Paranoia

It's almost 2 AM but sleep seems not to come yet. I have to get up early to have my job hunting again. It's been six months since my graduation and I'm still jobless. Most of my batch mates are already out there in the corporate world. They are already making their names known to the world by now. I'm still here confined in my room thinking what else must I do to finally land that dream job.

The dead silence is creeping me out. I reached for my radio to play some music. It was the year 2002 where you can still buy them. I tuned into my favorite FM station. An old song started to play in the air. It's relaxing. Maybe I can sleep now. I closed my eyes and waited to be drifted. But then it happened.

The old song that was just playing a second ago changed into a loud static sound. I opened my eyes to reach for the radio tuner. Everything seems to be all static. Is it possible that all the stations are experiencing a technical issue? I keep on turning the tuner. Then I picked up something as if someone who's reciting something.

I'm no language expert. But from the sound of it, maybe the speaker is saying something in Latin! It's an old language and I've heard it before from church. Goosebumps spread all over my body. I immediately turn off the radio. I don't want to listen as if I am being exorcised.

AM IDREAMING



I tried to relax again so I could catch some sleep. The clock says it's already 3 AM. That was fast! I thought I was just listening to the radio for merely 10 minutes. What was that all about? I tried to brush off that thought and just went to sleep. As I was drifting, I felt that somebody touched my shoulders.

I jolted up from my bed. Somebody with a really warm hand just touched me. As if it was a hot pot. But I know for sure it was a hand. Then the realization hits me. How will that happen? I'm alone in my room. My roommate is on the night shift. I gazed at her bed to confirm.

Checked the clock again. It's already 5 AM. Whoa! Did I manage to sleep for two hours already? I'm not sure about that. But I know that I will not be able to get out of the house now. I have to sleep some more if I want to look good for my job hunt.

Then I thought of going to the bathroom. Since I only have my night lamp on, I stand up and look for the switch. I need to turn the lights on already. It's impossible for me to sleep now. I tried to feel the light switch from the wall next to the door.

I can't seem to feel it. Is it gone? I look directly where the switch was supposed to be located. There it is as I tried to turn it on. But I can't seem to touch it. It's there, I can see it but it just passes through my fingers whenever I try.

SHE'S HOME

I heard a scream and I woke up. It was my roommate and she's near the door of the room. I asked her why she was screaming? She told me that she saw a figure standing next to my bed. I gave her the puzzled look. She said that when she opened the door, she saw someone in a black suit.

As she was about to enter the room, she saw it. It looks like a man but with a red face and a horn. Then when she screamed, it just vanished. I laughed and teased her that maybe it's a unicorn. She gets more serious and told me that she knows what she saw.

I just nodded and stands up to go to the bathroom. I flipped the light switch without a problem this time. Am I dreaming earlier? Then I went in to shower already. I have to head out if I want to find a job. I just make it quick so that I can leave faster.

As I was dressing up, I noticed a bruise mark on my right shoulder. I just remembered that very warm hand who touched me when I was about to sleep. Or am I already sleeping then? It seems like a very long dream. So maybe I was able to sleep after all.

BAD LUCK

I returned home empty-handed again. Just another, we will call you routine. It's already about 7 PM when I went back. I'm so tired and frustrated. After changing clothes, I've decided to lay down to bed. That way, I can rest for a while before I have my dinner.

My roommate has already gone when I arrived. So I'm all alone again. I'm beginning to lose hope with this job-hunting adventure. But then again, I have decided to keep on trying. Maybe I'm not the only one experiencing this bad luck.

I opened my eyes and realized that I fell asleep. It's already 2 AM according to the clock. I must have been very exhausted to even have dinner. But I don't feel hungry at all. I just sit down on my bed fora while.

Then I heard a laugh. I turned to the direction where it came from. Then I saw a black silhouette from my roommate's bed. I don't know how to react. Am I really seeing someone there? Or maybe it's just another dream?

R

No, you're not dreaming. You just woke up. How can you be dreaming again? But that's not my thought. The shadow just told me those things. My mind went blank. Should I scream? I'm so scared I can't even feel my body. As if my soul got ripped apart from my own.

It spoke to me again. Do you want to be with the devil or something else? I swear I saw it's grinning at me. But I'm so dumbed struck to react. I just remembered what my grandma told me before. Don't talk to any entities others can't see. Or it will get attached to you.

Silence. Then I started to hear the static ringing in my ears. But I'm paralyzed and I can't move or talk. After a few minutes that feel like an eternity, I heard it say, " I think I need your permission so I can be with you." It's talking to me again!

I'm trying to figure this one out. Why am I seeing a black ghost? But they said when it's around, you can feel colder. I feel as if I'm being roasted. It's so hot all over the room. It also smells like sulfur. My head is spinning but I'm still conscious.

DECLARATION

All I can think about is to pray and try to compel this evil in front of me. I started praying and it managed to even do the prayer better than me. I gave it a puzzled look. Then it says, "Of course I know how to pray. After all, I was also an angel."

I'm experiencing a slow brain process. So is he is saying that he's a demon? Then as if it can read my mind, he answered back. "That's fine people tend to read that way in front of us. At least you're not screaming or running away from me."

How the hell can I run? I thought out loud. It laughed again as if amazed by the reaction. "I tried to get into to but I was only able to touch your shoulder." So that was he who touched me last night. I still have the bruise on my right shoulder just because of one touch.

"Well, at least now no other devil can try to get into you." It said casually. Did I just ask? Then it answered again as if we were just having a casual conversation. "You were already touched by the devil. So any attempt by another devil won't work anymore." Does it mean that you marked me already?

"Ye,s, I did. But your soul is too strong. I can't take over your body. I've tried to make you weak so you don't have a choice but to give in. Now, you just got over your fear easily. You're talking directly to me. Not a lot of humans can do that. So I guess I just have to move on."

Farewell

To my amazement, the shadow was just gone. I'm still sitting down from the side of my bed. I realized that it wasn't just a dream. Based on what the devil said, it did some things to make me weak. But still, it cannot take over my body and just left.

I checked the clock again & it's already 5 AM. I had a 3-hour chat with the devil. Then I decided that I need to learn more about it. It's still unclear why I became the target. But I have to sleep again. It's so much for any human to handle.

I thought I would be able to sleep until the afternoon. Only to be awakened by my roommate. Hey, wake up! You need to see this! She seems to be excited. I opened my eyes and got up to see what's with her. She grabbed me and made me look to the floor and the way. Look, she said.

As I looked in that direction, it's filled with petals of red roses from the bottom of my bed to the floor going out to the room.It seems like a red carpet only it's made of red roses. It smells flowery all over the place. My roommate teasingly asked me who did this. I smiled and told her, it's my guardian angel.