Tempted by Evil by Amber Lynn Natusch, Shannon Morton

parents had chosen me over their own daughter when it had come to that. I couldn’t imagine what I had done to make Alexa despise me so, but whatever it was, I hoped she would forgive me and choose to put it behind her.
    Feeling my eyelids growing heavy, I finally gave in and closed them, allowing the darkness to wash over me. Sleep was not far behind. In my dream, I looked up to find myself standing in the vestibule in the cathedral of Sisters of the Sacred Heart. The room was in vivid color, the stained glass reflecting the candlelight from the chandelier beautifully. I glanced down at myself and discovered that I was once again wearing a white communion dress, complete with satin, chiffon, and lace.
    As if led by some unseen force, my feet began to walk effortlessly down the aisle toward the front of the church. The act reminded me of an eerie version of the wedding march without the music from the pipe organ or the guests smiling at me from the pews with warm affection. Fear suddenly radiated through my body and my hands began to tremble. I tried without success to get my feet to stop or to move in the opposite direction, but it was in vain. I had no control over myself whatsoever.
    Prisoner to whatever power held me, I moved forward by no will of my own until I finally reached the altar. My knees automatically bent into a kneeling position and my head forcibly bowed. It seemed like I stayed in that pose for an eternity, but, eventually, I felt the tension fall off of me and I knew I was free to move again.
    Lifting my head first, I was taken aback by what I saw. A faint white light emanated from behind the altar and immediately drew my eyes upward. Father! His ghostly luminescent form stood protectively next to the inky blackness that was my mother. Tears welled up and spilled over and I didn’t even care. I wouldn’t risk blinking for even a single second only to lose them again as I had before.
    “Mom? Dad?” I nearly whispered for fear that anything would cause them to vanish before my eyes. They remained still, the curls of my mother’s darkness always attempting to penetrate the light of my father while his glow ever cast her in shadow.
    Finally, my mother spoke.
    “Aspen, the Shadow seeks to control and consume . . . ,” she said softly. “Open your eyes.”
    At her words, my parents vanished and a dark mist began to fill the nave, and it was difficult to see anything from one side of the cathedral to the other. Panic rose in my chest. I couldn’t think or breathe, and tears flowed freely down my face. I was frozen.
    The sound of shrill screaming woke me from a dead sleep. Untangling myself from my comforter, I climbed out of bed to find that I was drenched in sweat and my throat felt raw. It was then that I realized that the screams I’d heard had been my own.
    I was once again dreaming of my parents.
    Sitting back down on the edge of my bed, I attempted to recall every detail of the dream. My mother had spoken to me this time, and I remembered her words with perfect clarity. The shadow seeks to control and consume. Open your eyes. I sat on the end of that mattress for what seemed like hours, trying to decipher the code that was my mother’s message. All I had to show for my efforts were legs that fell asleep in their tightly crossed position. Who was the Shadow that sought to control me? What was I blind to? By the end of all my reasoning, I was no closer to formulating an answer than I was in the beginning.
    I finally gave up and came to the conclusion that if I was to have the answers to the numerous riddles popping up around me, I would get them when I needed them or not at all. I’d lived my life that way up until I left the convent, and I figured it wasn't the time to start doing things differently. Though I was still uncertain as to the meaning of my mother’s words, the underlying message was received. An air of foreboding surrounded me. But, because of her, my eyes were wide