ghoul

Author's name: Saniya Zayed

In the hut, the sleepers awoke in terror to the sound of doors opening and closing themselves, windows banging against their walls. Screams rose throughout the hut, heard by all, near and far: the screams of women, the cries of children. The animals in their pens were agitated, stamping their feet on the ground, banging against the walls of the pens, trying to escape from something they could not see. The barking of dogs gnawed at the night, circling around themselves, panting, barking, and running towards the cemeteries.

People rushed in every direction in fear. Some thought that a fire had broken out in the whole mound, but there were no fires, only darkness. Black fog enveloped the mound, shadows hovered everywhere, spreading inside houses, on rooftops, and between roads. Hearts trembled, and the darkness was entrenched, suffocating minds.