THE STRANGER IN THE BEDROOM
By Leah Constance M. Castano
Rizaline stretched her arms and yawned. She had just stepped out of the bathroom after taking a quick and refreshing shower. She went to the other side of her bedroom and made sure the windows were only slightly shut to let the evening breeze in. Now she was ready to sleep.
She padded over to her bed which was pushed against one corner of her bedroom. Switching off her bedside lamp, Rizaline slid beneath the cool, beckoning sheets. The darkness felt oddly comforting. She turned to face the wall and settled comfortably on her side. She gave a deep sigh and was soon fast asleep.
She was in the state of semi--wakefulness. Sleep warred with consciousness and Rizaline fought the latter. She snuggled deeper into her pillow, refusing to be awakened.
“Rizaline.” It was her mother’s voice. Hazily she wondered why her mother was waking her already. Surely it wasn’t morning yet?
“Rizaline…” She could feel her mother’s breath at the back of her neck as she whispered her name. But no, something wasn’t quite right. Her eyes snapped open, her senses more alert. No, it wasn’t her mother’s voice – it was deeper and hoarse, like a supernatural creature!
She didn’t dare turn around because she instinctively knew there was someone lying beside her on her bed-- someone who wasn’t human. She could feel it dangerously close lying alongside her body, its breath fanning her nape. She lay there stiff as a board, agonizing, until unable to resist it, she shifted a little and sneaked a peek behind her. It was a man’s form in a color that was blacker than black. She couldn’t see its face but could feel it was something terrifying.
The creature started to pant against her skin and a tingling started at the back of her head. Heat went down her neck and flowed down her spine to her legs. She couldn’t move her arms and legs! She tried to scream but nothing came out. Her skin prickled with awareness of whatever it was that was beside her. She was so afraid that it would attack her. At the corner of her eye, she saw a black hand slowly reaching down to touch her face. She flinched, expecting the hand to touch her at any moment.
Desparately, she closed her eyes and silently prayed Psalm 91, the prayer for protection in time of danger. ”.. For Thou O Lord, art my refuge. Since you, too, have established the Most High as your shelter, no harm shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your tent. For He gives His angels orders regarding you, to protect wherever you go…”
As Rizaline recited the prayer, she could feel the heat slowly ebb down to her feet until it was no more. Her heartbeat started to slow down to normal rate and she found that she could start wiggling her toes.
Cautiously, she opened her eyes and as she expected, her room was pitch black. She held her breath and slowly turned around. There was no sign of black figure. The space next to her bed was empty. She gazed at the rest of her room – nothing. She sobbed in relief and lay on her back, thanking God for making the creature go away. She reached for the lamp switch and soon her room was flooded in a warm, orange light.
She gazed at the ceiling, replaying the events on her mind. It was the first time something like that had ever happened to her. She knew it wasn’t a nightmare because she was fully awake. And she knew for certain that if she asked her mother in the morning if she had entered her room the night before, she would answer no.
She looked at her alarm clock and it read 11pm – six hours to go before she had to get up for work. She didn’t think she could go back to sleep. One thing was sure though, she’d never want to have another encounter with that creature in her bedroom again.
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