Starting to live in a new city where you know no one would be hard for anyone. That experience was new for them, but they were sure they'd be capable to overcome it. With the job of their dreams in one hand and a notebook filled with rules to follow on the other, they didn't worry about being able to survive in that new environment. Said notebook had the rules: "Don't buy except that what is to be consumed", "Be there at least 15 minutes before any date", and "Always check twice that the door is locked before going out".
It was a shame that it didn't tell them how to interact with their new neighbors, and so, they thanked having their schedule packed between their job and adapting. However, to create connections was indispensable for them it they wanted to keep living there, so, one day, they took the opportunity to talk with their next door neighbor when noticing that her cat was limping. They gave her the card of the veterinary center where they worked, assuring her that they'll give her the best treatment at the best price. After the cat’s recovery, they started to have little talks with her when they encountered. It was still hard to interact, since she was a stranger to them, but they didn't have to rush. Relationships, after all, are created little by little.
They couldn’t say the same about their work. Their coworkers weren’t a problem, at least no bigger than their neighbor, but dealing with clients was a nightmare. Almost always they panicked when one talked with them for too long and they ended up searching for help in their boss or their more experienced coworkers. Sometimes, social interaction rules didn't make sense to them, and that made them prefer animals. They were easier to understand, but how nice if they could talk like humans.
It was on an afternoon, when they were the last one to leave, that they found the little shadow. Stuck to the body of a pitbull's puppy, they mistook it for a tick, but found out it wasn't that by removing it. It was solid but soft and moved like a shivering little animal. They thought it was garbage and was about to throw it out, when they heard a "Thank you" behind them. They turned, but didn't see anyone, which scared them. Then other voices started reaching them. It didn't take them long before figuring out their origin; they came from the animals in the cages. Unable to believe their ears, they left the shadow on the table and got closer to listen better, but the voices disappeared. Confused, and believing maybe they imagined it, they took the shadow again to throw it, and the voices came back.
Convinced now that it wasn't their imagination, for the first time they were happy of having a long conversation with someone. Now they were able to know what was wrong with every pet that crossed the door. They knew when the parrots wanted to try new seeds. They recognized every single one of the white mice without error. They could guess where the old dog that was a regular was hurting. every animal has a different voice, and nobody was surprised they received a raise.
Maybe it was the constant practice of having conversations what made them begin to talk more with humans, or maybe it was the vigor they felt every time they touched the little shadow. But after a while, they also started to feel goosebumps and headaches every time it was in contact with their skin. They didn't give it any mind and continued their way.
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As if it was a result of all their efforts, their neighbor invited them for dinner one night. It was the first time they were going to eat to someone else's house, anyone, and that made them feel successful, like a student that approved a test. Sitting in the living room and waiting for their host to prepare the food, they found the white cat stroking their leg and purring. They spoke to it between whispers, saying hi and asking how it was, and the animal answered with a greeting too. Then the cat asked if they were the new neighbor of its master. After answering with a yes, by curiosity they asked how it had injured its leg before, the day they met. The cat answered. It said that it was hurt by the old neighbor of its master, the one that had occupied the house where they were now. However, it said to not fret when it saw indignation in their face. Because, after all, its master had already hunted him. When they asked what it meant, the cat answered that it was going to be the dinner.
Their neighbor appeared and told them the table was ready. When they got close, they saw steaks of red meat in the plates. With a goosebump, they used and excuse that they knew was bad to get out of there. They entered their house, ran towards the bathroom, and hold with both hands the washbasin while trying to fight the nausea. It was useless; the vomited and went to bed without eating.
They stopped talking with their coworkers little by little. They started to do the impossible to avoid their neighbor. And when they encountered her, they ran as fast as they could to the safety of their house. The goosebumps grew bigger, and the voices started coming not just from the pets anymore, but from the flies in the trash, the ants on the wall and the worms under the dirt. In their notebook they wrote a new rule: "Avoid meat at all costs".
But they didn't have proof. They only had the terrible sensation every time they saw the door of the house next door or when they remembered the cat's eyes, deeply blue, that insinuated the fatal destiny of the last tenant of their home. The doubt wasn't going to let them live in peace, so when they found the cat the third time, they decided to bribe it with a treat and ask: where was the old neighbor? And the cat answered he was on the garden.
When they heard it, they walked towards the back side of the house, where said garden was. The sound of their heartbeats slammed their ears, but it was soon replaced by another: the echo of dozens of worms speaking in whispers that came from the dirt, that repeated the same word over, and over, and over again.
Delicious.
That same day they called the police. In just a few hours, their neighbor was handcuffed, and the contents of her fridge were being put in plastic bags, while the bones of the old neighbor and other three people were being dusted in the garden. They took everything, even the white cat, which was put in a cage to take it to an adoption center. They were there just to see how the cat looked at them with the same blue eyes, without blinking, and heard it say they were lucky, because its master had planned to hunt them that same day.
This time, the shiver they felt was like an electric shock. It left them incapable of moving for a few seconds, with the head about to explode as they felt the shadow tickling their hand. When he got control of themself back, they took the shadow and threw it into the garbage. In less than two days they left their house, and a new sentence appeared in their notebook: "Find a new job".
No one was there to see the dark figure appear in the empty house. No one saw it take the little shadow and disappear without a trace, and no one heard it either. It didn't even make the echo of a whisper when vanishing in the dark.