Matter is subject to debate. Light technically has substance. The skimming of animated photons

across various molecules with a little heat in the form of radiation thrown in for good measure.

So it would be, in an abstract way, logical for that same substance to exist in the antithesis.

Darkness is the absence of light, of heat, and of energy.

But what if there were another form of darkness? Something

palpable, something tangential. Imagine if you feel darkness itself and feel it on your skin like a ray

of warm sunshine. It would be frightening. Or worse still, imagine if something could come from

that darkness and touch you. I was touched by something from the darkness. This is my story.

It seems too good to be true. What's the catch? The house must be haunted, I said to the landlord as he absent-mindedly scrolled on his phone.

What's with all the stuff? He looked up at me with a perplexed expression. Huh? Oh yeah, the old tenant moved out about three weeks ago, left all the furniture and stuff,

hence why I listed the house as fully furnished.

Keep whatever you want and toss the rest, I don't care, it ain't my stuff, he said,

as he went back to checking his phone.

The backyard's fenced in, obviously, and the do doggy door here is open. If you have a dog,

there's an extra deposit of $250. I walked through the three-bedroom two-bathroom home again.

Built in the 1950s, the one-story brick structure was a simple rectangle divided into rooms. A common design back in the day,

it had fallen by the wayside in the name of open concept floor plans long ago. Shotgun houses

they used to be called. I remember my grandmother saying that phrase once upon a time.

Still, it had been recently remodeled, didn't wreak of cigarette smoke like a few of the other places

I had seen for rent. Trying to find a decent place within driving distance to work for under

$1,800 per month was nearly impossible.

When the home just off Clifton Road sprang up on my app, I thought it was a scam.

...