Your Very Own ‘Not Alone’-
Abby took the box from her grandmother's wrinkled hands, and smiled. Her grandmother usually gave the worst presents for Christmas and birthdays and the like, but the crisp gold wrapping on this one seemed to make it special. She tucked a red curl behind her ear, and pulled the ribbon off of the paper covered box. She was the kind of girl who always opened things carefully, not crumpling papers and always using a letter opener. So she delicately unfolded the paper from her 18th birthday present. And inside was nothing. It was just a box filled with dark.
"Your very own 'Not Alone', Abby. Do you like it?" the old woman sitting across from her whispered, giving a smile.
Abby didn't quite understand. A 'Not Alone' was expensive. It took work to get one, but she didn't understand it. Why would you need something connected to you in sunlight? Attatched with a black silhouette cast on the ground, stretching out throughout the day? Why would grandmother buy this for her, if there was really no use?
"Thank you, grandmother." She beamed, though the enthusiasm was fake.
"You're welcome, love. Now touch it to activate it!" Abby nodded and did what she was told, and dipped her hand into the dark box. She immediately felt a quick jolt, but after that everything was normal. Except the dark figure cast on the table.
"Wow, this is awesome!" Abby said after activating it, trying to be greatful.
"In folklore, those were called 'shadows', you know."
"Really?" The old woman nodded in response.
"Now go see your mother, dinner is almost ready. And you should see the cake!" Abby scurried off to the kitchen to finish her birthday. The 'Not Alone' didn't cause trouble until the morning. The girl had fallen asleep with the light on after a long day. They found her corpse sprawled out on her bed with the joints at all angles, a figure of the 'shadow' hunched over her disfigured body. A broken doll.