What is that?

 That is all I can think of as I peeked down the hall to the right and see a creature — 7 feet tall — standing over my sister's Easter basket. My sister told me that the Easter bunny comes to deliver our candy baskets, but Easter was yesterday. Why would he be here now? It doesn’t help that I really have to use the bathroom. Maybe it’s Dad. What if he came upstairs to steal some candy from our baskets? I mean, it wouldn’t be the first time.

 I managed to tear my eyes away from it and go back to bed. Hopefully, by the time this Family Guy episode ends, that thing will be gone. 

 

“Te-Te! Te-Te!” my dad called from downstairs.

 I may have the habit of waking up in the middle of the night, but as an eight-year-old, I have a lot of energy and trouble sleeping. I didn’t respond, though. How could I?  He was calling me from downstairs, which meant he wasn’t in my sister’s room like I thought.

I opened my door and saw the hallway light on. I glanced back at Kira’s room. The creature was gone. Yet, there was nothing there to copy its figure—no coat, vacuum, or anything hanging up. 

Now was my chance. I bolted to the bathroom, cut the light on, and just as I turned to close the door, the hallway went dark again. 

What if it’s still there? What if I walked out and it never left, but just disappeared until the lights were turned off?

 

 While drying my hands, I sat down on the edge of the tub and looked at the clock on the right side of the door. The waiting game kind of worked last time. Maybe I can stay in here for another 10 minutes. It’s only 3:30 am. I have some time until 6. 

Ugh. It’s now 3:40 am, and I’ve convinced myself that it’s no longer out there and that I can run back to my room just in case. I take a deep breath and open the door just enough to get a good look at my sisters’ room – It’s back. 

It hasn’t moved like it’s frozen in time. I should be able to see it better now since I’m only one door away, but I can’t. It’s still taller than anyone I’ve met, and I can feel its presence. The energy from it radiates and paralyzes me. 

The longer I stare, the more details I see. I notice that it has a tail similar to a rat, but at the end, there’s this ball. I look at its arms. They look like the arms of a T-Rex, except its forearm is longer than mine with pointy fingertips. It’s still not moving and neither am I. I don’t want to risk closing the door again because what if it moves, and what if I’m not fast enough? 

“Hey,” I whispered. 

I keep my gaze locked on its head, and I don’t see any groves or creases to provide any evidence that it has eyes. I see some movement — not from the creature — but from the curtains behind it. The window is open. Kira never sleeps with the window open. I ignored that fact and reminded myself that it didn’t move, not even after I called out to it. 

So, it must not be real. It’s probably a projection of the trees outside Kira’s window, or my mind is playing tricks on me. Acting on my newfound confidence, I take another deep breath and slowly open the bathroom door wide enough to slide through. The faster I walk, the more confidence I gain, and the more I can feel the heat of its body closing in on me.

 I can hear it drag something against the carpet. 

I’m no longer walking fast because I’m not moving at all. It’s making a clicking sound, like that alien in the movie Kira was watching or the zombies in Dad’s video game. I closed my eyes, hoping that I was dreaming and that I’d wake up in my bed at 6 am with Mom telling me to get up.

 Nope. Not this time. I feel its sharp finger move from the nape of my neck to my low ponytail. I pushed my chest forward and ran to my room. I opened the door, threw myself inside, and turned around to close it. 

When I did, I saw its face staring at me.

 Its deep red eyes beam into mine, its mouth curved into a smile with sharp teeth as white as paper.

 I shut my door and locked it. I back into my bed, not taking my eyes off the door. My body got into bed, but I couldn’t go to sleep — not with my heart racing and my body shaking like I just took a cold shower. 

Time passes. I occasionally glance at the TV whenever Stewie says something funny, but I don’t laugh or smile, I just glance and look back at the door. 

 

*Knock Knock Knock* 

 

“YES,” I shout, more out of fear but with relief because I knew it was 6 O’clock and Mom was coming to wake me up. 

 

She called through the door, “Get up and –” she goes quiet. “Have you been watching TV all night?” 

 

“No, I just couldn’t sleep!” I shout back, still refusing to open the door.

 

She sighs. “ Well, next time you can’t sleep, try to cut the TV off. Come on, brush your teeth, wash your face, and don’t forget to take your meds,” She says. 

My meds– I forgot to take my meds yesterday. No wonder I saw that thing last night. 

 

“Okay,” I groan, getting out of bed and dragging my feet to the door.

 

 I brace myself as I open it and look towards Kira’s room and see it still standing there, with its red eyes and gruesome smile.

 

 It’s not real.