It was a quiet night in the small town of Millwood, the kind of night where you could hear a pin drop. Sophie, a young woman in her mid-twenties, was walking home from her late-night shift at the diner. She was tired and her feet were sore from standing all day, but she was happy to be heading home to her cozy apartment.
As she walked down the empty street, she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching her. She turned around to look, but there was no one there. She shrugged it off and continued on her way.
Suddenly, she heard a voice behind her. “Hello, Sophie,” it said. She spun around, but again there was no one there. She began to walk faster, her heart beating faster with every step.
The voice spoke again, this time closer.
“Don’t be afraid, Sophie. I’m here to help you.”
Sophie quickened her pace, now almost running down the dark street. “Who are you? What do you want?” she called out, her voice quivering.
“I want to help you, Sophie. Just let me in,” the voice whispered.
Sophie felt a chill run down her spine. She had never heard a voice like this before. It was soft and seductive, but also sinister and menacing. She knew she had to get away.
Passersby gave her shocked expressions as she dashed past, running from a menace that they could clearly not see.
She finally reached her apartment building and fumbled with her keys, trying to get the door open as quickly as possible. With panicked triumph she managed to get inside and locked the door behind her.
As she leaned against the door, trying to catch her breath, she heard the voice again. “You can’t keep me out, Sophie. I’ll always be with you.”
Sophie’s heart sank. She realized the voice was coming from inside her own head. She had been suffering from anxiety for years, but this was different. This voice was real and it was terrifying. Had her anxiety gained consciousness?
Days turned into weeks, and Sophie tried to ignore the voice inside her head, but it was always there, whispering to her in the dark. She started to feel like she was losing her grip on reality as the voice began to her speak to her incessantly, its voice invading her dreams.
One night, as she was lying in bed, the voice spoke again. “Sophie, don’t you want to be free from all your worries and fears? I can make that happen.”
Sophie felt a sudden surge of fear mixed with a strange feeling of temptation. “What do you mean?” she asked the voice.
“Just let go, Sophie. Let me take over,” the voice said, its tone now soothing and reassuring.
Sophie felt herself slipping away, and she realized she had to fight back. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, focusing all her energy on pushing the voice out of her head.
After what felt like an eternity, the voice finally faded away, leaving Sophie alone in the silence of her own mind.
I knew I had won the battle, but I was also aware that the war was far from over. The voice would always be there, waiting for its next opportunity to take control. But I was determined to never let that happen, no matter how sad it now sounded, or how much it begged and pleaded.
S.K.