of warning to what was to befall upon him and his family? Possibly...despite that, there had to be a motive behind it all. 

All he ever wanted was to live in peace, to lead a normal life by ignoring the ‘people’ only he could see. He didn’t want to suffer...not again…

Happiness is the finish line to a path you can take, but said path lies dangerously close to the path of misery and helplessness. You can easily trip, easily get distracted, and not realize it when you are diverted and lead down the wrong way. Even if the rock or obstacle that made you trip doesn’t lie within yourself, you need to pay very close attention to your surroundings. Perhaps from afar said rock it may look innocent, well-meaning, and you never bother to look closer or spot the warning signs.  You end up not paying it any mind, not knowing a trap when you see one. And soon, you trip and fall, and tumble into misery.

Sam had made the mistake of not paying attention to that inert material, but who could blame him? He was only a little boy, 8 years old, ignorant to the masks that disguise malice.

“Why don’t you ever play with the other kids, Sam?”

“I can't play with them...they all think I’m strange.” Answered the boy with a discouraged tone as he stared out the window, watching the kids playing soccer in the playground.

“You’re not strange at all,” Said the director of the orphanage with a smile, stroking the boy’s cheek.

“I am strange, though...my eyes are strange.”

“Your eyes?” He inquired as he stared down at Sam’s intense, green pupils.

The young boy turned his head so he could stare at the man head-on, and after a moment of silence he dared to speak:

“Dead people follow me, and I’m the only one who sees them.” He said, his voice thin as a thread, his gaze fixed on the adult, who opened his eyes as wide as humanly possible upon hearing such a thing.

But perhaps that was the opportune moment to get closer to Sam and gain his trust.

“Sam, do you realize what it is you’re saying? I hope this isn’t some product of your imagination.”

“I knew you wouldn’t believe me.” Sam turned his gaze back towards the window, dejected.

“Come, walk with me to my office so we can discuss this better.” The director began to walk away, surprising Sam; he hadn’t expected such concern and interest from that man. At least, that was all his fragile young mind could deduce at the time.

He decided to follow the man’s steps down the corridor, staring up at the many picturesque paintings that portrayed those fantastic landscapes that perhaps we will never see. Upon arriving at the office the director cast a careful look down the hallway, and a part of Sam couldn’t help but feel a grave sense of dread; he took a deep breath to calm himself down upon seeing another ‘shadow person’ trespass the walls of the narrow place, turned his head back around and opened the door. The director was in the middle of arranging a few papers, and when his eyes landed on the boy he didn’t say a word - simply shut the door, locking it with a key previously stored in his pocket, grabbed Sam by the door and, displaying a certain amount of force, pushed him into a chair to force him to sit...something was wrong, something about the gaze of the man he’d trusted his entire life, who he considered a father and the only person capable of protecting, him, something had changed… His gaze was now impatient, it didn’t transmit peace but chaos. The young boy’s heart thudded ferociously, and in his eyes, tears began to form.

“Why didn’t I see it when I had the chance?” He croaked as he walked down the stairs without a hurry; he didn’t have school that day as they were in the middle of mourning. Sadly, his teacher had left to the other world, right when he had begun to work in their homeroom at that. Sam pressed his forehead on the wall, the distant cries still ringing in his ears. He could still hear the quiet cries and weak thumps coming from a young boy calling for help even in vain. He could still feel the pain, desperation and the inability to do anything to stop his innocence from being destroyed.

But that was in the past. He now had to find a way to explain to his parents what happened the night previous, as they had probably already noticed the portrait. But to his surprise, it hadn’t sustained any damage. The expression of pure disbelief on her son worried Ms. Marie Williams, who had been passing by, and made her approach the boy.

“Son, is everything alright?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, mom...uuuuh...about last night…”

“Yes, we know. Frank and I are going to have to forbid you from watching the telly so late at night, just look at how long you slept!” She said, pointing towards the clock on the wall of the same room. Sam remained quiet, “Watching TV so late at night gives you nightmares, just so you know.” Upon finishing that sentence, the lady went on to carry out her household chores.

