Paranoid Night

Amanda was sure there was something eerie about her new house, it had been only a month since she had moved there and it had always felt as if someone was watching her.

She had tried to search about the house online but found nothing scary about it, it was a perfectly normal house and it seemed like that from the outside too but her instincts told her, there was more to the house.

The feeling of being watched wouldn't just go away. At first she felt she was being paranoid, the stress of shifting had gotten to her but something inside her tried to convince her that it wasn't just something her mind made up.

It felt too real to be something caused by stress, even though she had checked every corner of the house and found nothing, it wasn't enough to convince her, nothing was enough for her, she kept checking every corner again and again, her mind disturbed by the thought, that she had missed something.

It was impacting her life, her work, everything was in disarray and she didn't know how to mend it. The only way to mend it was to get rid of this feeling of being watched but she didn't know how to get rid of it.

It had caused her many sleepless nights, thoughts of being watched, wouldn't allow her to drift into a comfortable sleep. Her mind would play out worst case scenarios and she felt she just couldn't rest, that resting would make her unsafe and that she could never afford!

After much thought, she finally made up her mind, she couldn't let that feeling eat her away, if she allowed it to consume her, she would reach a point of no return and she couldn't let that happen.

She decided to keep a watch the whole night, that was the only solution to her problem. She was sure that would solve everything, so the next night she switched off all the lights and sat on her couch waiting for something to happen.

She had shut off all the notifications on her phone, making sure nothing would disturb her. She waited for a long time but nothing seemed to move, everything was still, like a still pond that felt serene.

She had started to feel sleepy but she reminded herself that she couldn't sleep, she had a job to do, she had to keep watch even though everything was still and quiet, what if her predator was waiting for an opportunity to strike?

That opportunity she swore to herself, she would never give to her predator. Her mind swirled with thoughts of what her predator would look like, maybe it was a ghost or an ancient evil entity or something else altogether.

That thought sent chills down her spine, if her predator was that scary or powerful, was she even equipped to handle it?, she was just a mere human after all, nothing compared to a powerful ghost or an evil entity, if it attacked her, would she be able to fight back?

She slowly got up, her steps were careful and calculated, she made her way into the kitchen and grabbed a knife, then she carefully made her way back to her living room.

She held the knife tightly in her hand, scared to loosen her grip, scared that if it fell from her hand, she would be left without anything to defend herself. Hours passed but nothing happened, everything around her was eerily quiet.

It was the quiteness now that was getting to her, it was slicing at her nerves, making everything around her seem out of place, her fear was wrapping around her like a snake coiling around her, telling her that her predator could strike her at any moment.

Her palms were sweating, the stillness around her felt like a calm before the storm, her heart began to race in anticipation, she felt maybe her choice of weapon wasn't enough, it wasn't going to protect her, what if her attacker struck her before she even had a chance to defend herself?

Despite her inner turmoil and the anxiety eating her up, nothing happened, she sat there waiting but nothing seemed to move nor did she hear any sound but the fear of being watched wouldn't go away.

She heard a clang, the sound made her jump back in fear, her heart sped up, her mind raced trying to comprehend the situation, maybe her attacker had really come for her and maybe she couldn't get away.

Something inside her compelled her to get up and check the source of the sound, there was no point in keeping a watch if she didn't check it out, all her efforts would go to waste.

So she hesitantly got up, her grip on the knife still tight. Her anxiety increased as she neared the source of the sound, she was sure it was coming from her kitchen, she wanted to switch on the light but decided against it.

She let the faint light coming from outside guide her, the slab was cold to touch, it sent chills down her spine but she reminded herself that the slab was always cold, it was nothing to be afraid of, she looked around every corner but it was empty, there was nothing there, not even a rat!

Her eyes caught sight on a bunch of keys on the floor, she picked them up and that's when it dawned upon her that the wind had made her keys fall off the slab, that was what caused the clang sound.

A wave of relief washed over her, she walked back to the living room, her anxiety had dulled down but it hadn't disappeared entirely, it was still dark and she had to keep watch, she couldn't rest assured until she had kept watch the whole night.

The sense of relief she had earlier felt, faded away slowly as the night sky got darker, her anxiety crept up to her like a monster that preyed upon her mind. Her mind couldn't shake off the feeling of being watched.

Rationality told her that it was all a figment of her imagination but something inside her refused to believe it, the occasional rustle of the leaves, would send her reeling back into panic, she was hypervigilant throughout the night, watching carefully for any sign of movement but despite her careful watch, nothing seemed to happen.

Sunlight streamed through the windows, she could hear the birds chirp, the daylight seemed to calm her down, her night watch was over and she could finally sleep. Maybe her fear was in her mind only, she was safe and staying up all night had proved that to her but as she pulled the blanket over her, she couldn't get rid of the feeling that someone was watching her.