Since as long as I can remember… I’ve been able to see it.
People have a light around them.
When I was a child, I thought everyone could see it too.
I even asked my mother once why our neighbor’s light looked gray.
She just stared at me, confused, and told me to go outside and play.
That was the first time I realized something was wrong with me.
She later told me never to talk about it again.
To ignore it.
I tried.
But I couldn’t.
As I grew older, it became impossible not to notice.
Every person had a different light.
Some were bright. Warm. Almost comforting.
Others… weren’t.
Some were dim.
Some were gray.
And a few… were so dark it felt like they swallowed everything around them.
It took me years to understand what it meant.
A person’s light shows what they are.
Their darkness… what they hide.
I still remember that day in high school.
I was in a hurry, running late—until I stopped.
He looked normal.
Everything about him was normal… except his light.
My body reacted before my mind did.
I dropped to the ground and threw up.
“Are you okay?”
I couldn’t answer.
I couldn’t even look at him.
That smell… rotten, suffocating—
I stayed sick for weeks after that.
I never went near him again.
Five years passed.
“After years of investigation, Armando Taylor, one of the most brutal serial killers in the country, has been arrested. Six bodies were found inside his home. Neighbors had previously reported a strong, foul odor coming from the property.”
I turned off the TV the moment I saw his face.
That darkness…
What it made me feel…
I was never able to sleep the same way again.
Years went by.
I avoided people.
No achievements. No ambitions.
Just debt, work… and more work.
A useless gift.
Or maybe… a curse.
The only good thing I ever had… was her.
Jane.
I still remember the silence before we both said “I do.”
She always knew when something was wrong.
When work was crushing me.
When I needed help.
We always found a way.
And my eyes never lied.
Her light…
It was the brightest I had ever seen.
Soft. Warm.
It even had a scent—something floral, fresh.
I used to breathe it in before falling asleep.
After long days at work.
Being with her… was everything I wanted.
“See you later, love,” she’d always say before leaving.
And when I came home exhausted…
Just seeing her made me smile.
Until that day.
I came home earlier than usual.
And something felt wrong.
The smell hit me first.
My head started spinning.
I could barely walk without bumping into the walls.
Did I forget to clean?
No… I might be messy sometimes, but not like this.
Something was off.
My body couldn’t hold it anymore.
“What’s wrong with you, Zarén?!”
Her voice… was the same.
Exactly the same.
But the light around her—
wasn’t.
“Are you okay? We can go to the hospital.”
“Yeah… it’s just heat. I need some air.”
I ran.
I didn’t stop until the dizziness faded.
No.
It couldn’t be her.
Not Jane.
It had to be the extra hours.
The stress.
My eyes don’t fail.
They never have.
So when did it happen?
The last time I saw something like that…
six bodies were found.
Her light…
is worse than his.