The familiar nightmare of the blood bath in the bowl wakes her up in the middle of the night, and she opens her eyes with a gasp.
She tries to sit up straight, but it's impossible. It's like her body is paralyzed. She hears her bedroom door open with a creak, and she holds her breath. She feels something get closer to her but she can't even turn her head and look. There is an overwhelming presence in the room, she can feel it.
A large dark figure, kind of a human silhouette, emerges from the foot of her bed and her heart stops. It's a woman, she can tell by the shape of the shadow. It's dark, but the moon light coming through her window is enough to see the outline of it. She wants to scream but her voice doesn't work and her body doesn't respond.
Terrified and unable to move, she shuts her eyes tightly and prays for that thing to be gone. There's nothing else she can hear besides her heavy breaths, but that thing is still there, she can feel it's presence.
A few agonizingly slow minutes pass and her fingers start to move. She desperately tries to clench her hands and wiggle her toes, and it works. It's like her body is being freed from being strapped to the bed, and she cautiously opens her eyes. The thing is gone, there's nothing there.
She slowly sits up on the bed, and it seems as if all the energy was drained from her body. She's feeling tired but too afraid to close her eyes again.
She reaches out and turns on the lamp, and light floods the room. She looks around in panic. The door is closed, that evil presence is gone, and things seem like they're back to normal. But that wasn't just a nightmare, she knows it.
She reaches for her phone wanting to call Jade, but something tells her it's not necessary. It's all over now. She shouldn't wake someone else at this time of night.
Hours pass and she's still sitting on top of her bed staring at the door silently. Jade's words from yesterday ring through her mind, and she runs over to the closet to change her clothes.
_______________________________________
A young Doctor invites her to sit down as soon as she steps inside the office, and she quickly walks over to shake his hand.
He asks her what the problem is, and just nods as she explains what she saw in detail. He doesn't think I'm crazy, she says to herself, feeling slightly relieved. This must be some common sleep disorder then.
"Do you have any family members with sleep problems?" he asks looking at her carefully.
She thinks about her family for a moment. Besides her father having migraines which kept him up late at some nights, no one had any sleep disorders.
"Not that I know of, no," she mumbles.
"What you're experiencing is sleep paralysis," he tells her.
"What?" Ruth frowns in confusion.
"It's a sleep disorder which happens when someone is falling into or coming out of rapid eye movement. During that stage, your brain paralyzes your muscles so you don't act out your dreams."
"Is that why I wasn't be able to move or speak?" she questions with a frown.
"Yes, it usually lasts one or two minutes and often frightening, but it doesn't cause you any harm physically."
Her heart beats faster as her mind goes back to that figure she saw earlier. "But I- I saw something...like a...a shadow..."
"That's called the 'Intruder' hallucination. It's so common that people have given it a name: 'The Sleep Paralysis Demon'. In normal sleep, the paralysis ceases before the sleeper becomes consciously awake. But sometimes the process falls out of step, and the person may become aware of their body while the body itself is still paralyzed. In some cases, the combination of wakeful and dream consciousness can cause convincing hallucinations like you're experiencing now," he explains.
Ruth visibly gulps in fear. "But that thing...the thing that I saw, can not touch me or anything like that, right? Since I'm just hallucinating..."
"Some people see a small sized creature crawl up on to their bed and then up to their chests. It's very common, so don't be afraid if it happens to you."
"So...it could happen the next time?" she questions with a frown.
"Yes, but the chances are slim. I'll subscribe anti depressant pills for you, in a lower dose. You'll be fine, there's no need to worry."
That doesn't convince her much, but she nods while standing from her seat. "Okay, thank you."
She dials Jade's number as soon as she walks out of the clinic.
Jade answers after the third ring. "Hey R,"
"Jade, can you come over tonight? To spend the night at my place," she asks, desperately hoping she'll agree.
"Tonight? Why? Is everything okay?" Jade's confused voice comes from the other end of the line.
"I'm just not feeling well and I went to the Sleep specialist like you told me to and he says I have this--this sleep paralysis thing so I can't get any sleep and when I do there's this horrible nightmare and I don't want to be alone tonight," she says in one breath.
"Slow down R, I don't really get what you're saying right now but don't worry, I'm coming over," she calmly assures her.
"Okay, thank you," Ruth breaths out before hanging up.
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She stares at her bedroom door. Her heart seems like it's about to jump out of her chest. She's too scared to open the door and step foot inside, fearing that she's be face to face with that-that creature. But she has to change her clothes, and she can't stay like this forever. She can't just stay away from that room forever.
There's nothing behind that door, she tries to convince her self. Nothing but your imagination.
She sucks in a deep breath and takes one step closer, and then another, and just when she reaches out for the door knob, the doorbell suddenly rings making her jump back with a shriek.
"Oh God!" she whispers holding a hand to her chest. "It's just Jade, calm down!"
She runs to the door and as soon as it opens she throws herself at her best friend in a tight hug.
"R, what happened?" Jade asks hugging her back. "What's wrong?"
Ruth pulls away and stares at her with teary eyes. "I'm so scared," she whispers.
Jade holds her hand and pulls her into the living room. As soon as they sit on the couch, Ruth covers her face as she starts to sob quietly.
"Is it about Owen? Because he left like that?" Jade asks.
"Not only that," Ruth mumbles, her voice muffled by her hands. "I've been feeling awful ever since Ori died and I couldn't get any sleep because of the nightmares, but something else happened this morning." She stops crying and looks up. "I saw her right next to my bed. I swear to God I saw her, and she was... staring at me," she whispers looking into her eyes.
"What? Who did you see?" Jade asks furrowing her eyebrows.
"I don't know! I just woke up and there she was staring at me and I couldn't move or make a sound and I know it's just the paralysis but-"
"What paralysis?" Jade cuts her off.
"I just got back from the clinic. The Doctor explained some things about what I saw. It's called the... sleep demon or something," she tries to explain.
"So you're... seeing things that aren't there?" Jade asks, her eyes filled with terror.
"I'm hallucinating, yes."
They remain quiet for a few seconds before Jade speaks up. "It's only happening because you're stressed, right? So don't worry. It will go away. Did he subscribe any pills for you?"
"Yeah, I already bought them. They're in my bag," she says, wiping her tears.
"I won't leave you alone 'till you feel better, okay? It won't happen again, I'm sure of it." Jade tries to assure her.
Ruth can only hope that she's right.
YOU ARE READING
Secrets
Paranormal[Completed] "It doesn't matter if you don't believe in them or not. If they're there, they're there." Ruth isn't one to believe in the paranormal. She's a genuinely happy person, enjoying her college life with her loving friends. Until it all crumbl...
