Leo, a young man in his twenties, stood in front of an old, dimly lit fish tank. The water was murky, and the ancient fish inside moved slowly, their faded scales barely catching the light. Leo's eyes were transfixed, as if drawn into a world beyond the glass. His friend Prabhu, noticing the unusual silence, approached him from behind.
“What are you looking at?” Prabhu asked, his voice cutting through the stillness.
“Just watching the fishes,” Leo murmured, his tone distant, almost hypnotic.
Prabhu peered at the tank, puzzled. “What’s so special about them?”
Leo hesitated, as though weighing his words. “I’ve heard... some say our ancestors return as fish.”
Prabhu blinked, the statement hanging in the air like a ghostly whisper. “Is that so…”
Leo’s gaze shifted to another tank nearby, where the water seemed slightly clearer, almost inviting. “There,” he said, pointing, “is your ancestors’ tank.”
Intrigued, Prabhu stepped closer to the second tank. “Let’s see what my ancestors are up to.”
He leaned in, searching the water for something, anything, that might explain the unsettling feeling creeping over him. Leo’s voice, soft but insistent, broke the silence. “Did you notice anything unusual?”
Prabhu chuckled, trying to shake off the unease. “Nothing, just fish... Hahaha…”
But his laugh echoed strangely, as if the walls themselves absorbed the sound. The room grew colder, the air thick with a palpable tension. Suddenly, from the depths of the shadows, a dark, sinister figure emerged. Its head, sharp and angular, was like a black diamond, reflecting no light, only absorbing it. Hair like strands of obsidian dripped from its crown, shimmering with a malevolent glow.
Leo’s heart pounded as the creature’s eyes, devoid of any warmth, locked onto him. Before he could react, the creature extended a slender, pointed hand, its fingers sharp as blades. In one swift motion, it wrapped around Leo’s throat, lifting him effortlessly off the ground.
“Oh my god!” Leo choked out, his voice barely more than a gasp.
Prabhu stood paralyzed, his eyes wide with terror as he tried to comprehend the impossible scene before him. “Oh my god…”
The world around them seemed to fade, swallowed by darkness.
With a jolt, Leo woke up, drenched in cold sweat, his breath ragged. He looked around, disoriented, but slowly the familiar surroundings of his room came into focus. Relief washed over him as he realized, “Thank God… it was just a nightmare.”
Yet, as he sat there, the shadows in the corners of his room seemed just a little darker, and the silence just a little deeper.
