A Dead's Tale

Last night I laid in my bed wide awake. It was almost 3 a.m. and I couldn’t fall asleep. It was September. The last days of September and the season hadn’t fully changed. I had the air conditioner running as well as the ceiling fan. It still wasn’t quite as comfortable as I would like it. I like the cool crisp air of the fall and often tried to recreate the nostalgic feeling I get during autumn.
I tossed and turned trying to find the right position to fall asleep. I couldn’t. I laid my head in the pillow facing the window. I closed my eyes but felt the presences of someone else in the room. Yes, my wife was lying next to me fast asleep but it wasn’t her. It was a weird and unusual presence.
My six-year-old son was wedged between the two of us but it wasn’t him either. I opened my eyes. I surveyed the room but saw nothing. The feeling of someone hovering over us persisted. I eased back into my spot and I tried desperately to doze off. I yawned with exhaustion.
Just then, a dark figured darted across the room. I gasped. Then, he gasped. I was so shocked that he gasped, that I gasped again. I laid still, frozen, unable to move as if something was holding me firming to the bed. I recognized this as a phenomenon known as sleep paralysis.
He walked over to me. I began to feel hot and clammy. He put his face close to mine. I couldn’t see any details of his face; it was as if he had no face. Then. He. Spoke. His breath was rotten. It smelled as if something died in his mouth. I held my breath he asked, “can you really see me?” his voice was childish as if he was no older than 12 or 13 years old.
“Y-yes, I can see you”, I replied hesitantly. “You can see me!”, he exclaimed with glee. The ghost was excited and in a celebratory mood. I looked over at my wife and child to see if they were awakened by his shouting but they were still soundly asleep. After a moment, he asked,” are you God?” “No, I’m not God,” I replied crossly. “So how can you see me?” he asked. “Dead people are not supposed to see us, at least that’s what I was told any way,” he stated. “I’m not dead”, I bellowed crossly. “You are dead and you are in my room in my house disturbing my rest”. I didn’t know dead people were so annoying, I thought.
He looked at me puzzled. “I am dead and you are alive?” he questioned. “That’s impossible. You are dead and you are in my house. My parents told me to stay away from you because if you saw me and realized that you were dead. You wouldn’t take it well.” I gazed at him. “I If I were dead and you alive, why do I have a face and you don’t have one?
Confused, he looked at me and said, “Are you insane? I have a face, you don’t have a face, as a matter of fact, none of you have faces”. I couldn’t believe that I was having an argument with a ghost at 3 in the morning. I had to get some rest but he just kept pestering me. My eyes felt heavy. I had to get up to get some water but I still couldn’t move.
Sleep paralysis only happens when you are sleeping so this must be a dream. A strange yet comical dream I thought. I’m not afraid of this ghost so why can’t I move I wondered. What did he do to me? As I pondered my state, the ghost was at the dresser examining himself in the mirror. He seemed uneasy and confused. “See, I told you, you don’t have a face!”, I exclaimed. “Oh, no, I have a face, you don’t have a face. I was just examining my handsome physical features. I can’t even tell if you are a man or a woman,” he quipped.
I started to consider what this ghost was saying. “What if I were the dead one? What if he’s right? No, no. That can’t be,” I argued with myself. “Why can’t I move if I’m the one dead and you are alive,” I questioned dramatically. He floated across the room back and forth as if in deep thought. He stopped, looked at me then began floating again. One more thing, if I were dead, how come I can’t float across the room like you can. Why are you able to fly and I’m not?” “there, you’ve proven my point!” he exclaimed. Dead people can’t move, that’s why you can’t move, because you are dead, and dead people can’t fly,” he expressed joyfully. He was floating around the room as if he won a million dollars and I had to pay up. I looked over at the clock. It was only 3:07 a.m. it felt like a whole hour had passed. I couldn’t believe it was just a few minutes.
I knew I was in the middle of a nightmare and I needed to wake up. I tried to pinch myself but my fingers and hands wouldn’t move. I could wiggle my toes but I couldn’t move my feet. I didn’t know what to do. I could move my head. My son was lying right beside me. Maybe I could head butt him to wake him up. And then this ghost would disappear I thought.
As I struggled to move, the ghost seemed mused. As if he didn’t understand what I was trying to do. My wife got up, looked at the ghost and said, “Hi, Ted, would you leave my husband alone please, he has work in the morning”. She got out of bed, then walked into the master bathroom and closed the door. The ghost gave a dastardly smirk and disappeared into the floor.