There's, Something Outside

July 24th, 2016

 I would like to start my story with some basic details. My name is Nova. I'm a 19, almost 20 year old female college student, and I'm relatively small, 5'2" to be exact. The town I live in, it has it's moments of crime, but the neighborhood I live in is relatively safe. I live with my father, and a friend of his who owns the house. My bedroom is on the main floor, with the window facing out towards the road and my bed right under it.

When I'm home alone, I keep the doors into the house locked but I otherwise feel safe. I've never been in a situation where I didn't feel like I could protect myself, as I have taken self-defense lessons before. However, this situation made me feel so defenseless, I may as well have been a little kid.

This incident happened on July 24th, 2016, close to 11pm. Until that moment, everything was normal. My father had already gone off to bed, as he had work in the morning, and usually I stay up a little later before going to bed myself around 10pm. That night, I went through the usual routine like any other night, checking that the doors were locked, turning off all the lights upstairs before retiring to my room.

Before I continue, I want to be clear. I do not have sleep paralysis, nor have I experienced anything that could connect to it. When I fall asleep, I stay asleep. The weirdest thing that even happens while I sleep is I talk sometimes. Other than that, everything is normal.

Anyways, as I was laying down, starting to relax and feel myself fall asleep, I heard the snapping of wood, specifically the sound of a snapping twig. Immediately, I though I had imagined it, or my bed frame was creaking as it is very old. Normally I would've ignored this, but a few moments later, I, I get the feeling of being watched. Someone, had their eyes on me. I thought I was being paranoid, as my imagination and paranoia tend to run more at night. So, to disprove my paranoia, I opened my eyes to look around my small room, as I've done before. My eyes, never made it past the window. Looking up from my place in bed, I froze. Something, was outside my window.

It was a black, roundish shape. To me, it looked as if someone was wearing a big, black hoodie, kneeling outside my window so I could only see their head. I saw no face, no shadow, just, the black shape. Fear ran my blood cold as my eyes locked onto it. It didn't move. Thinking that, perhaps my eyes were playing tricks on me or my pillow was creating the shape, I decided to close my eyes and shift onto my back, slow enough to look as if I was asleep, keeping my head turned towards the window. Trying to keep my breath even, I opened my eyes again. The black shape, it was still there, it hadn't moved at all. My heart rate picked up like crazy, every inch of my body kicking in to panic, survival becoming the only thing I could think. What the fuck is that? Why isn't it moving? Do I scream? Do I leap out of bed for my phone across the room? Will it dip out if I do? Dad's across the hall asleep, do I call for him? Every option I had came to my mind, but I just laid there, deciding to just, wait it out. I know, it sounds like a stupid idea but, in that moment, it was the best I could do.

I decided to repeat what I just did, to see what would happen. I closed my eyes again, shifting away from it but just enough that I could see the window out of the corner of my eye. Again, when I looked at it, it hadn't moved. Finally, for the last time, I shifted until my back was to the window, my body facing towards my door, and I waited. I closed my eyes, perked my ears, and waited for what felt like hours, but could've been only a few minutes before whipping around, eyes open and looking towards the window. The black figure, it was gone. There had been no sound, nothing to indicate anything or anyone moving away from the window. I just, laid there, frozen as the feeling of being watched faded away. My eyes stayed on that window for a while before laying back fully, facing the window before falling into a state of sleep where anything, any sound or shift could wake me, and every time I woke up, my eyes zips to the window. For the rest of the night, the figure never reappeared.

Since the incident, my parents know what happened, and we've taken precautions to keep me safe. I keep my window cracked in the summer to let the cool air in, but my father has helped me to block it to where, I can keep it opened enough for air but it will take a great deal of force, and noise, to open it fully. Also, he gave me one of those powerful flashlights that, when suddenly turned on in someone's face, it will blind any motherfucker long enough for me to get help.

It's been over a week of me writing this, and the figure hasn't come back. I make sure to check every night before I go to sleep. But, I can promise you all this; I'm going to be purchasing pepper spray, and a smaller blinding flashlight for my keys, very, very soon. A year sooner, than I thought I would be needing it.