Short Short Halloween Story.

For a contest. 200 words.

Sometimes things happen to us that lift the hair at the nape of our neck, send shivers down our spine and keep us awake. This was one of those nights. Midnight and I was trying to sleep after leaving my loved one in hospital, in the ICU.
My Halloween Short story....

Light.
I need light.
No, I am not a child. Still, Fear embraces me, wraps like the thin blanket around my shoulders.
No light. Be-gone Fear.
Darkness slithers through the cracks in the blind, spreads like a flood of tears across the floor.
Don't think about how alone I am; how far from home. Ignore the dark corridor, the empty rooms and the lingering aura of dissolving Hope.
Don't listen to the whispers.
Don't feel them.
Don’t invite memories. Close your mind. There is no-one there.
Austere but comfortable, the nurse's quarters host a hundred years of memory. The manic mirth of wind teased leaves, stutters against the open window. A zephyr of fresh air eddies into the cell-like room. Used now for hospital accommodation, terminally ill come here for treatment. Families stay while loved ones struggle in the ICU.
Death owns the narrow hallway.
Grief lingers in ever-present shadows.
Three days of stress weakens my resolve. Unwelcome memories, desperate for recognition from a living soul, escape oblivion. Seeking solace, ghosts struggle into existence.
Remember…
Listen…
Not me!
Dare I close my eyes? Allow anguished souls access to my mind?
I need to sleep.