“...It was all...a nightmare? My parents didn’t take me upstairs when they found me lying on the living room floor?” Everything seemed to make even less sense.

The dreaded night soon arrived, and everybody was asleep in their respective rooms. First, there were steps; Sam opened his eyes; said steps were beginning to sound closer, and his heart began to pump blood harder; then there were then light knocks at the glass of his window. He preferred to pay it no mind, a grave mistake. Two cold, feminine arms embraced him from behind. He swallowed spit and began to breathe heavily upon seeing those pale arms had rather deep cuts on them; it was the second time he ever felt such a feeling of pure terror run through his entire being...just to think that lying there, embracing him, was a dead person. The phantom murmured, words barely audible until freezing cold lips brushed against Sam’s ear, it was then that he was able to make out a single word clearly. He wanted to scream, but couldn’t.

Hours went by and he gradually calmed himself down. The specter was still hugging him with those arms until he finally dared to speak.

“Y-you...you should leave now…” Ever since he’d started to see those entities there had been occasions where he was able to speak to some, even play with them, especially when he was an infant. However, it was the first time in a long time that he was embraced that day. 

She understood and begun to fade away. He tore off the sheets that were covering him and dashed towards his parents’ bedroom to ensure that they were alright. He let out a relieved breath upon seeing them sleeping peacefully but the sudden abrupt noise of the door opening startled them awake.

“Samuel! It was you...you scared me, I thought you were an intruder.” Said his father, Frank, “What happened, son? Did you have another nightmare?” He asked with a gentler tone, trying to calm him down.

“No...this time it was real...a dead girl hugged me..” He didn’t care about what he was saying anymore, he wanted to get it out of his system once and for all.

“A dead girl?” His mother observed him, baffled.

“Sam, nightmares can sometimes seem real to you...it’s four in the morning. Please, go back to bed.” Frank responded, finalizing the conversation.

Sam returned to his bedroom, disheartened, “I knew they wouldn’t believe me. Nobody will…” He said to himself as he removed his pajamas, knowing that going back to sleep would be an impossible feat after what had happened. When he removed his shirt, he noticed that on the back were bloodstains, which allowed him to deduce that the ghost’s face was wounded or had blood on it, “Now what? What is it that you really want…?” That hug showed endearment, but the burning of the portrait showed hate. Perhaps what she wanted was to confuse him or...did she actually like him, and not his parents? 

“Ah…” He sighed, “I don’t know what else to think…” He put on a shirt, a pair of jeans and left to take a walk; this didn’t exactly soothe him and a strange feeling overtook once he was in the company of his soccer ball; time went by quickly until he realized that it was becoming dark, and decided to return to his home.

Days went by, with Sam attempting to go back to his everyday routine as normal. Despite his best attempts, however, he just couldn’t shake off the thought of that girl, and kept trying to decipher her intentions. In the solace of his home, he decided to quiet down his curiosity by digging through the boxes where the Williams kept their documents, when to his surprise he found something that would completely change the course of his life; a picture of a girl caught his attention and sent a jolt of electricity down his spine as he held it in his hands, but what really interested him was a date written on its back.

This piece of data brought him to the public library, where he intended to find the relationship between that girl and the written date. Once he was there, it didn’t take him long to find the striking similarity with the specter watching him; he tried to ignore the cold hands touching his shoulders, reminding himself that it probably didn’t realize it was dead… Between old newspaper articles, he finally found the grim story behind the girl and the date…”Couple finds the body of 12-year-old Sally Williams in the community park at 9 PM.” The first thing that came to his mind was the fact that the girl was his parents’ biological daughter, Sally, the ghost haunting him.

Soon came the day when he could no longer hold himself back and demanded the truth from his parents; after that came a mix of relief and terror. Upon remembering the story his parents once again felt the sorrow they had felt that time. With this disillusion in tow, the young boy locked himself in his bedroom...the night dragged on painfully slow, and in the middle of his daydreaming he directed his attention towards the door.

