"Have a good day at work." I called out to my husband. The night had been a long one for me. The sun had not yet risen as I waved goodbye to my husband. I must have only gotten three hours of sleep, if that.
Locking both locks behind me, I headed upstairs to check on my 3 month old daughter. She was so tiny. We had just gotten her home from the hospital. She was born early, too early, to be sent home right away.
But after 3 long months, we had her here, home, in the new townhouse that was perfect for us. She was no longer in the hospital, but safe in her crib, in our house.
I saw her there, asleep soundly in her crib. She looked like she was only a month old. Heavens, she was so small and frail, but stronger than any baby I knew.
I smiled at her, thinking about how much I just wanted to pick her up and hold her. But she was asleep, and as they say: Let sleeping babies lie.
So, instead, I left her door cracked open and went back to my room to try and get some sleep. I placed my phone and glasses on my bedside table, turned on the fan, and got comfortable in my bed.
It wasn't long before that warm, tingly feeling set in and I felt myself drifting off. I was comfortable and my body felt perfect.
But then I felt it. I don't know how long I had been sleeping for, but I wasn't anymore. What was worse, I couldn't move.
Wait...what woke me?
The fan.
It's not on anymore.
Did the power go out?
No...now the fan is back on.
Now it's off.
Now on.
What's going on?
My body wouldn't move, but my eyes could. I looked around my room. It was still dark. Why was it still dark? I know I slept long enough for the sun to come up.
Then I heard it.
Thunder.
It roared as the house shook and the fan turned off once again.
It was dark because of the storm outside. But it wasn't dark enough for me not to see completely. Unfortunately, I couldn't see well without my glasses.
Maybe the storm was what was causing the fan to turn on and off.
But no, I heard something else besides the thunder and the rain. Something that I could identify was what was causing the fan to turn on and off.
The light switch was being flicked on and off.
I looked towards the light switch. It was by my door. I needed my glasses to see clearly but what I saw sent ice to flowing through my veins.
A dark hand, from what I could see, was curled around the door way and flicking on my light switch.
I sucked in a breath of air and the hand stopped flicking on and off the fan. Had it heard me? I needed my glasses to see but I could not move to get them!
Then I heard the most inhuman sound.
A laugh.
A laugh came from beyond my door and it did not sound human. The flicking started again and so the did fan's spinning.
On.
And off.
On.
And off.
I need to move. I need to get to Mey! I need to get to my daughter!
Why can't I move? Please God, help me! Help me move! Wake me up!
Move Marissa, Move!
Why won't it stop laughing? What is it?
My phone rang and my eyes shifted to the phone.
It was my husband's ring tone.
Zhi! Zhi could help me! But I need to move to get to the phone!
Why can't I move?
Please Marissa, move!
The laughing suddenly stopped. It stopped and so did the clicking. The fan was off completely.
My eyes shot to the light switch by the door.
The hand wasn't there anymore. Had the ringing scared whatever it was away? I hoped so. My phone was still ringing. That was odd. It never rings that long before voicemail picks up. So why is it still ringing? Moreover, why could I still not move?
Then I heard it again. The laughing. But this time it was closer. It was next to me on the side of the bed. I couldn't shift my head and eyes to look down, but I knew, whatever it was, it was there. It was right next to me, laughing at me and my phone was still ringing.
I heard scraping then I saw it again. The hand was moving up slowly towards my phone. Now that it was closer, even without my glasses, I could make out that the hand wasn't really a hand. It was twisted and looked more like a claw.
My breathing picked up as my heart began to race. I watched helplessly as the hand moved over and touched my phone. I listened to the scraping as the hand dragged my phone off my bedside table. And then I watched at it fell off the table.
The ringing stopped then started again. The laughing was behind it all.
Whatever it was, was tormenting me.
I needed to move but I couldn't, so I did the next best thing.
I shut my eyes tightly and cried. As the ringing kept going on and off just like the fan, the laughing would not stop. I felt the tears slide down my cheeks and into my neck. A few went into my ear and I shivered.
Please stop. Please wake up. I chanted. I kept my eyes shut paying and hoping that the laughing and ringing would just stop.
I felt a pull as the blanket that was covering me was being pulled off.
I didn't open my eyes and kept chanting over and over to please wake up.
Thunder roared once again and suddenly, the phone ringing stopped. The laughing was gone and my body shot up like I was pushed up out of bed.
I gasped for air like I was holding my breath for hours. I looked up and my fan was back on.
My breathing began to regulate as I turned and saw my phone was back on the table. Was it all a dream? Yes, it was all a dream.
I grabbed my glasses and put them on. Now I could see clearly and the light from the sun was shining through my room.
The rain must have stopped, if it ever happened at all. Maybe it was all part of the dream. None of it was real. None of it.
But my blanket...it was on the floor. That's ok, I could have just knocked it down in my sleep. Nothing else. I reached over to get my phone to check the time.
As I looked at the screen, my body went ridged.
I had four missed calls from my husband.
So he did call. The ringing wasn't part of my dream. Was any of it part of my dream?
Mey!
I jumped out of my bed, forgetting everything else, and ran to her room, praying she was alright.
When I got to her room, she was wake and waving her arms around, kicking her feet, and making normal baby noises.
Relief flooded my body as I reached into her crib and picked her up. I kissed her head and walked back to my room, holding her close to me.
I then sat down on my bed, lifted half my shirt and began to nurse my daughter. My breathing soon go back to normal as I kept telling myself it was just a dream.
With my free hand I reached over to my phone and checked the time. It was 10am. That means I was asleep for four hours.
I sighed as my daughter ate her fill. It was all a dream. Nothing more. There was no hand and no laughing.
It was all a dream.
Nothing more.