One night, I couldn’t sleep because I was alone in my room. My sister was at my aunt’s house, and it was midnight.
A window behind my bed offered a view of the twinkling stars and the bright moon illuminating the dark sky. I usually closed my window every night, but the weather was pleasant, so I had left it open.
The cool air coming through the window was so refreshing that I decided to gaze at the beautiful sky for a while. The stars shimmered against the velvety black sky, while the luminous moon cast an eerie glow over everything. As I enjoyed the peaceful scene, I suddenly noticed a faint movement in the darkness down the street. I froze.
I convinced myself that it was merely the rustling of leaves, but then I saw it again — a shadowy figure lurking beneath the moonlight. My heart began to pound and my legs went numb. I cautiously leaned closer to the window. The figure seemed to be staring directly at me. Trembling, I stepped back.
A chilling breeze swept through the room. I reached for my torch, which I always kept on the table beside my bed, but it was missing. Suddenly, strong winds began to blow and a storm broke out. I couldn’t believe how quickly everything had changed. The figure remained indistinct, but it seemed to have its eyes fixed on me.
I stood frozen in place when I suddenly heard a whisper from behind me. It was my mother’s voice.
“Olivia, your cousins are coming tomorrow.”
I felt uneasy. The whole situation was uncanny. I wanted to look behind me, but then I remembered that my mother was always asleep by midnight. I had two options: look behind me or stay still. Her voice seemed to echo throughout the room and I was paralysed with fear.
The whole situation seemed so unbelievable that I decided not to look behind me. Instead, I kept my eyes fixed on the figure, knowing that my mind might be playing tricks on me. Suddenly, I saw something glinting in the distance. The figure was holding some kind of weapon — a knife.
I watched as it walked towards our house. I screamed. Suddenly, the walls twisted, the floor disappeared beneath my feet and everything went black. The next moment, I was lying in my bed, covered in sweat. For a moment, I couldn’t remember where I was.
I slowly got out of bed and opened the door. Everything looked exactly as it had before. I smiled, thinking it had all been a terrible dream.
But then I noticed something on the floor — a knife, just like the one I had seen in the figure’s hand.
Published in Dawn, Young World, October 17th, 2026
