Horror Tales

Confusion

It was raining heavily when I witnessed the unforgettable 'incident'. It was a school holiday. Nearly most of the students went back to their hometown, leaving the girl's dormitory almost empty and quiet. The girl's dormitory is situated besides an old unoccupied big building. Some of the teachers said the old building was once a dormitory but it was closed in 2001 due to certain unknown reason. Nobody knows why it was closed. None of the teachers or staff would say anything about it. I wonder why. I'm the type of persons that have interest in mystery and supernatural stuff. Since I was accepted in the school, I spend each day wondering why the building was closed.

To me, the building was perfectly fine except it was old. So why on earth that the board of the school shut down the building? It must be something. Something that forced the board of the school to closed it down for good. But until now I never dare to step my foot near the building ground. I admit I was afraid. And I think, on certain condition, it's good to be afraid. Being too brave is bad, unless you are a soldier and going for a war.

"You're not going home tonight?" asked Syeefa brightly while packing her stuff. Syeefa was one of my roommates. She was packing her stuff excitedly because her father was going to pick her up the next morning. Lucky her.

" No, I guess not. My grandmother is in Singapore visiting my uncle. She'll be there around two weeks so I'm stuck here in our beloved double-decker bed," I replied. Syeefa laughed loudly at my typical joke. She always thought it was a riot when I said 'our beloved double-decker bed'. But I think she's the type of persons that loves to laugh. She laughed at every joke that she heard. Even the lame one. Honestly, I never mind that. Some of my classmates think she's a bit weird. I think she's normal. "Hey, can I shift to the lower bunk while you're gone? Cause I really hate to sleep in the upper bunk while the lower one is empty. It really creeps me out," I added.

"Yeah, I know you're scared. I know very well that you're a chicken!" boomed Syeefa while laughing and mimicking a sound of chicken.

I threw one of my pillows to Syeefa.

"You jerk!" I cried playfully. One other thing that she loves to do besides laughing is teasing. Yes. She always teased me. But mostly, I don't mind because I know she was just joking. And that what makes us closer to each other.

"That never gets old!" she claimed happily. It feels like almost a thousand times she had teased me every time I told her I wanted to shift to lower bunk. It really does creeps me out when the lower bunk is empty.

I laughed half heartedly at the thoughts of sleeping alone in the room tomorrow night. The other 6 of my roommates already went back to their hometown. Probably already wrapped up in their cozy blanket. Warm and safe.

"Nad, I'm going out for a while. I need to call my dad to ask him what time he's going to pick me up tomorrow morning," said Syeefa heading to the door.

"I thought the nearest public phone is still out of order," I asked her.

"It is. That's why I'm going to try the public phone near the boy's dormitory. I really hope it's still functioning," she said.

"Whoa. Wait a minute, you mean the public phone near the boy's dormitory? It's quite far and dark out there. Plus, it's almost 11 pm. I go with you," I said.

"No, it's okay. It's not that far. I also bring an umbrella. You just stay here and wait for me. I'll be back before you know it," replied Syeefa. She quickly headed to the door and went out.

In the meantime, I didn't realize that I had fallen asleep for about an hour. When I woke up, I saw Syeefa sitting on the chair in front of the study desk facing the window. I couldn't see her face but I could tell that she had been in the room for a while. "I didn't realize you come in. So have you called your dad?" I said weakly while rubbing my eyes. I don't know why I felt so sleepy that early. I usually couldn't sleep until after 2 am. But that night it was different. Syeefa kept in silence. So I asked her again. "Hey, are you okay? Is the public phone near the boy's dormitory still functioning?"