Shadow Shoes by Michael Dahl

Author:Michael Dahl [Dahl, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fiction; Stone Arch Books; Michael Dahl's Really Scary Stories; JUV018000; JUVENILE FICTION / Horror; JUV058000; JUVENILE FICTION / Paranormal; JUV038000; JUVENILE FICTION / Short Stories; 9781496549006; 9781496554499; 9781474744225; 9781474744188; 9781496549129; 9781496549082; 9781496549044;
Publisher: Capstone
Published: 2020-01-30T00:00:00+00:00

SHADOW SHOES

Daphne was too old to still believe there were monsters under her bed. But for the past three nights, she’d heard noises down there. Bumps and thumps, as if something had been dropped onto the wooden floor. She was convinced it wasn’t an alligator or a zombie, but that still didn’t make her brave enough to peer under the bed.

Whenever she heard the noise, Daphne checked the clock on her nightstand. The glowing numerals always displayed 10:01.

One night, before Daphne turned out her light, she set her alarm clock to ring a few minutes before ten o’clock. When she awoke, she lay in bed. She pulled the covers up to her chin and waited for the noise. If nothing happened, she’d

know it had been a dream. Slowly the minutes passed, then…

Thump! Whump!

It was not a dream. Daphne reached over carefully and turned her light back on. She slowly slid her legs over the side of the bed. Her bare feet slipped down to the cold wood floor. She sat on the edge of the bed for a full minute.

This is stupid, she told herself. There are no monsters under the bed!

Daphne knelt down and lifted the covers that draped from her bed to have a look.

She gasped. She never expected this: a pair of shoes. Shoes that were not hers. Daphne pulled them out for a closer look.

Even though Daphne’s bedside light was on, it was hard to see the shoes. They appeared fuzzy, as if her eyes were still sleepy. Their shape reminded her of running shoes. It was hard to make out their color, but Daphne guessed they were a deep midnight blue. Her favorite color. Pale, glowing stars decorated the sides of each shoe.

Most importantly, they looked exactly her size.

Daphne sat on the edge of the bed and tried them on. Why not? Maybe her mom and dad had put them there as some kind of early birthday present.

When Daphne slipped them on, she felt relaxed. The shoes fit perfectly. Even without socks on, they felt warm and soft. Now she could see the shoes clearly. They were indeed a lovely shade of midnight blue, with twinkling stars on the sides. And as the stars pulsed with a glowing orange and gold, the bedside light went out.

Daphne didn’t care. She could still see by the pale light of the stars.

She had never owned a pair of shoes this comfortable before. The strangely wonderful feeling traveled through her feet and legs and into the rest of her body.

Daphne stood up and took a few steps. She stepped into a rectangle of moonlight at the window. Suddenly, Daphne had an urge to walk outside. She ran into the hallway — then quickly stopped. She looked back at her bedroom door. It was closed. She hadn’t touched it as she had raced into the hall. How did she get out here?

Daphne reached for the doorknob. The tips of her fingers felt a strange coolness, but that was all. Her fingers seemed to pass through the knob, as if it were only a shadow.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.