The Whisper/Barbara Chioffi...Part 2

She couldn’t quite process what she was seeing and felt dread ooze into every pore. Suspended near the ceiling, sitting as if there was a chair, was a clown, her worst nightmare. A mask covered his face, one with a large smiling mouth. His legs were crossed as were his arms. The eyes were two lines sewn into the face, and the nose, well there wasn’t one….just two holes.

Anne blinked her eyes several times, hoping the supposed apparition would vanish. It did not. A sinister smile crossed its face, and it floated down to stand before her. Sinking back as far as she could, her one thought was….damn, this is scarier than anything I’ve ever written.

Still staring with her mouth open, she was beyond screaming. This was freaking diabolical. Of all the subjects in her stories, clowns were the farthest from her imagination.

“Good evening, Anne. I hope I didn’t frighten you. I have a request.”

“Are you out of your mind? Of course you’re scaring me. Go back to where you came from.”

“I’m afraid I cannot do that. I need something from you.”

Anne gulped. His voice was like fingernails on a chalkboard, eliciting a shudder, and she imagined everything that was possible, and none of it was pleasant. Stuttering, she asked, “W..what is it?’

“I want to be in your next story.”

Omg. A small sigh escaped Anne’s still open mouth. Is that all? I can handle that, at least I think so. Why does he have to be so ugly? Damn. No eyes, no nose, and that mouth. It’s enough to swallow my head.

Gathering her courage, which was hard to find at the present moment, she squeaked, “I think I can manage that.”

TO BE CONTINUED