[i]Penumbra.[/i]

It was strange name, but it suited her. Ever since she had taken residence in that Spanish family's home, ever since they had seen a strange shadow on the wall and shouted out "[i]Penumbra![/i]", that was the name she had taken. After all, Natalie Addison had supposedly died decades ago and even if she still walked the Earth as a spirit, she felt she could no longer call herself by that name. It felt too normal, too human.

And she wasn't human anymore.

She was in her current residence, the apartment of Mr and Mrs Webber, a kindly old couple who had yet to notice Penumbra's presence. There had been some close calls, of course, like when the Webber's cat had started hissing at her on the first couple of days, but the creature had gotten used to the moving shadows and smoky wisps in the air, and now normally ignored. There had also been that other time where the Webber's grandchildren had come round, and the youngest, a girl, had spent the whole night awake because she swore she saw a ghost watching her under her desk. Still, the Webbers didn't question it and Penumbra had now spent a good few months at their place with little incident, and she'd come to like them very much. They were nice, friendly, the kind of grandparents she wished she had growing up, and sometimes, she desperately wanted to show herself to them, to tell them who she was. Maybe they'd accept her.

[i]Pfft, not likely,[/i] Penumbra scolded herself. She wasn't human anymore. She didn't even look human. Even at night when she was at her most solid, her whole body was black, featureless, like a three-dimensional shadow. They'd run at the sight of her. It was best just to keep hidden and watch.

Today was New Year's Eve, with only seconds until midnight came and and the New Year was upon them. The couple were sitting on the couch, watching the TV which was showing live footage straight from the centre of Millennium City, where they waiting to drop the Millennium City ball. The Webbers had invited their children and grandchildren around, and they were all sat in the living room, watching and waiting for the hour to strike. The children were fidgety and only half paying attention, the adults were drinking champagne, and Penumbra simply rested unseen in the shadows, watching the TV wistfully. Even after these past few months, the TV still amazed her. How did it work? How was it streaming events from so far away? It made no sense.

The people on the TV started counting down, and as they did so, so did the family.

"5.... 4.... 3... 2...."

Penumbra mouthed the numbers along with them, the tension and excitement somewhat contagious. 

"1!"

The ball dropped, and suddenly there was screaming on the TV as a strange man dropped out. "Happy New Years people of Millennium City!" the villain shouted. "Who wants to be the first to DIE?!?" 

[i]What on Earth?[/i] Penumbra thought, as the celebrations were cut short and the unnamed villain started fighting with a costumed figure on the screen. The children had stopped playing and were now watching the TV with interest.

"Mommy, mommy!" the youngest, Emma, shouted, pointing at the screen. "Look, it's Titan!"

[i]Titan?[/i] Penumbra thought, carefully watching the hero on the screen. He must have been one of those Superhero-types she'd heard about, the ones who kept the City safe and had strange powers that allowed them to do so. However, he didn't seem to be doing so well as he villain shot someone else, wounding them, and disappeared. It was then that the mother quickly turned off the TV and said the children should go to bed. While they were taking, Penumbra phased through the wall out of the apartment and sneaked out into the night-shrouded, suddenly wanting to be alone.

[i]Everyone was so happy,[/i] she thought as made her way down the darkened stream, travelling in the shadows were no one could see her. [i]They were so happy, and then they were terrified because of what that man did.[/i] As she thought these things through, she felt a flare of anger in the pit of her stomach. So many bad things had been happening recently, she'd heard so in the news. Things weren't like this back in her time. Things had changed so much.

And now she wanted them to change back.