Who else in my house? .ᐟ.ᐟ

    My Name is Asya. I was a 5th-grade student in a public elementary school in Bandung. In the COVID period, schools were shut down for a long time, so my sibling who was in 7th grade and I decided to spend over one year at our grandmother's house in Jakarta because lessons were conducted via Zoom and therefore there was no need to go to school. So, on the second semester of 6th grade, we decided to go back to Bandung because schools finally opened face-to-face classes.


    First day at school, I had been feeling so tired and dizzy-probably because I didn't feel well, arriving at Bandung that morning at 6 AM and going straight to school without resting after the long travel. My room had been uninhabited for over a year because I just hadn't been in Bandung. I reached home and hollered, "Mom! Dad!" but nobody replied; it seemed nobody was home. Fortunately, I had my house key with me, so I didn't have to wait and was able to enter right away.


    It was pitch dark; I didn't know how long it had been since I returned to this house. Everything looked the same. I closed the door and went straight up to my second-floor room.


    I quickly lay down on my bed, and then suddenly… "plak plak plak…", I heard footsteps up the stairs. Opening my bedroom door, I looked outside, but there was nobody.


    Took a shower to get refreshed and relaxed. Then, I went into my room to sleep because I didn't feel too well. However… what was that?! I opened my eyes because I thought I heard the laughter of a child, but there was no sound. I started to feel, bit by bit, uncomfortable and restless. I tried to turn my body and. OH NO!! I saw a child run out of my room-it was his shadow. I ran out getting up looking for shelter. Till downstairs, footsteps were coming down the stairs. I tried to gain some courage, closed my eyes, and prayed. Suddenly… AAAAAARGHH!! A child ran towards me, laughing-very scary this time! I tried to pray with all my might, my tongue felt frozen and my breathing was irregular. I covered both my ears and screamed, "AAAAAAAGHHH!!"


    I lay still in bed, my body lathered with cold beads of sweat. "What a bad dream." Yet at the same time, somehow, it seemed so real. I opened my eyes, wet from sweat, and ASTAGAAA, there on my belly was a child's hand mark!!


    It turned out that what I experienced was called "sleep paralysis," or "eureup-eureup" in Sundanese. It is said that if a bed has been unoccupied for a long time, it may attract other beings. Perhaps at that time my bed had been occupied by the ghost of a child. So, if you travel and leave your room empty for a while, be prepared to compete for your bed with "them".

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