Twelve Footprints Around a Bare Bulb

The Circle

The first footprint appeared directly above the bed.

It was small, no longer than a man’s hand, and dark around the edges as if the sole that made it had been dipped in chimney soot. The heel pointed toward the center of the room. The toes pointed toward the wall.

There were eleven more beside it.

Together, they formed a perfect circle around the bare lightbulb hanging from the ceiling.

I found them thirty years ago in my friend Daniel’s house, and there are mornings when I still wake with the feeling that someone has been pacing above me.

Not in the attic.

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Nimra Khan — original fiction published on RapidTale.