**Diary Entry**
I swear I saw him. Touched him. Kissed him. Felt him. His breath was warm, his lips tasted of mintjust like always. He even wore that oversized grey hoodie I teased him about, the one that made him look like a “soft thug.” He was real. Held me all night. Whispered “I love you” in my ear. Promised wed marry next year. I remember every secondhow his fingers traced my arm, how he cried when I did, how he made love to me so fiercely I thought my soul might split in two. And then he was gone.
I woke alone. Wasnt scared. Thought hed gone for a run, like he sometimes did. His cologne lingered on the sheets. My skin still burned where hed touched me. But something was off.
I called. Again. And again.
Then my best mate, Emily, burst in, face ashen. Didnt understand why she was crying. “Sophie” she whispered. “You dont know?”
I laughed. “Know what?”
“James is dead.”
I blinked. “Dead how?”
She sobbed harder. “Two days ago. Car crash. That stormy night.”
No. No. No.
I screamed. Shoved her. Called her cruel for lying. Showed her the text James sent me the night beforethe voice note saying, *”On my way. Miss your body next to mine.”* She stared at my phone, trembling.
“Sophie he couldnt have sent that. He was already in the morgue.”
The room tilted. My knees gave out.
I ran to the bathroom, grabbed the towel hed usedstill damp. The hoodie crumpled on the floor. The bite mark on my neck.
*He was here.* Had to be.
But the truth? James was buried yesterday.
And somehow, Id made love to him last night.
Days passed. Nights grew unbearable. Couldnt sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw himsometimes at the foot of my bed, sometimes whispering in my ear. One night, I heard him clear as day: *”Dont cry, love. Im still with you.”* Tried to record it. Got nothing but static and my own ragged breaths.
Then my period didnt come.
Twice.
Thought it was stress. Grief. Trauma.
Until I vomited five times in one day.
Took a test.
Two lines.
Positive.
I collapsed.
The only person Id been with was James.
But he was dead. Buried. Rotting. Gone.
Yet something grew inside me.
Something that kicked at night.
Something that glowed under my skin in the dark.
And every time I wept, saying I couldnt do this
I heard him whisper from the shadows:
*”Youre not alone. Our son is coming.”*
—
**Later Entry**
Dont remember falling asleep. Only waking in the bathtub, pregnancy test still clutched in my hand, those two pink lines mocking my sanity. Hadnt spoken to anyone in daysnot even Emily. My phone buzzed endlessly. Her name lit up the screen. I ignored it.
How could I explain carrying a dead mans child? Whod believe me? *I* barely did. Until that night.
Id just drifted off when something pressed against my stomach from *inside*. Not a normal kick. It felt deliberate. Like it was *trying* to get my attention. Bolted upright, gasping, hands on my belly. Then I heard it again.
Jamess voice. *Inside my head.*
*”Dont be afraid, love. I chose you.”*
I screamed, scrambled out of bed. Lifted my shirt in the mirror. Couldve sworn I saw a pulse of blue light beneath my skin. Flickered then vanished. My legs gave way. Collapsed on the floor, sobbing.
Next day, I forced myself to the hospital. Told the doctor Id conceived after my boyfriend “visited.” Lied about dates. Lied about everythingexcept the symptoms.
*”Strange dreams. Skin that glows. Hearing voices of someone not there.”*
Her face shifted from concern to quiet suspicion.
“Well run tests,” she said carefully. “Stress affects the mind, especially with pregnancy hormones.”
Pressed her stethoscope to my belly. Froze.
“I cant hear a heartbeat. But somethings moving.”
She ordered a scan. On the cold metal table, the technician turned pale. Adjusted the scanner. Said nothing till I begged.
“Theres a foetus,” she whispered. “But its *glowing*.”
Left without waiting for results. That night, another dream: James stood by our old spot at the lake, wind tugging his hoodie.
*”Our son isnt like others,”* he said, voice softer than the breeze. *”Hes me and more.”*
*”What dyou mean?”* I asked.
He only smiled sadly. *”Youll understand soon. But you must protect him.”*
Woke to find the curtains wide openthough Id locked them. The hoodie from my dream was folded neatly at the foot of my bed. Touched it. Still warm.
Then I knewwhat grew inside me was real. Was *his*. And it was changing me.
Next day, I finally called Emily. Needed help. She rushed over, hugged me tight. Told her everything. Showed her the glow in my belly. The dreams. The voice. The baby.
She didnt laugh. Didnt scream.
Whispered, *”I need to take you somewhere.”*
Led me to a crumbling cottage behind her grans church. Inside, an old woman with long grey braids and milky eyes stared at me once and said:
*”Youre not the first. But you must be the last.”*
Asked what she meant. Her answer froze my blood.
*”You carry the child of a bound soul. That babys both a blessing and a warning. His father shouldnt have returned. Now that doors open. And others are crossing.”*
*”To take him?”* I asked.
*”To take *you*.”*
Suddenly, the lights flickered. An icy draft swept through.
And from the shadows Jamess voice:
*”Run.”*
—
**Final Entry**
The room turned frigid. The old womans eyes widened as shadows stretched like claws across the walls.
*”Hes here,”* she hissed, clutching a rosary of bone and jet.
Emily shoved me behind her.
But I wasnt afraid of James now. It was the *others* I feared. The ones she said were coming because hed broken the rules.
She scattered ash in a circle, ordered me inside.
*”Dont step out, no matter what. Hear me?”* she warned. *”Youre a bridge now. Between life and death. And bridges get crossed both ways.”*
I stepped in. My belly pulsed with that eerie light. The baby kickedharder than ever.
Then came the voices. Dozens. Hundreds.
Screams. Moans. Pleas. Laughter.
All pouring from the dark.
*”James, please,”* I begged. *”Whats happening?”*
Then I saw him.
But not as before.
His eyes were hollow, full of sorrow.
*”Im sorry,”* he said. *”Never meant to drag you into this. Just missed you so much. Wanted one more night. Didnt know Id opened a door.”*
I reached for him, tears streaming.
*”Why me? Why the baby?”*
He looked at my belly, then me.
*”Because our love was stronger than death. But love like that breaks the rules.”*
Then something *else* slithered from the shadowsa twisted thing with half a face and burning eyes. It hissed at me.
James stepped between us.
*”You cant have her!”* he roared. *”Cant take our son!”*
The thing laughed.
*”You broke the rule, spirit. Touched the living. Now we feast.”*
The room shook.
The old woman chanted in a tongue I didnt know.
Emily gripped my hand, weeping.
*”Sophie! Stay in the circle!”*
I screamed as the monster lunged.
James tackled it mid-air.
The woman yelled:
*”NOW! Choose, girl! Life or love?”*
James turned to me, bloody, fading.
*”You have to let me go, love. For our son. For you.”*
I shook my head, sobbing.
*”Cant lose you again!”*
*”You never lost me. I live in him now. In you. But if you hold on theyll take everything.”*
Lights exploded.
The floor cracked.
