The Mystery of 3AM

April 4, 20XX

Tonight, is the start of my diary entries. My therapist said it is a good idea to write things down whenever I am having trouble sleeping so it looks like the start of a beautiful friendship. I recently started having trouble sleeping and let me tell you, it’s not a good thing. I used to sleep fine until I started waking up at 3AM every morning. Once I am awake, no matter how tired I am I cannot go back to sleep. Why?

I live by myself so there is nothing to wake me up. I lay in bed and stare at the ceiling for a good amount of time before I give up and finally get up. I make my coffee, change into some warmer clothes since we have a cold front (not unusual for Georgia), and lay on the couch with a good book. I don’t watch the news because they don’t focus on the positive aspects of anything. My mornings are pretty much simple until around 6AM I start hearing things in my house. I will hear footsteps, stuff being moved in the kitchen, lights turning on, etc. I don’t see anything happen though, so I brush it off. I’m gonna start taking notes of what happens as well in this diary that way maybe I will sleep easier. I gotta get going to work. I’ll write some more tomorrow.

April 5, 20XX

           Hello diary. Well here I am awake at 3AM as usual but something different happened. I was laying in bed dreading to get up and I heard a knock on my door, not my front door but my bedroom door. It was weird and it kind of freaked me out a little. So, I turned around to ignore it and next thing I know I hear a loud thud. I jumped up and seen that a box of cereal was laying at my door. Weird right? I put the cereal box back and start my coffee because I know for sure after that happened, I was not going back to sleep any time soon. Now let me remind you that I am a lanky girl with no skill in self-defense. I have been thinking about taking this martial arts class down the road from my job that way I can have some sort of knowledge to defend myself against anything. Unless it’s a ghost…then I’m just screwed on that part. Honestly, I would prefer a ghost than it being an actual person in my house because I can’t afford to move out just yet. Maybe I will get night vision cameras for the house just to see what goes on…or better yet…I’m not doing that. I will just take some classes and hope for the best at this point.

April 7, 20XX

Sorry for the small time gap. I have been focusing on work, my therapy sessions and now my self-defense classes. The classes are easy, and the instructor is just a hunk. He helps me position properly when I’m not getting it and since it is after work, it’s just me in class. After class, we talk, and I told him about how I am constantly waking up at 3AM with no explanation and cannot go back to sleep. He told me that maybe it is a ghost that is trying to tell me something. I don’t even want to think about it. Maybe after a few weeks we will see what happens. I wonder if the instructor is single. Nah. I got no time for that. Anyways, I better get going.

April 21, 20XX

Oh my gosh you will never guess what happened! The instructor (his name is Anthony) asked me on a date! Can you believe it?! Neither can I. It was the end of our session and out of nowhere he asked me to dinner at his place tonight. I got to figure out what to wear and then he is picking me up in a couple of hours. I’m so excited for this. The usual is happening here but something odd happened while I was gone. My attic door was wide open and there was a DVD…but I haven’t watched it because I’m afraid of what might be on it. Maybe I’ll watch it at Anthony’s place that way I can get his opinion. I’m gonna get dressed and wait for him to pick me up. I’m gonna take you with me that way I can write some more later.

April 22, 20XX

I just woke up on Anthony’s bed. He is sleeping on the couch, so I decided to write more before he wakes up and takes me home. We watched the DVD last night and he was concerned for my safety. Honestly, I’m afraid to even go home but I told him I would be fine. The DVD was blank for five minutes and then the footage started. It was of my home and while I was sleeping at most times. Other times it was during my morning routine and I could tell from the point of view it came from the attic. I was scared so bad I ended up holding on to Anthony. I woke up a few times during the night because I had nightmares from it and Anthony insisted I stayed at his place for the night. We didn’t do anything so don’t worry about that. I’m sure I will be fine once I get home. We’ll see what happens. I hear shuffling in the living room. Anthony must be getting up.

April 23, 20XX

Well when we got to my house yesterday, I was hesitant to unlock the door because I didn’t know what was going to be on the other side. Anthony seemed to notice and assured me that it was going to be okay because he was going in with me. I took a deep breath, unlocked the door, and when I opened it, my home was in shambles. Everything was destroyed and there was writing on the walls. The writing said “You’re mine! Nobody can have you! I have watched your every move for years and I now claim you.” It was so scary, and Anthony decided that I was staying at his house until I found a new one. It’s going to take a lot of time and money because that was my childhood home. I decided to call the cops and have them check out the place. When they finished, they told me that someone has been camping in my attic for around 5 years at most. I turned pale at the thought that someone has been seeing me shower, dress, and everything for this long. Maybe this is why I have been waking up and not been able to go back to sleep. It didn’t make sense before, but now it does. So, for now, I will stay at Anthony’s, go about my routine, and maybe finally get a good nights sleep. I doubt it with all the nightmares I’ll have.