Tweet, tweet, cheep, chirp... it was lovely to wake up to the tweet of the birds outside my bedroom window and look at the tall chinaar trees that towered over our building. The ancient things seemed a hundred years old, home to birds and critters of all kinds. The intricate leaves, which had grown in clusters all over the crooked branches, looked as if someone had cut them by hand. Their deep greenry contrasted perfectly with the light blue of the sky. The branches hung loose and limp like hair, swaying slightly in the occasional breeze while the rustle of the leaves felt like music. In the afternoon, you might hear a few chirps in the distance, but if you are lucky enough to stand at the window at the time of the sunrise, then you will experience a symphony of beautiful birdsong.

But at night, the tables are turned. The trees that seemed so enchanting in the daytime look terrifying in the dark. And so one night, I had to sleep alone in my room. Usually, I and my sister sleep together but tonight, she was having a sleepover with our cousins. I was sleepless so I went outside and looked at the wall clock. It was one in the morning. Everyone in the house was asleep. Everything was eerily quiet, except for the rustle of the leaves that, when in the afternoon seemed so calming, now gave me goosebumps. I went back to my room and sat down on my bed.

I tried not to look out the window but I caught a glimpse of the trees outside. They seemed haunted; the leaves like claws, reaching out for you with the gnarled branches. I lay down and turned my back on the window so that I wouldn’t feel scared. But looking at the wall just made me even more scared, because the trees cast long shadows and I could see them moving in the wind.

Now I was really starting to get worried. I couldn’t wake my parents up for such a silly reason, especially this late. I curled up in my blanket and closed my eyes, tightly shut. I suddenly felt a shiver run down my spine. I could hear footsteps coming my way. My heart thumped in my chest. My hands started to sweat. I clutched my blanket tightly in my hands and stayed perfectly still, too scared to even breathe properly. The footsteps got closer and closer. I tried to scream but no voice came out. The footsteps entered my room….

“Ayzah?”

With trembling hands, I removed my blanket from my face. I looked up to see... it was my mother! “I came to check on you because it was a bit chilly outside”, she said. I breathed a sigh of relief. So maybe there was no such thing as ghosts. The rest of the night, I slept like a baby -probably because I had been up so late! But after that night onwards, I never slept alone again.

Published in Dawn, Young World, December 18th, 2021