“I could swear I closed that door before getting in bed, I guess I forgot…”

And in the blink of an eye, she was there. The one who persecuted and terrified him, was standing right next to the door. The imagine she was transmitting was ghastly; she was covered in blood and had a deep clot of blood at the side of her head. Her nightgown was stained, defiled, and her feet were dirty like she had been running through mud, scrapes covering her knees and legs. Sam was petrified, and couldn’t utter a single word. What intrigued him was the fresh blood dripping from Sally’s hands, and a dark feeling of foreboding made him tremble. She stared at him coldly and whispered before disappearing in the darkness of the bedroom:

“Mommy and daddy are sleeping now.”

After a few minutes the boy reacted and went to search for those who had raised him; but instead found a dantesque spectacle laid out for him, amorphous remains of meat and blood were laid out all over the bedroom, staining the walls with blood. In between those remains he was able to make out clothes that were familiar to him...clothes belonging to his parents.

The sheer terror he felt led him to run, leaving the house until he arrived at the public park. He ran until he felt she was far away enough from him.

A heartbreaking cry shook the night.

“DON’T LEAVE ME ALONE!” He ran as he wiped away the tears staining his cheeks, “Don’t leave me alone again…”

It was 3AM. His mind wandered between familiar memories and the horrid show of blood he had just experienced, when a sudden cold breeze shook the trees and their leaves. A hunch made Sam look over his shoulder, and in fact, it was Sally. She didn’t let a single second pass by before she revealed the truth to him:

“My uncle...Johnny...your father...killed me.” Upon hearing this, Sam felt his fear turn into confusion, “Karen, your mother, had a lot of fights and disagreements with uncle Johnny, and they divorced. The separation filled her with sadness. She used to hit you whenever she came back from another party with her friends, and sometimes carrying those bottles that only made her angrier. The neighbors heard her yelling and your crying so they called that lady that made sure you would be taken somewhere where you’d be safe from your mother; they were going to take you to your dad, at first, but then they found out what he’d done. Then they were going to take you to your aunt and uncle but they were grieving and needed time before they could take care of another child. Since there was nowhere else to take you they decided to leave you at an orphanage where you suffered an accident after falling from a tree in one of your childish pranks. When you awoke after a few months, all you could remember were the friends you’d made there and the director, who was like a father to you, but after all...he wasn’t very good to you, was he?”

Sam swallowed spit and began to back away.

“Time went by...you kept seeing those people who were invisible to everybody else, they were people that didn’t know they were dead...or perhaps they did, who knows? When you found out that a couple wanted to adopt you, you were so happy; that smile that was plastered on your face soon faded when you noticed my presence on the backseat of the car belonging to your new parents. My parents.”

“M-my aunt and uncle…” Said the young boy with a trembling voice.

“They were planning to forget me so they could be all happy with you. They wanted to erase me from their lives! They replaced me!” An intense aura began to form around her as she floated a few inches off the ground.

“You just killed my family and expect me to believe all that?! You’re a monster!!” He screamed with certainty, eyes filled with tears.

Sally approached with inhuman speed. Sam remained immobile, terrified. At that very moment, the girl sucked in his breath. His mind was possessed by his opponent and reflected the moments of her death, and how those wounds were inflicted upon her. While this was happening, the same wounds began to manifest on Sam’s body.

The moment our lips parted I, Sam, felt even more dazed but the fear I had been feeling moments previous had disappeared. My eyes were lost, but at the same time watched Sally drift farther and farther into the trees, as if she wanted to invite me to play. I followed, perhaps out of curiosity. I was no longer afraid.

Those were the hours where entities tended to wander the streets, without a hurry, but now there wasn’t anybody out, only the moon, myself, and the girl laughing as she hid, waiting for me to accept to enter her game.

I remember now that there was a boy wearing blue lying still on the grass. My perceptions had become absolutely real, and all of the voices of the dark world that I believed was only within me were, without a doubt, part of my reality; I still needed to get my doubts out so I approached the body lying on the ground, blood still pouring out of those deep wounds...those wounds reflected a tragedy, a story like mine. What if that boy was me?