Don't Blink!

Unhinged

We all know how powerful the mind is. You imagine something, it would feel real. You give meaning to something, it becomes true. But do you know how powerful an unhinged mind is?

My aunt had seriously loud alarms because she's close to being deaf before she died. I could hear it from my room and once or twice a neighbor would even complain.

Tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-ting-ting-tang.

It's the annoying kind of alarm. Just like my aunt, with her long nails, dark lipsticks, and geisha-looking makeup.

Once her alarm blares, she locks herself inside her room and only God knows what she did there. Sometimes I hear her screaming, sometimes I smell something burning coming from her room. 

But the problem is I could still hear her alarm even now she's passed away. Tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-ting-ting-tang. It kept echoing inside my head.

I'm not crazy. It's literally still ringing inside her room every morning. I thought our relatives took all her things but I guess it's one of the things they left.

When she was still alive, she would tell me not to turn it off until she's awake. She didn't lock doors because she's paranoid she wouldn't get out in case something bad happened.

I entered her room once and turned her alarm off then she got mad at me. She's scary when she gets mad — old witch scary.

Am I glad she's dead now? Yes. But did the alarm stop? No. Because I pushed her on the stairs? There's no evidence of that.

We had a fair share of quarrels, especially on who gets the house but I don't believe I did that. Didn't I?

Every morning I hear that same alarm. It yammered in my ears like how she kept ordering me around. Even though I had the same rights to own the house from my father.

Tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-ting-ting-tang.

It's been more than a month since she died. Since then, I haven't been sleeping well. Because of that god-forsaken alarm.

I know where it is. It's in her room. But she can't get in my way now. She's dead.

So I finally entered her room. It smelled of her powdery soap cologne. The alarm rang vehemently. But my eyes immediately looked out for the dark figure standing before it.

My chest felt heavy because I knew it was her. I know how this works, I've seen this in horror movies. I know something bad will happen if I turn her alarm off. She would take me with her. But I also know I'm just imagining it.

Tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-ting-ting-tang.

I circled my way and stood in front of the alarm — hesitating to turn it off. My shoulders tingled and my arms were heavy. She's behind me, isn't she?

Tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-ting-ting-tang.

With one tap, as though attempting to kill a fly, I turned the alarm off.

It stopped.

It stopped.

I let out a sharp breath.

Then I heard it again.

Tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-ting-ting-tang.

I smacked the alarm down to the floor and stepped on it. But it kept ringing.

Tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-ting-ting-tang.

It's in my head. I can't get it off! I panicked as it was all I could hear now! I ran to the kitchen covering my ears, scratching my cheeks, and pulling my hair out.

I took a knife and stabbed it on the side of my head. Then I took another one and stabbed it on the other side. I stabbed and stabbed but it didn't stop. I fell to the floor.

The pain, my consciousness fading, and the blood spreading on the floor. It's not real. I don't believe it. Maybe I'm just imagining it.