Invader of the Night

Invader of the Night

It happened one Friday night at exactly 11:23 pm. She awoke from her slumber and slowly gazed at the broken window parallel to the empty street in the neighbourhood. The town was completely unobtrusive, and the only thing that can be heard was the eerie sound of the light whirling of air. Intrigued, she peeked at the dancing trees while falling leaves kissed the ground. The breeze was bizarre and surprisingly strong outside, giving her all the possible blood-curdling imaginations.

She stood in front of the window for a little while until she heard a squeaking sound. She immediately rushed to her bedside table and turned the lamp on to have a clearer view of the surroundings. The small glow of light emerged in her eyes as the chills get stronger and stronger. She wanted to divert her attention, she wanted to think of something other than ghosts. Very instantly, she felt a pair of unseen eyes peering at her ferociously. She is, sure enough, wasn’t hallucinating, nor is she dreaming because she already pinched herself a million of times but the horrendous feeling never disappeared.

Then, just like what usually happens in movies, she heard footsteps. She lurched to the corner, prayed the Lord’s Prayer ten times and a couple more. It’s almost midnight, but she seemed unable to go back to sleep. She even forgot about beauty resting, all she thought was to welcome the morning alive.

She stepped closer to shut the curtains of her window and failed when she once again heard the same, horrendous squeaking, making her froze on the spot. She no longer wants to open her eyes, she just wanted it close so as to avoid witnessing what’s about to happen. As she stood there, completely not moving nor making any sound, the neighbour’s dogs barked like it’s the end forever, making her feel more frigid¬- more frigid than she should be.

She stayed still for a little longer until she felt safe to open her eyes. She slowly lifted her lashes and saw the peeking of the warm rays of the sun from her broken window. She could not say how she managed to stand that long, only she could attest was how tired and scared she felt.

When she thought her dilemma has finally ended, the squeaking once again appeared. She can no longer stand with it, so with fear and agitation, she walked very carefully and stopped in front of her grandmother’s old cabinet. She prepared herself, placed her left hand in front of her eyes and slowly opened the cabinet.

She froze. Her heart stopped beating. As she put her hands off her eyes, she fell on knees upon seeing the most shocking thing on earth.

But of course, it was just Max, her 3-year-old dog, sleeping with his squeaky ball toy.