Alone

I used to love the night.

Most everyone was asleep and couldn’t bug me. The calm and quiet was nice. It was like the stresses from daytime completely disappeared.

But now? Now the night unnerves me to no end. I can’t be in a room without any sort of light. The howling wind or creaks of the house settling send my mind racing and make my heart skip a beat on occasion. Sometimes I think I hear something (or someone) whispering outside. (Though, that last part might just be my mind playing tricks on me.)

What changed?

Oh yeah. I moved out. To the other side of the country no less.

Now I’m on my own.

Alone.

It’s not like I’ve never been alone before. Many times I’ve spent multiple weeks at a time home by myself when mom and mama would go on work trips. Not to mention all the times I was the only working night shift at work. Or the times I’ve house and pet sat for the neighbors. Being alone shouldn’t bother me at this point.

Though, I suppose there are differences between being home or at work alone and actually living alone. Mom and mama always came back from their trips. My work was next to a bar whose owner was friends with my boss. I was usually right next door or across the street when I’d watch homes and pets for the neighbors.

Now… Now I’m completely alone.

No one is coming back after a few weeks and hugging me like it’s been years since we’ve seen each other. No kind biker dude next door to call in case something happens. No one who is no more than a 5 minute walk away to help get dog puke out of some blankets.

Just me and my Fantoccio plushie.

Well, that’s what I thought at first anyways.

You could do all the research humanly possible on a place you’re considering moving to and still not be aware of all the risks andor history of the place. Not everything gets reported. Some things are just too hidden to find. Not to mention the things that are purposely left out because they know that info would make it even harder to sellrent out: both in general and at higher prices.

Sometimes you can’t afford to be picky. Just take what you can get and hope for the best.

I know someone died on this property. Kinda figured it was something along those lines just by seeing how low the price was for a place like this. The agency was actually upfront in the full listing about it.

Now, knowing someone died there isn’t a deal breaker for me. It’s how they died that does it. I’ve read enough of other people’s encounters to know that certain deaths can lead to either an angryvengeful spirit taking their anger out on you for little to know reason, or they just make your life miserable for the fun of it. The ones I was trying to avoid the most were violent murders, anything cult related, and especially anything demon related (whether it be possession, haunting, or someone messing with something they shouldn’t have and it majorly backfired on them).

From what I gathered in my own research, the person who died had passed peacefully due to some pre existing medical condition. And no occupants after had reported any type of haunting. Not that I would have minded a non malicious haunting. Just nice to know that the soul of the deceased had managed to pass on to whatever afterlife awaited them.

At least I can rule out this feeling as a human ghost. Not that that helps much.  Just crosses an item off the list.

The first few nights were fine. Maybe the stress and exhaustion from moving all my crap in probably out weighed whatever might be going on. Or, if it really is something, it could be new around here like me. I could just be a victim of circumstance.

Honestly, who knows?

At this point I don’t fully care what it is. I just want to be able to relax after the sun goes down. To be able to fall asleep without thinking something is outside my window.

I want to be able to love the night again.

(Word Count: 724)

Author's Note

I've actually already decided to turn this one into a full story, and started writing the next part.

Fun fact, This was inspired by one of Jay from the Kubz Scouts free random games videos. Specifically it was inspired by a game about a kid home alone while his parents are on a work trip and someone breaks into the house. That game got me thinking about how it feels to be alone at night. And that's how this came to be.