Paranoia

• Minn Aung, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2016

Maria stared down at her feet which almost goes off the bed. A strange tingly sensation consistent down her spine. Was she going insane? Hopefully not.

Every single night she ought to pass was a challenge, but this one was different. A different atmosphere. A different blanket. This night was special. And not in a good way. Maria thought she was going crazy by hearing strange sounds on previous nights. But with this night, she doesn't feel like it was imaginary. One slightest tiptoe footstep heard could trigger a massive dose of danger. She felt vulnerable, having nothing as a weapon. Tonight, Maria felt like she wasn't alone.

The whole hallway was visible were Maria lay. That wasn't a good factor. The figures she saw in the distance could be hallucinatory, or real. She turned to her side and faced the wall to try and gain sleep. Maria didn't last a second without checking her instinct that something was watching her. She tried turning to her side again, but no use. Her eyes were attracted to the hallway like a magnet.

The creepy portrait of the man staring at her didn't help at all. For a moment, she tried to recall why it was there in the first place. Maybe because, tonight, everything was completely different. And she was fixed into another universe. Maria regained her focus to the portrait in the glass case.

Did it blink?!

Her first explanation would be that her mind is going absolutely psycho. But she could've sworn to god the portrait blinked in reality. A electrifying shock sprinting down her thin spine. Maria started sweating and hyperventilating. But in one horrifying moment-

The glass surrounding the portrait shattered into pieces.

The sound came vibrating violently and vigorously in her eardrums. Maria suddenly went into a state of shock and blacked out. She awoke the next morning casually in a normal fashion despite the traumatic experience the night before. Maria checked the floor to check the broken shards of glass, non-existent. She must've been going crazy. But then Maria glanced at the portrait, only to find it replaced by a window. Did Maria hallucinate? Or was a man watching her trying to sleep?

After the experience, Maria was advised to never sleep by herself in her deserted house in the woods again.