Dream

Do you believe in attraction? You know, the usual theory of how our thoughts attract people and incidents around us. I for one think it goes deeper than just that, something mysterious, some unseen force of nature, or as some people might term it, “Supernatural”.

I have always had terrible luck with my dreams. As far as I can remember, I have had more nights with nightmares than not.

Some dreams get stuck with you because of the way it makes you feel. I have had one such as well, including a man with a strange face. Something was disturbing about the peculiarity he had. I can only vaguely remember the dream but, I just know that, long ago, I had a dream about a strange-looking man.

Fast forward to now, I am in my early teens. We have a family of four, five if you include Lucy. My brother Sam has been out abroad for two years now. With my Mom teaching and Dad running a pharmacy, most times it’s just me in the house. Well, there’s Lucy, of course. She’s always running around, wagging her tail. And also, there’s him.

After Sam left, the room we shared is now fully mine. However, I spend most of my time in our guest/living room. It’s the biggest room to which all the other rooms are connected. I can see the kitchen sink from where I am sitting. There’s so much in view that you can’t really feel the walls.

It’s around four. Just like other days, I am watching TV from our couch. I guess Lucy is just playing tag with her teddy bear. I don’t know what the rules of the dog world are. From the corner of my eyes, I can see the door to our kitchen on the right. Wait, he is here again. I see it. I see him. To be precise, I see his silhouette. I don’t know for sure if it’s him or her. I never really got a chance to look at them directly. Every time I turn to face the door, there’s no one.

It’s not just when I try to get a direct view. When Mom and Dad are here I don’t see him at all. I have tested this multiple times now, and Lucy knows this. The other day, when she accidentally threw her teddy towards the kitchen door, unlike other times, she didn’t get it. She stayed still and barked at the door. There was no one when I looked, of course. I then called her and we stayed on the couch cuddling.

Mom is here. I can tell from the sound of her footsteps. There are three of us again now that he is gone. I try to be sure of it and face the TV while focusing on the corner view, and he is not here anymore. Like always. I don’t know; I am getting more sure by the day that it isn’t just my brain playing tricks on me. I don’t bother telling mom. She has had a full day of dealing with teens for me to add to it.

We had dinner. Mom and Dad are in their room. I will be sleeping in the guest room tonight since mine got infested with bed bugs. I am on the guest bed beside the couch. I turn my head to the wall clock, it’s 9. Lucy is fast asleep on her little bed right next to the couch. Guess I’ll call it a day.

Is it morning yet? I am lying awake on my bed. The room is still pitch dark. I guess not. What time is it anyway? Wait, why can’t I turn my head? No, it’s not just my neck; I can’t move my body at all. My arms, my fingers, my legs. What is happening to me? I swiveled my eyes around the room. There’s Lucy still sleeping with Teddy beside her. I run them a little more to the right; there’s someone at the door to the kitchen. No, it’s not mom or dad; it’s him. This time, I can see his eyes. They are staring into my soul, but I can’t bring my eyes to separate from his. I try calling Lucy, Mom, Dad, anyone, but I can’t speak. I tried screaming but not even a weak squeal came out. I am scared now. What is going on? Am I dreaming, or am I simply awake, lying paralyzed on my bed while he stares at me?

It’s morning. When did I sleep? What happened yesterday? And it hit me; I saw him. I saw his eyes. What a terrible nightmare, or was it real? I look towards the kitchen, a cool shiver runs down my spine. I call out my mom’s name, and she comes running hearing the distress in my voice. I tell her everything now. She comforted me, assuring me it was just a nightmare. But what about the figure I see? “It’s just your mind,” she says.

Nothing remarkable happened during the day. Dad came to pick me up from school. We had ice cream on the way home. “I heard about last night,” he said. “Do you want to sleep with us tonight?” I am a teenager; my sense of independence didn’t allow me to accept that. So here I am on the guest bed. It’s ten right now, and I’ve decided to sleep with the lights on today. It won’t happen again. I am a grown-up. It was just a dream. I fell asleep with these confirmations.

