4:35 AM

I was walking down the hall in an almost empty airport when my phone rang "Hello? Hello? Who is it? You called me, what do you want? "I looked at the caller ID. It was the same unknown caller that I've seen before. The clock on my phone said 2:45 pm, my plane was going to take off in 45 minutes. I started to run down the hall to the check- in desk. I arrived breathless and sat down until called to board. My phone rang again "Hello? yes, this is Mina. Who is calling?" Only emptiness, a haunting silence. "Who is this? Hah, my plane is leaving soon so if this is important, talk now!" I heard breathing, then a mocking laugh. I looked at the phone and said, "Ever hear of call block, idiot?" I hung up and blocked the number. As I boarded the plane, I suddenly felt exhausted and settled into my seat. The flight attendant came by and offered me a drink. I chose a chilled red wine and enjoyed the refreshing smoothness as I swallowed. I closed my eyes and felt the plane leave the ground. The movement of the flight helped me sleep. Suddenly, I opened my eyes and saw a child staring at me. I smiled and said "Hello". the child pointed at me and let out an evil, taunting laugh. The same one I heard on my phone!

I unhooked my seatbelt and ducked into the bathroom. I pulled out my phone and stared at the caller ID list. Nothing. No new calls. The call block worked or so I thought. I relieved myself, splashed some water on my face and went back to my seat. I peeked over the front of my seat to confront the child. He was gone! I looked up and down the aisle to see if he was with his mother but saw nothing. The aisle was empty. The seatbelt sign went back on, so I fastened myself in, an eerie feeling followed me as I got off the plane.

When I arrived at the hotel, I went directly up to my room. I turned on the light, adjusted the heat and walked towards the bed. I stopped. The child was sitting on my bed, staring at me. He had large, silent eyes and a rather featureless face. His hair was so fine on his head, he appeared bald. His skin was white and smooth. For a second, I thought it was a ghost but then he smiled. His eyes were evil, all knowing and the laugh sounded cursed. It surrounded the child-ghoul, yet no sound escaped from his lips. The face was incapable of showing sadness or anger, yet I felt surrounded by an unending darkness that even his laughter couldn't release, just a silent smile with thin lips surrounded by evil intentions.

I left the hotel without paying and found myself at the bus station. I returned home that night, forgetting why I had flown on the plane to begin with. The ride on the bus was exhausting. Every stop it made, I looked to see if the child had followed me. Would I hear its laughter? Would I be enveloped into its evil? I stared at the faces of the passengers, waiting for the one that had the big round eyes surrounded in darkness. Each stop was more tense than the last one. Finally, after 14 hours, I got off. The air smelled fresh. The traffic looked normal. I started walking towards the taxi stand but decided to walk. I needed to stretch my legs and release some of this fear surrounding me.

I had reached home and unlocked the door. When I entered, an eerie feeling filled the room. I heard that sound again, the cackling laughter; the child-ghoul was in the kitchen, pointing at me, his large, circular eyes filled with evil. The laughter filled the room again yet, no sound escaped from his mouth. It's as if the laughter was coming from someplace other than his body. Is this what evil looks like? My mind went around in a circle as I backed out of my apartment. I ran down the block and knocked on my best friend's door. Christina opened it.

I was hysterical. " He's here! Omigod, he followed me! ""

Christine said," Mina? What are you talking about? Is it that stalker? You have to go to the police! This has gone on long enough!"

"No, it's not a stalker. I told you, it's evil, laughing and pointing at me! He's following me! "

"Okay, okay. You can stay here awhile but promise me, you are going to see a doctor! "

"Yes, yes, okay. I promise. What am I supposed to do? I have to go to work tomorrow."

"You have to change your number and..maybe..move out..I don't know, I don't know! Mina. You are freaking me out now too!"

"Look, I'll show you the number on my phone. It's unknown caller and he's called me several times! " I showed her my phone. We scrolled through the numbers. There was none for the unknown caller.

Two days later, I bought a new cell phone with a new number. Only Christine knows my new number.

Finally, silence. I got back to my life: friends, work groceries, gym. I felt free, normal again. He didn't call me at work, nor did he follow me home. I never knew who or what that child was, a ghostly image in my past? A vision of the future? Christine told me it was probably my brain playing tricks because I had been working so hard. Yes, I agreed, that was it. I lay down on my bed, set the alarm on my cell for 6:30 AM in preparation for the next workday and played some relaxing music on the phone, settling in for a good night's sleep...

4:35 AM: the phone rang louder than ever. The ring tone was the same, horrible child's evil laughter. The unknown caller called again.