Horror Stories from Horrified - Volume One (2)

six-panelled Geor gian black gloss door cr eaking on its hinges and a bell tinkling to
her ald his ar r ival. This was w hat Chr istmas shopping was supposed to be like. He
squeezed his finger s against his hands on noticing the electr ic fair y lights ar ound
the edge of the shop?s counter. Their inauthenticity and the fact that they w er e on
his tr ee at home was a sour ce of mild ir r itation, but he had been per suaded by his
w ife that they w er e necessar y and that his childr en wanted them and he was
w illing to compr omise that much. At the ver y least they w er e the same subtle plain
w hite dots as the lights in the shop. He had watched as his w ife had slow ly
unr avelled them, the w ir e tangled despite them being new ly bought. He let her
place them on the tr ee, deep in the br anches, plugging them in to a cheer fr om their
childr en, befor e he star ted the r eal decor ative w or k. He closed his eyes and
pictur ed the lights glinting on the tr ee in the w indow of his house, for a moment
allow ing himself the thought that per haps they w er en?t such a bad addition after
all.
An assistant appear ed fr om a back r oom of the shop and, on hear ing his choice of
decor ation, congr atulated him on his taste and timing as the shop was about to shut
for the season. He smiled as the assistant commented that it was ?always Chr istmas
her e?and follow ed him thr ough to the r oom in the back. The compliment sat w ell
and it took him a moment to r ealise the differ ent audience intended for this r oom.
A chill hand gr ipped him as his eyes r anged acr oss the plastic baubles, fake w hite
tr ees and shimmer ing, luxur iant str ands of tinsel. He blinked har d against the
gaudy display as if it w er e a hallucination; a phantasm that he could dispel by
closing his eyes and w illing it away, but the br ight lights had bur nt themselves into
his r etina, the outline of the r oom shar p and clear. He shook his head tr ying to
dislodge the tableau, desper ate to make it go. The mor e he scr ew ed his eyes tightly
the mor e the pictur e shar pened. As it came into clear focus, he allow ed it his full
attention, absor bed by a scene long distant in his past.
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