It was an off putting feeling in the afternoon, 2 mattresses on the floor sitting lonely. Brother, mother, and father-all in the kitchen. Mom was cooking, dad and brother were watching Mr.Nightmare on the TV that was laying on the carpet floor. Sitting in the room that I shared with my brother, the one with two, plain, white mattresses. Sitting on the chair at my desk, on a discord call with my friends. We had been talking for hours, but something wasn’t right. Something I couldn’t recognize. I couldn’t speak for some reason. I just didn’t have it in me to speak, to even move. The voices of my friends echo through my headphones, and into my ear. They just kept talking.

Seconds, minutes, hours-time passed by slowly talking and talking. My friends wouldn’t stop, Theo and Adrian. Some time later they said their goodbyes. Theo left the call, just Adrian and me, our icons just sitting on the screen waiting for one to disappear. Nothing, absolutely nothing happened, just silence. It had felt as if I had been in a concert and then gone suddenly deaf. It felt like everything was quiet, had I really gone deaf? No, obviously not, I lifted the headphones cup off my ear, nothing. I used both of my hands to take off my headphones all the way, why couldn’t I hear anything? 

Suddenly a rush of adrenaline filled my stomach, I felt sick, I was having a panic attack. I could feel someone walking to my brother and I’s room. I turn around, stare at my door frame, waiting to see a head peek out, nothing, absolutely nothing.

I had jumped out of fear so fast when I heard rustling by my desk, thank god it had just been Adrian. I thought to myself, maybe he had just left for a little bit and came back so he had forgotten to leave the call. He sneaked into his mic, a dark pitched tone, “Goodbye, Marlo”.

Still, I couldn’t talk. Adrian left the call. it was just me, the only icon on the screen was mine.

As fast as you can think of with complete randomness and no warning a loud scream is let out that resembles my mom. It was sheer nightmare fuel, but suddenly, milliseconds after the scream, I had woken up? 

It felt as if I was stuck, frozen almost. I tried my best to lift myself up but nothing, absolutely nothing…

Somehow it felt like a big rock or a huge bean bag was weighing me down. I wanted to open my eyes but they felt heavy, unable to open. I was so tired and felt like sleeping, but this shook me up. why couldn't I move? I had once again gone into a panic attack. I opened my eyes, still trying to lift myself up off the bed and turn off the lights.

What I would then see would shake me for the rest of my life, a long tall silowet of an old woman stood tall, towering over my old clothing drawers. A grin slowly grew across her face. Gradually, with the most terrifying grin, she walked over closer and closer to my mattress. 

I wish I had never opened my eyes…

Dead in her tracks, she stopped. One swift motion she snapped her back down and was now facing my eye to eye. I wanted to scream. It had gotten hard to breathe, harder to move, my muscle got weaker.

She just stood there, not a word, just a huge smile and wide opened eyes. I thought I had swallowed my heart whole when I started to hear a gurgling sound coming from my closet. I couldn't think straight. My mind was everywhere. the sound filled my ear like the scream my mom had let out before all of this. 

One more time I screamed, my lungs almost burst out, my vocal cord gave everything they had. This time I had let it out, a loud scream. Suddenly, all went silent, just like the discord call. Not a peep, not a sound, nothing, absolutely nothing. Silence for what felt like minutes, though it had been hours. the pain slowly left my chest, I could almost breathe.

Immediately, when I tried to take a deep breath, I heard a loud siren sound. The sound was so familiar. I lifted my upper body off of my mattress, it was a huge relief. I turned my head to where I heard the familiar sound. It was my phone. It had gone off. I could've sworn it was Saturday I thought, but it was somehow a school day. I turned on my phone, it read Monday. Maybe it was Sunday all along. I am unsure. 

I ended up being sick that day, so I couldn't go to school. I tried to ask my mom if she had screamed yesterday while she was cooking, but I lost my voice. It really disturbed me with the whole situation that went down. I have never had sleep paralysis since.