She Wasn't Alone

Ayra had walked into her flat as she had done so many times before, but this time it was different. She knew it, she felt it, but she couldn’t see it. The flat looked the same as she had left it this morning, dishes in the sink, bed unmade, and her books everywhere. She could see just enough to make out the outline of everything.

Something was out of place —she couldn’t say what, but at the back of her mind, she knew someone was in her flat. She crept slowly towards the switches next to the main door. With one click, light flooded the entire flat within mere seconds. Nothing was amiss, still, she walked further into the flat, listening for faint breathing sounds or to just catch a moving shadow. She heard no sounds but hers and nothing and no one moved.

She relaxed just a bit and lazily walked the rest of the way, and finally slammed down on her sofa, burying her head into a pillow. She threw her bag, not caring where it landed. Minutes ticked by, and when she finally emerged from the depths of her tiredness, she rolled over to stare at her ceiling. With a sigh, she got up and began placing her things back in their place.

She turned on her music and hummed as she put the books on their shelves and did the dishes. Finally, she had completely relaxed, forgetting about how she felt just moments earlier. In the middle of her song, her phone vibrated. The screen lit up with a message. She wiped her hands on her jeans and opened the message. Yana, a co-worker from the library she worked at, had sent an article.

She opened the article without thinking. Her browser loaded a news article about a home invasion/murder.

Tragedy in Quiet Suburb: National Library Librarian Murdered in Apparent Home Invasion

By Staff Reporter

May 7, 2023

A chilling crime has shaken the quiet neighborhood of Harron-e-Shah late Tuesday night, where 29-year-old librarian Ayra Sikander was found murdered in what authorities are calling a targeted home invasion.

Arya Sikander, a respected staff member at the National Library, was discovered by a neighbor who had grown concerned after noticing her front door ajar for a long time. Police arrived to find an emptied safe, and several high-value items missing from the home, but no forced entry.

But what has truly disturbed investigators and residents alike is what was left behind.

Scrawled across the living room wall in smeared red paint were the words: “You should have run when you realized it.” Authorities have yet to determine the full meaning behind the ominous message, but it has prompted fears that the crime may not have been random…

Nothing was making sense to Ayra. She opened up the message app again to Yana’s message. The article link was gone. She frantically typed, but then stopped and just called her.

“Yana, what was that link, do you think this is a joke…” she spat out as soon as Yana picked up. She was breathless and her words sharp, but her eyes remained towards the kitchen door. A thought crossed her mind, ‘Did I lock the front door?’

“Ayra, what link? I don't know what you’re saying. I haven’t sent you anything today” she calmly clarified before continuing, “I think you’re tired. Rest, Ok. I have to go. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Yana, wait…” but Yana hung up. Ayra’s eyes darted towards the narrow doorway.

She opened up the article again and checked the date, it was today’s date. Then another thought came to her: ‘This is a joke.’ She laughed to herself. She walked out into the living room and nothing happened. She knew she was just being a bit paranoid. She turned back to head back to the kitchen when a hooded black figure stepped right in front of her and stabbed her. The pain she felt was beyond explanation, and as the clock ticked by, the world around her faded.

She woke with a jolt and found herself on her sofa again. She got up and looked around frantically, but found her flat empty. She chalked it up to a bad dream and began to tidy up her place again. Her phone buzzed again, a message from Yana. She opened the message, same link, same article and then the link vanished. She ran to her door, but this time it was closed shut. She tried to open it, but it wouldn’t, it was jammed. She turned to come face to face with the same hooded figure.

“What do you want?” Tears streamed down her face as it walked towards her. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. It raised the knife, then came the stab, pain, and darkness.

She woke up again on her sofa. This time, she ran to her kitchen first, barely glancing towards the main door, which was ajar this time. She grabbed her knife, clutching it, and made her way to the unlocked door. Turning every few steps making sure whoever it was wasn’t near her. Once out, she ran to her building lobby. Barefoot, with a knife in her hand, she reached the reception.

“Miss Sikander, what's going on?” The shocked expression on the man’s face conveyed Ayra’s condition.

“Call the police, Now!!” she frantically checked all around her.

“But Miss…”

“NOW!!” she didn’t let him finish.

She waited in the lobby until the police arrived. They went up to her flat and thoroughly checked it. When they found no one, they returned.

“Ma’am there is no one in your flat,” one said flatly.

“But…I saw him…it, whoever it was, was in there. I’m not lying,” she tried, but they weren’t convinced.

Defeated, she walked back up the flight of stairs and cautiously entered her flat. No sign of anyone. Everything was just as it had been, except that the curtains were wide open. She thought back to when she first entered her flat that night. The curtains were closed. She stared back at the window again. There was a sticky note stuck to it. She grabbed it.

“I enjoyed our little game. You played well...Let's see how long you last in the next round.”

She looked up, her eyes landing on a dark hooded figure staring at her, and then slowly it turned and walked away.

—THE END —