Rebecca Marriott
Days 21 - 30
Day 21
I heard the back-door open and began to panic.
"It’s alright," my wife whispered, "he’s just let himself in."
My wife died nine years ago.
Who is he?
Day 22
You’ve been to this restaurant before.
It’s a small family business.
They know you here.
This time your regular table isn’t free.
You get sat in the very back table.
The first thing you notice about this is how far away it is from the doors.
The second thing you notice is that you can see everyone else here.
A few minutes into your meal you start to notice other things.
Little things.
Like how nobody else is eating their food.
They are all facing away from you.
They are all muttering.
Make that chanting.
When did it get so dark outside?
When did everyone stop chanting?
When did you start chanting?
Day 23
I used to see darkness when I woke
It was so lonely
I began to dig
Took so long
My hands are bloodied and mangled but now
Now I see stars
I see animals
I stumble through the woods where they buried me
My legs are less than I remember
I am less than I remember yet so much more
So much stronger
I caught a hiker
Like catching a fish on land
He was so fragile
Now we are friends
He tells me he is becoming less than he remembers
We search for more friends
Day 24
Summer means the insects are waking up.
Being born and reborn.
Summer is also a good time for walking
As you walk through an open field you see a large black cloud approaching.
You hear the cloud humming loudly.
Its insects swarming.
They surround you.
Look closely at them.
They have faces.
You know these faces.
You’ve lived with these faces.
They look angry.
They move in.
They are the last thing you see.
Day 25
Your skin itches.
Your entire skin itches.
Like a thousand ants are writhing underneath.
Scratch it all away.
Scratch until you see red.
Until you see blood, until you see bone.
Peel the skin back.
Expose the ants.
See them pore out and onto the floor.
Peel yourself further.
Let yourself go.
Lose yourself to the dark, squirming flow.
Your skin lies before you.
The ants consume it.
You are free now.
Day 26
You wouldn’t believe what washes up on the coast.
Plastic bottles, torn fishing nets... fingers.
It makes you wonder, where did they come from?
What boat now misses its net?
Whose fingers are these?
Why are they still moving?
Where are they trying to get to?
You follow them across the beach and into the shipping yard.
It’s like a maze here.
After many twists and turns the severed digits pile up outside
of one warehouse that looks more than ready to crumble.
You reach over the fingers, compelled to push the door.
It opens.
You wait for the fingers to writhe inside and follow after,
careful to make as little noise as possible though you
aren’t sure why.
What could possibly be in here?
You see the fingers making their way to the back of the building,
to a large, greyish shape.
It seems to be a tarpaulin.
With something moving underneath.
Moving towards you.
Maybe it can smell you?
A large scaled hand quietly lifts the corner of the plastic sheet up.
It lets the fingers through.
It lifts the corner higher.
It beckons you in.
Day 27
Anyone can be anything on the internet.
You could be anything.
What if all your friends weren’t?
What if they were ghosts trapped inside our electric grids?
This could be the only way they know how to talk to us.
A test for these phantoms:
Ask them if they are here. Are you here?
Type random letters til a name appears. dssdbsgddhfjonhdh
Type that name nine times. Jon Jon Jon Jon Jon Jon Jon Jon Jon
Type a paragraph, long sentence, anything and wait for the re͏͍p̞̦̹l͏̘y͚͖i̻͈̘̹’̘̮͚m̡͍͍̻̠h̴̭̞̖̱e̴͕̙͔r͍̮̗͜ͅe҉̤̖͕̬ͅi̮̘̲m̼͙̻͔̙̟h͈͍̜͍̹͢e̸̝̜̝re̡i̴͈̦̜͔m̞̹h̪̜̰̟̙̼̕er̸̪ȩ̘̮i͔̙͉̘̫ͅm̸̜h̸̯̖̱̮̲e̞͙̱̳r̻̖̭̦e̙̦̝̟͓̤͘
I̕҉̗̳̟’̟m̴͔̪ ̡̣͖h͏̵͔̜̜͇̘͍͓̝̳e̡̖̖̞̱̙̮͜r̵͇̘̼̪̖̰͞ȩ͚͇̪̬̻͈̱̹͎
Day 28
Floors creak at night where houses relax.
We know they are alive, but where does this life come from?
Ancient architects used to bury living people within the foundations
of new buildings to guard them.
Their souls linger within the walls and floors where they walk, ever
vigilant.
Who is in your house?
Count the people.
Then count their shadows.
If you find an extra shadow that vanishes when you look directly
at it, you’ve found your houses soul.
You have someone buried at the heart of your home.
They may watch you when you sleep.
They may chase other spirits from your home.
They may not like you.
You don’t want them to not like you.
Day 29
Light’s a funny thing
Its never there when you most need it
For instance, on those nights where something just doesn’t feel right
Like there’s a weight on your chest
Like someone is breathing slightly out of sync with you
Like you really aren’t alone
On those nights, don’t leave the light on
Don’t let it know you’re there
Don’t pray for salvation
Pray it kills you quickly
Day 30
Do you ever feel different when you wear a certain piece of clothing?
That’s because souls tend to cling to material objects.
Wear the item that makes you feel different.
Stand between three mirrors.
Slowly turn.
If your face begins to change you have found the former wearer.
Do not try this alone.
These souls long for a new body.