A true story

The sound of a fire crackling echoes in the dark cave. The end of the dark hallway glowed from burning embers within the room. A grand fireplace nestled in the far wall, flames licking the dry wood within. The warmth provided by the flames brought a comfort to the soul that was contradictory to the eary feeling that the moving shadows flickered along the walls caused. One could almost hear the shadows whispering legends of old. 

Infront of the fireplace was a luxurious recliner, brown leather with golden button. Sitting upon the chair was a Shiji who had lived through most of his current lifetime. Fur growing grey with an aged and knowing look. He wore a comfy and stylish house coat with a large book open upon his lap and a pipe in his hand. The old Shiji was in the middle of reading, taking the occasional puff from the pipe.

Upon entering, his ears perked up, turning to look at you with a mischievous smile. 

“Oh, about time you've shown up. Here for a story are you?  Now why don't you take a seat?” He said gesturing towards an empty chair opposite of him.  He waited patiently for you to sit down and make yourself comfortable.

“So the story I have is a true story, it happens to a friend of a friend of a friend of mine….

A young male shiji lived far away from home for a few years he made friends with a rather….interesting Individual who was full of strange experiences. On one particular day the friend invited him and another friend over to a new year's dinner with the family. They went to the friends mother's place on the edge of town. Snow had fallen a few days previous so the ground was covered and white. You can tell where shiji have walked and traveled. After walking up to the gate of the house he stepped through and immediately felt uneasy,  like someone was watching him, peering into his very soul. He looked around and there was nothing but a dead silence, not even a whisper of a breeze. Completely quiet, a shiver ran along his spine and it was not from the cold.

Shaking the feeling to the side he went to the house and knocked. He was immediately welcomed in and the feeling was gone the moment he stepped inside. Once the third friend arrived he noticed that the friend  had an uneasy look on her face that soon disappeared after stepping inside. He wondered if she felt the same uneasiness he felt prior to coming in. He didn't have a chance to ask her.

The group hung out, chatted, played some games until dinner was ready. He sat down at the corner of the table, right next to the back full glass sliding doors to the backyard. The backyard had no fence and was bordered by a dense forest. The backyard was a bit of a mess due to their Familiar loving the snow and shredding its toys all over the yard. At that point he had Completely forgotten about the strange feeling he had before entering. That was at least, until after the food was served and they all started eating. Mid bite he was flooded with a near overwhelming feeling of dread, something was definitely watching him.

He slowly looked up and towards the back window. The moment his eyes looked out their Familiar immediate began barking savagely towards the window. Teeth bared , snarling and barking. His heart dropped....he couldn't see anything but he felt something. The Familiar was going nuts at the window, face against the glass. He had never seen a Familiar look so angry before. He looked as hard as he could and yet... there was nothing that could be seen. Eventually one of his friends brothers stood up and dragged the familiar away from the window. His friend then laughed, noticing his and their other friends look of fear and confusion. The rest of his family were all unfazed, even chuckling a little.

"Don't worry about him, he never comes any closer" the friend Eventually said, returning to eating.  He exchanged looks with the third friend and looked out the window. Still nothing to be seen but the feeling was unmistakable,  there was something outside.

"How close exactly?" He asked.

"Oh just at the tree line. That's about as close as he ever comes. Been following the family for as long as I can remember. Thought we lost him when we moved. But nope, still there. Freaks the Familiar right out as you've whitenesed. But he's never harmed us, just watches."

Him and his other friend were both hesitant to leave the house that night as both of them felt like they were being watched whenever they moved past a window. Sure whatever it was never harmed the family but the two of them weren't family. Would it just watch them now or what? They were both troubled. As they left they both reported to eachother on a later date that they both felt the dread and horrible feeling follow them for a few blocks as they left. It remained until the feeling vanished as if a light switch was turned on.

He only returned to the house once before to drop something off. Again that feeling returned. Once the door was opened the familiar ran out the door and started barking at the sidewalk directly behind him. The Familiar kept barking until that feeling soon faded, the Familiar barked and growled,  moving its head, following something he could not see. Until the Familiar was looking towards the nearby forest and the feeling faded. After the feeling daded away the Familiar switched to a playful and happy mood. Tail swishing and pressing its head against him for rubs. He was grateful for that familiar that day.

After the second experience he never returned and have since moved.... he never asked the friend for more information about what was going on, to worried about that thing following hi if he knew to much. It's been over 10 years since and it still gives him shivers whenever he thinks about it… now some believe it was a lost spirit, following its descendants for the rest of time. I personally believe it was an evil spirit that was seeking to cause as much discomfort as possible, finding its own joy in causing others discomfort. And it's not alone. It has friends who follow those who hear the tale and learn of its presence. So don't worry, when you leave this place and you feel eyes on you, it won't touch you. It will just watch you, always.”

And with that he slammed the book shut.

“It is a true story, it happened to a friend of a friend of a friend of mine after all.”