It was early one Saturday morning, and my mother had forced me to go to school to take part in the upcoming mathematics competition. I lazily stepped out of bed and unwillingly got ready for school.

“The school bus doesn’t come on Saturdays, dear, and your father has already gone to work, so you will have to walk to school,” my mum said, almost shouting from the kitchen.

“Great news! Now I have to leave for school 30 minutes early!” I grumbled.

After getting ready, I left for school reluctantly. I yawned as I walked along the footpath. It was a chilly, misty morning. I didn’t realise how long I had been walking because my eyes were so heavy. I had stayed up very late the night before, doom-scrolling.

I didn’t even notice when I tripped over a rock and almost fell. That was when I realised I had been walking in the wrong direction! I had never been there before. The footpath was unpaved, the bushes were untrimmed and there were bugs, and I guess all kinds of insects, everywhere. I looked around and realised I wasn’t the only one on the path.

There was a woman some distance away from me. She was wearing a long, grungy red dress and walking strangely. She seemed to be limping and her hair was messy. I tried not to think much of it, but inside, it terrified me. Something felt wrong.

She suddenly turned and looked at me. She had an ugly, evil smile that made my blood run cold. I tried to take a different path, but there wasn’t one. There was just me and the woman, no one else. Besides, this was not the road to my school!

I ran back. While running, my heart was pounding so fast that I felt it would burst out of my chest. I looked back and saw that she was running after me with the same eerie smile.

I ran faster. In the distance, I saw a signal and a few people standing there. I ran even faster. Then I looked back again and saw that there was no one following me. As I breathed a sigh of relief and turned towards the signal, she was suddenly right there in front of me. I screamed and fainted!

A few minutes later, someone woke me up. I was lying on the footpath and a kind old lady was asking me questions which I couldn’t understand at first.

After a few moments of trying to gather myself, I looked around, but there was no trace of the woman in the red dress.

I thanked the old lady and the people around me, and sprinted to school.

A lot had happened that day. I tried to convince myself that it had all been just a bad dream. I couldn’t focus on the maths quiz or anything, to be honest.

The horror stayed inside me.

I wanted to share it with someone — but who would have believed me?

Published in Dawn, Young World, March 19th, 2026