Chapter 1 - Impedance

17-year-old Giselle is struggling to find peace and safety at mind when she is told she is suffering from sleep paralysis. Giselle is strongly convinced this is something far more sinister. But why?

I woke up in a paralyzed state that night, where my worst of fears passed the boundaries of what my mind could even process. My eyes wandered across the room as if to seek help, even though I could hardly make out anything with the curtain of my canopy bed distorting my vision. I saw an outline of a tall woman. She spoke in a heavy accent, at least I think it was her speaking. It all came out as mumbled whispers I couldn't translate. She appeared to be getting closer but, of course, my paralysis prevented me from having any reaction. I felt angry, I felt violated. But most of all I was terrified. I was an eleven year old girl with a short attention span, I didn't understand what she wanted with me. 

As she got closer, her hand got a hold of the curtain which I felt was my only protection at the time. She began to slowly move it to the side and suddenly the whispering stopped. All I could hear was static. The kind you hear on the television when experiencing some kind of interference. Yes, Interference. Just as she was interfering with my mind, she was impeding my chance of sleep and sanity. Did she feel the same of me? Was I an interference to her? Or was I simply just dealing with an entity much more sinister than I thought. 

I came to the final conclusion to shut my eyes. And just as I did, I snapped out of my stupor with a jolt. A thin mask of sweat covered my face and my entire body shook. I probably remained in a fetal position on my bed for 10 minutes before I made a run for my dad's room and woke him. I begged him to go in my room that very minute and take the curtain off of my bed. Since it was my first night with it on, I blamed it for what happened that night. My dad took it down and put it away, and I slept with him in his room that night. 

I slept well for the remainder of that night. However, I knew deep down that the curtain couldn't have possibly caused what had happened, just as I was sure it was much more than imagination or a dream. But for that night I convinced myself that was simply what it was, a bad dream. 

Author's Note

First chapter of my first online novel on WritersCafe!
Feedback and suggestions would be appreciated!
Thanks, xoxo - Julia