The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

A Good Friend to Have
by Sue Renol

You never know when it will come. It could be by day, night, or somewhere in between. You’ll never see it. It will sneak up on you, hiding in your own shadow. It could be the old man walking down the street, or something as simple as a misplaced step.

Either way, it will come eventually.

It doesn’t matter so much how, but when. Will you be ready? Are you prepared? No one ever really is. You pretend to be, but that’s just the face you put on to meet it. That mask is needed. This introduction isn’t one you want to have without it.

You can’t run from this greeting when it decides to arrive. You can’t hide. It will find you no matter where you go. The only choice you have is how you treat this uninvited guest. Will you treat them with kindness and care? Allow them in? Or will you lock your door in vain only for it to have just the right key.

It doesn’t much care how you go about it. It will come, do what it is meant to do, and move on to the next. When your time for a visit is due, nothing can stop this traveler from arriving on your doorstep and walking over the threshold.

So when it comes knocking, you’d do best to just let it in. Make peace with your new friend, it’s the only companion you’ll have on your journey. And if you’re nice enough about it, maybe it will give you a gift. Perhaps something to eat along the way, one last taste of the life you’ll never live again.