Models
“Right, Michelle, I want you to part your lips.” The photographer, James, coaxed the slim body posing in front of him.
“Right… And slide your hand around his legs. Yes, sexy… do that!” ‘ This one will do well,’ he thought to himself.
Michelle tried to quell her nervousness as she laid at the feel of the statue. Somehow, the statue seemed to be looking down, condemning her in her revealing clothes.
‘It’s just my imagination,’ she brushed it off, forcing herself to concentrate on the camera fixed on her. She arched her slender neck, and smiled winsomely into the lens.
The photographer looked up at the sky, the rapidly rising sun are warming the cementery in the cold dawn hours. The ideal light twilight conditions was not going to last for much longer. He looked back into the camera lens, the lights conditions were perfect.
The model in front of him had her head thrown back, the light bouncing off the tops of her breasts, and accentuating the dark cleavage in between. Her long legs stretced out, showing off a nubile body. She was wearing a short white shift that bared her shoulders, manufactured by some famous designer in the West. Stretched at the feet of a stone statue, Michelle fitted the part of a fallen angel perfectly.
‘It was such a pity that they are exhuming this place so soon.’ James thought sadly. Fortunately, his clients finally agreed that the cemetery was a good place to shoot the models. It took him quite a bit of effort and time before they did though.
‘Why does everyone have this thing against taking photographs in cemeteries?’ He wondered, as he gazed around the place, dotted with beautiful stone statues.
The photo shoot took over an hour. Besides Michelle, there were two other models, Cindy and Eunice who were also her flat-mates. When they were already done, James bided them farewell, as the three head off for home. They had came at five that morning to prepare for the shoot.
“Eunice, do you have any prickling heat powder? The itch is killing me.” Cindy yelled.
“No! My whole body is covered with rashes now.” The reply came from Eunice’s room.
Michelle was also feeling the itch all over her body. Hearing this from her flat-mate, she wondered whether if it had something to do with the photo shoot done at the cemetery this morning.
In fact, she had been feeling strange since she returned from the cemetery. Besides the incident of the rashes outbreak, there were moments in the late afternoon when she had felt uncomfortable in her home, as if someone was watching her. She thought it was Cindy or Eunice at first, but when she turned around, she saw no one. Later, over dinner, the two told her that they had been sleeping the whole afternoon.
“Girls, I’ve got a bottle in the bathroom. Help yourself.” She called from the living room. A commotion soon arose as her two flat-mates made a run for the bathroom. Soon, everyone was comfortable and seated in the plush sofa, watching the television. It was late when Michelle greeted everyone goodnight and retired.
Michelle woke suddenly. Her chest was tightly constricted. When she tried to breathe, hot pain shot through her. The sound of someone breathing reached her ears. Her eyes roamed the room, no one was around.
She tried to get up, but found that she could not. There was a weight on her chest, as if someone was sitting on her. Her limbs were not numb, as she tried to wriggle her fingers and toes for feeling. She got no response.
Michelle froze. The heavy breathing had got louder. It sounded as if someone was besides her, breathing into her ears. She dared not turn her head. Closing her eyes shut, Michelle continued struggling, trying to break free of the unseen force imprisoning her.
It was getting harder and harder for her to breath now. The weight in her chest got heavier, making it more and more painful to breathe and Michelle had to take shallow breaths. In the end, she found that could not breathe at all. She was really terrified now.
Michelle began to feel light-headed. She knew she was losing consciousness. Slowly, she blacked out.
The phone was ringing off the hook. Michelle woke with a jump. She sat up in shock.
‘Was that a dream earlier?” She thought to herself.
The phone went off again, breaking into her reverie. Michelle picked up the phone to find James on the line.
“Hey, Michelle! I’ve got bad news.”
“What’s the problem?”
“You know the shots we took yesterday’s morning?”
“Yeah?”
“They’re all spoilt!”
“Huh?”
“They are all over-exposed. I don’t understand it myself. And there’s a reflection.”
“A reflection?”
“Yes, it looked like a Malay lady.” James sounded almost nervous when he said it.
Michelle went cold when she heard it, shivers running down her back to the bottom of her spine.
“How’s your sleep last night, Eunice?” Michelle asked her flat-mate, who came for breakfast with dark rings under her eyes. Cindy, seated at the same table, was equally moody that morning.
“Argh! Terrible.”
“Why? What happened?”
“I felt as if someone was sitting on me the whole night while I was sleeping.”
Michelle and Cindy stared at their flat-mate.