THE GHOST INTO THE SLEEP, a short story by Menaka Malla
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| A short story by Menaka Malla. Photo: Patrick-Tomasso-Unsplash |
It was the day before Christmas, 2016, in the evening. Like every other girl, I was eagerly waiting for tomorrow. After all, it was going to be my first Christmas with my close friends, as Mom had finally allowed me to spend the day with them. In such a blissful moment, who would have even envisioned that something horrifying was waiting for them at the end of the day? I also did not. Nevertheless, guess what? Something did really happen to ruin my following day.
“Dinner
is ready," called a familiar voice from downstairs.
“Coming mom”, I shouted.
Rushing down to the kitchen, I saw dinner was all set on the dining table and everyone was already seated. Taking my seat beside Dad, we all started to enjoy the food.
“So,
when will you be leaving tomorrow?” Dad asked in between the dinner. “We
haven’t decided that yet. Maybe I will be around nine in the morning. Well, we all
will be meeting at Anna’s first, so it can even be earlier than that.” Dad just
nodded and continued with his dinner. The rest of the dinner went by in
silence.
After finishing the chores, I headed to my room and went straight for my phone lying on the bedside table. Opening the group chat, I saw that it was flooded with messages discussing plans for tomorrow.
‘Ok. Goodnight and don’t be late tomorrow.’ Hitting the send button, I put my phone on the bedside table and went to the washroom to change into my nightdress. 12:15, the clock showed. I didn’t even notice it was already this late. So quickly arranging my things for tomorrow, I got on my bed, inside my warm comforter, and soon drifted off to sleep.
Suddenly waking up at night, I could feel my throat clogged up. Feeling difficult to breathe, I tried to reach for the water jar placed on my bedside table. But when I tried to do so, I couldn’t.
Staying still for some minutes, I tried to register the surroundings and noticed it was
pitch dark everywhere with no hint of light. I tried to clear my throat, but my
mouth wouldn’t open up. I could neither speak to call out nor move my body. It
was as if something were pulling me down and I were pinned to the bed.
Not
only that, I could also hear some loud and strange kind of noise as if someone
were bellowing from far away. Feeling helpless and frightened, I was on the verge
of crying. I could feel sweat dripping off my body. I tried again and again, but
my body wouldn’t budge. I felt like someone was hovering above me.
Then the realization hit me hard—I was experiencing what people call sleep paralysis.
So,
I closed my eyes and let it happen to me. It
will be alright. It will go away soon; I kept shouting that in my head. I
didn’t even notice how much time passed when I was luckily able to find a
comfortable position, and the loud noise also started to subside. Wanting to switch on the lights, I tried to reach
for the lamp on my bedside table, and surprisingly, this time I was able to reach
for it.
Switching the lamp on, I hurriedly reached for the water jar. Pouring myself a glass, I quickly gulped it down at once. I was still having difficulty catching my breath. So, getting out of the room, I headed towards the garden to get some fresh air.
Turning on the light of the porch, I stepped into the front yard and was immediately welcomed by the cool night breeze. The cool wind blowing on my face helped me calm down a bit. But unconsciously my mind was still drifting off to the earlier incident.
It was my first time experiencing such a dreadful thing. Surely I had heard about it from many people, saying how frightened they were and how it felt like their end. But facing it myself? No, never.
Not having enough courage to step inside yet, I kept wandering around the yard with my pet dog, duck following close behind me. Getting on my knees, I held Duke in my arms and patted its head. Its fur will be stuck on my hands and clothes, but I couldn’t care less. Maybe I should try searching for a remedy to stop its fur from falling so much; I made a note to myself.
Finally,
when I was much more relaxed and calmer, I decided to go inside. The night was
also fading away with some hints of brightness. I could see the sun beginning
to rise up.
Turning to leave for the door inside, I was stopped when my dog suddenly started barking. Turning around to see what it was barking at, I was surprised to notice that it was barking at none other than me. "Duek," I called in a stern voice, but it kept on barking. So, not thinking too much about it, I went inside. As I was heading towards my room, I heard footsteps. Heavy footsteps were getting closer and closer, and then I felt a hand on my shoulder. Horrified, I immediately turned around to see who it was. Seeing who it was, I released a long breath of relief, which I didn’t notice I was holding until now.
"Dad,
you almost scared me to death.” I breathlessly said.
"Calm
down, it’s just me. But what are you doing here so early?”
"Umm…
I—I couldn’t sleep." I lied, not wanting to worry him.
"What
about you?”
“Same as you, I guess," he said with a hint of a smile.
"Ok,
then. I will now go back to my room.”
"Sure."
"Wait!
I was wondering if you have seen my charger. I can’t find it anywhere.”
"Oh
yes, I have it. I took it from your room last night since I had forgotten mine
in the car. I’ll return it to you tomorrow."
“ok, sure."
Reminding myself to return the charger tomorrow, I descended towards my room. As I was walking in the hallway, I noticed the clock hanging on the wall. It was already half-past six in the morning, which meant in ten minutes my alarm was going to ring up.
Reaching up to my room, I saw that the door was close when I could vividly remember leaving it open while going outside earlier. Feeling strange, I reached for the doorknob and turned it open. But what I saw inside was enough to chill my very marrow in the bones. I could feel the shiver running down my spine.
There, on the bed, was me, soundly asleep. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I mean, how was it even possible? I was here, but how could I be on the bed as well? It was utterly unbelievable.
Slowly, walking near the bed, I could see myself more clearly. The same oval face, round nose, full lips, and straight black hair—all made her look like me. Reaching out to touch her, I slowly brush my fingers over her hair to make sure she is real. But as I moved down to touch her face, black dots started evading my vision, and darkness embraced me.
Suddenly,
I found myself wide awake, surprisingly lying on my very bed. I was panting
very hard and was soaked by my own sweat. Breathlessly, I sat straight up on my
bed and looked around. I was in my room, and it was a little brighter due to the
sunlight passing through the folds of the curtains.
Waking up back home in new york city
And I know I miss you and I hope you
miss me too, yeah.
Searching for the source of the music, I noticed it was my alarm going off exactly on time. Suddenly, my mind drifted to when I had noticed the time back in the hallway, fifteen minutes back.
It was all so confusing; I felt a strong wave of pain striking my head. Holding my head between my hands, I tightly closed my eyes and waited for the pain to subside. Was it a dream? Yes, it has to be a dream.
But when I looked down at my clothes, there was fur sticking on them, Duke's fur. Looking at my hands, I noticed fur there as well, just like how I had in that dream.
I still don’t know what it really was. Was it just my dream? But then, how would I get the furs on my hands, and it also felt so real? Or was it my OBE (out-of-body experience)? So, was the belief of some people that the body and soul are separated in sleep truly?
Whatever
it was, I till now still convince myself, saying, 'It was just a nightmare.'
But it was not the only thing. Back then, when I returned the charger to my dad the next morning, he said he had never asked for it—in fact, he had never woken up and saw me that night.
Now
here I am, still not knowing what it was all about…a nightmare, a demonic attack, or simply a kind of physical condition.
Thank
you very much for reading this story. I hope you liked this story. I will be
glad if you take a little time and make a comment about this article. Your
comment is highly appreciated.
Menaka Malla studies in the US. She is a voracious reader of fiction and nonfiction books—she finds a sense of peace in books. Mall is a girl who is found most of the time her nose buried in some novels or books. Apart from that, she is also an artist, having a deep passion for paintings and sketching from an early age.
She had written this piece of writing long ago, but only now has she found a perfect platform to publish it.
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