"Krrkk…"
I woke up to the sound. It was raining outside. I still remember, the same rainy day we had the Ben-Q meeting. That day had been exhausting, and preparing the marketing presentation afterward drained the last of my energy.
Usually, I take time to fall asleep even after lying on the bed. My nightly habits are fixed: brushing my teeth and locking my ever-unlocked door. But that night, the rain and fatigue made me collapse straight into bed. For the first time, I forgot to close the door—and for the last time ever.
I'm someone who is too sensitive to sound while sleeping. My alarms never go past the first ring. That night, when I first woke up to the sound, I vaguely saw a woman standing near the desk. Half-asleep, I mumbled, "Ammi, don't wake me up, I have a presentation tomorrow." The thought that she was hundreds of kilometers away never crossed my mind. I slipped back into sleep.
Then the sound came again. "Krrkk…"
I woke with a jolt and shouted, "Ammi! Why are you disturbing my sleep? I have a—" And then it struck me. Ammi wasn't here. She was in Rohtak.
Fear gripped me. My body froze. I didn't dare look at the woman's face. I was so afraid I couldn't even breathe properly. I stayed like that for a long time like I was trapped by space and even time moved like a snail. My lungs , the only organ that I could control started working again. I exhaled and Inhaled so slowly that only sound heard was my heartbeat that rang like a drum. Then… then she started moving slowly towards me.
The light switch was within my reach, but terror rooted me to the bed. My mind screamed to move, yet my limbs refused. Finally, something inside me snapped—like my life depended on it, I lunged and flicked the switch.
In an instant, the woman vanished.
Like smoke. Like a ghost.
She was a ghost… wasn't she?