"Ha... so cold," I whispered, as the chill crawled down my skin like icy fingers. I wrapped the bed cover around me, cocooning myself like a bee in a hive, with only my face peeking through a small hole. My eyes fixed on the toilet door, my breathing slow and deliberate, while my chest tightened into a knot. I tried to convince myself it was no fear, just anticipation.
The silence was broken by the sudden, jarring ring of my phone, shattering the stillness. As I reached for it, I unwrapped myself from the bed cover, feeling a bit silly for having burrowed under the blankets like a rabbit in its hole. I answered the call, expecting a familiar voice or maybe a wrong number. "Mushi mushi..." I said, waiting for a response.
The silence on the other end was unsettling. I dropped the phone, but it rang again. I hesitated for a moment before answering. "Mushi mushi..." No response. All I could hear was heavy breathing, like a predator waiting to pounce. I dropped the phone quickly, my heart racing.
The ringing persisted, echoing through the room like a scream. "Who's this?" I demanded, trying to keep my voice steady. At the end of the line was a tinny, squeaky child's voice. "Gummy bear wants to use the bathroom," it said, the words sending a chill down my spine. I could no longer feel my legs, as if they'd turned to ice. All I could do was stare at the bathroom door, which was no longer wildly open but shut, as if something had slipped inside. And I knew, in that moment, I wasn't alone in my room.