I am awake again. And no, I can’t move my body. I am scared to look around but I still do. I can’t say if it’s morning due to the room light. I can see Lucy sleeping. And again there’s him, but this time, I see him clearly. It’s him; the strange-looking man from my dream. I know it’s him. A slim, tall shadowy figure. He has a slim face too. He has big yellow eyes, his face is the palest one I have seen. He is wearing a black suit and is slowly approaching me. I can’t move, I can’t scream. I lie here just like yesterday. He doesn’t move his eyes from mine and so can’t I. He stopped right at the leg of my bed and just like yesterday, he kept on staring. All of my attempts at escaping failed, and I lay there praying for it to end.

It’s the next morning. I can move. I wake up to this strange feeling. Mom’s beside me. I hug her and tell her everything again. She is worried this time. She asks me to sleep with them tonight to which I happily agree. It is Saturday, so I get to call Sam! Finally! After a week. He’s grown thin. “What are they feeding you?” Mom asks worriedly. “Pizza”, he laughs. I sit beside them, hearing them talk about work, studies, school, and whatnot. Then she pauses as if preparing herself, and shares the incidents of the past two days. “I also had such nightmares,” he said. “But I don’t remember having sleep paralysis. Don’t think of it too much, just sleep with Mom and Dad tonight.”

“Is that what it’s called, sleep paralysis?” I asked him. “Positive,” he confirmed.

I did my research. It turns out there is such a thing as sleep paralysis, where one can see and feel everything around them, lying paralyzed in a position. While I was at it, I also read an article on how our paranoia could lead to us feeling some presence when alone. I feel reassured. I’ll be fine. But to not take any chances, I get in bed with Mom and Dad tonight. After her failed attempt to sleep with us here, Lucy is back in her bed in the guest room. Mom turns off the light. “Goodnight”. Goodnight. I fall asleep, assured I am around my guardians.

Again? I am awake again. No. I can’t move. Not again, please no. I can see my parents sleeping beside me, but I can’t call them. Instead of panicking, I remind myself, It is just a dream, it’s not real. I run my eyes around and see Teddy on my left. I hear a door opening; it’s the door that connects this room to the living room. I know it’s him again. In the dark, I can only see a tall, slim silhouette getting closer and closer. Just like always, he is staring at me. It’s only a dream, I’ll be fine. It’ll be over. I remind myself. I don’t try screaming or calling out this time. I just stare at him. It’s just a dream. It’s not real. I then hear a voice.

“Won’t you call for help today? Won’t you call your dad? Go ahead. Try and scream. Scream.”

What just happened? Did he just… speak? How did he know what I was thinking? ”Not scared anymore?” I just looked at him. “Call your dad. Come on now. You want to, don’t you? Eva.” He knows my name. He’s coming closer now. “Not scared huh?” he says while picking up Teddy. Then he slowly leaves, still staring.

The following morning, I woke up earlier than both of my parents. What was that? Just another episode of sleep paralysis? Both of my parents woke up due to Lucy’s barks. That’s unusual. As soon as Dad opens the door, Lucy barges in and hops on the bed. Oh, she must be looking for her Teddy. I saw it there yesterday. But I can’t find it anywhere. Lucy is anxious now; Teddy was her favorite toy after all. I stand there, scared as the realization sets in. It was real. He took it. It wasn’t just a nightmare.

I don’t want to be home alone today, so I head to my aunt’s house after school. Dad will pick me up on the way. She once lived in our house too. So I asked her if she had any haunted experiences while she was there.

“No”, she replies. “But your brother had.”

What? Sam?

“Didn’t he tell you? He claimed to have seen a ghost when he was around 5.”

“He just said he had nightmares.”

“Did he now? Back in the days though, he said he saw a strange-looking man.”

Did he describe what the ghost looked like? I ask, scared of the answer that might come.

“Ah, he just said it was a tall man, with a slim figure.” My heart pounced with fear. She saw me going pale. “What happened?”

“Nothing,” I reply.

“Also, do you know that place was a school before?” I didn’t, of course.

I guess school is where you make core memories, some to be cherished for life while some go on to haunt you. Maybe the attraction theory works both ways. It’s not just your thoughts that impact what goes on around you.