They said he’d been missing for three years lost in the mountains during a hiking trip. When he finally returned, no one recognized the man who walked through the door. His eyes were empty, his voice cold and distant, and he never spoke about where he had been. At first, we were just relieved, but soon strange things started happening. Objects moved on their own, cold drafts swept through the house, and at night, we heard footsteps pacing outside his room.

One evening, I confronted him, hoping to find the person I once knew. But as I looked into his eyes, I saw something else a darkness that wasn’t human. He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m here,” he whispered, “but not really.” From that night on, it was clear  he wasn’t the man who disappeared. Something else had come back in his place. Shutdown123