I had never lived alone before, even studying abroad I had a roommate and at the time being I was emotionally... exhausted. I used to cry almost every day for weeks and felt that it was very much well needed to rent a place just for a few days during Christmas. The reason why I was crying was because of love or, you know, lack of it. Unrequited love. Broken, I searched for an Airbnb and when finally, I found a nice, small and quiet apartment with 4 hours train-ride away and it was located nearby a medieval city, deep into the lonely Italian mountains. The host showed me around shortly after I had arrived and soon invited me for dinner that late Christmas eve. Afraid that I was going to burst in tears any minute, we eat under silence.

I walked up the stairs to my own apartment but found it difficult to fall asleep. This is what I had wanted, to be alone and I would have felt content if it wasn't for the unnerving feeling of being watched. I pulled off my neckless and used it as a pendulum to speak with the higher self, but the things it spelled out made me sweat.

"Don't turn off the lights."

I asked it why but it kept answering me the same thing all over again. As the minutes went by I struggled to stay awake with the eyelids drooping. I put the pendulum away but as I did, someone watched me from across the room. I turned around and saw a black figure of a girl running off towards the bathroom, exhausted to even care I laid down on the bed and fell asleep to a voice desperately whisper.

"Don't turn off the lights."

A noise, not far from me in the dark had awoken me, I felt my body laying in the bed and my eyes shut but I could still see the room and move in it. It was like a dream, I started to walk or more like float towards the sound. Two shadows stood in the middle of the purple room, that young girl I saw before, she yelled, stomping her foot on the floor, basically throwing a tantrum while an adult man tried to calm her down. Her screaming voice overlapped his calm, sorrowful one in an odd myriad blend of gibberish. I watched them from behind a column when a dreadful heavy feeling pulled me back to the bed. The girl went in the same direction as before, towards the bathroom. A loud smacking noise had me jump from the bed, the heart was pounding so hard I could barely breath from the pain. I shut the eyes, afraid that something bad would happen if I looked.

When the morning came, I flew up from underneath the quilt and inspected the apartment, still not convinced whether it was a dream or not. A large painting laid on the floor on one side of the wall while a wooden star laid on the other side, right beside the bed where I had been sleeping. Little bit closer and it would have hit me in the head. I never mentioned the strange occasion with the host nor did I feel like I was safe or alone there during the rest of my stay.

Someone was watching me, always.

↤𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔶 𝔞𝔩𝔬𝔫𝔢↦

Author's note:

A short story, based on a true event.

Hope you liked it! :D