by The Cowl Editor on September 16, 2019
Portfolio
by Jay Willett ’20
Adrenaline, the veins on my temple popped, blood pumped away from the brain and into the legs. Don’t look back, otherwise, it’ll get you. Though the basement was finished, and the carpet bristled under my pacing feet, it was a dungeon, miles underneath Celtic gravel. Stripped of sight, the setting of childhood playdates slapping foam pucks in mini hockey had become barren and foreign. The Upside Down, limbo, a ravine of lost dreams, tunneling me through a time unseen. Vampires, zombies, monsters, and ghouls, creatures any child would fear were not in my mind. Rather, we know the more horrifying happens during the day. But the dark will never let thoughts recede, fear of the Alone can’t be held at bay. A monster could grab me, that wasn’t what I feared. Breathing increased, chest heaved, my small body climbed the stairs with ease. Sweats came after, at the top, culprit Christian snickering about what he’d done. Enveloped in light, peering down from where I had emerged, the soft smile of the void flickered back.
See you again!
