Why can't I move

I find myself in an unfamiliar room lit by soft, yellow night-lights. It's dark otherwise. I'm not sure what time it is and honestly I can't fully remember why I'm here, all I know is I'm awake but should definitely be asleep. I assume to myself I'm house sitting for a friend or relative, not unusual for me, and sit myself down on the couch in the middle of the living room. My eyes aren't heavy, my thoughts are always too loud for me to sleep. The usual trick for distracting my brain long enough to finally drift off is watching videos on my phone, so I pull it out and assume the routine of scrolling.

Nothing is catching my eye, none of it seems interesting enough to watch. It's either things I've seen before or creators I've never heard of recommended to me by an algorithm I don't understand.

Until I see her smile.

The thumbnail is a woman with blonde hair that shrouds her face, all of the details are hidden aside from the whites of her teeth and eyes as she stares from my phone. Before I realize what I'm doing I've already tapped on the video and it's filled my screen. She's wearing a white t-shirt and jeans held up by a black belt. She's motionless, arms at her sides, staring at me with a gaze so piercing I can feel it, as though it transcends the digital barrier between us.

I stare back for a time as her smile seems to grow wider. The urge to run floods my system but I can't move. I need to break that horrible stare, even a fraction of a second would be enough to get me on my feet. I finally force myself to blink and she vanishes from the screen, leaving only a hallway.

A hallway lit by soft, yellow lights.

I still feel it, her cold eyes are still on me. Whispers start to fill the room and I turn around to see her standing in a hallway I don't remember walking through.

I can't move.

I need to get away but I can't look away.

My heart is racing but I'm frozen in place.

Still as a statue, she starts drifting closer, drawn to me by some terrifying force that defies reality. The whispers grow louder, filling the room. Her smile seems to grow wider than her face could possibly be.

My eyes shoot open and I'm in my bed, wrapped in blankets, facing the wall. It's the middle of the night. Before I realize what happened, quicker than the relief can set in, I start to hear the whispers again, coming from the opposite end of the room.

I can't move.

I hear foot steps approach me, the whispers get louder.

My entire being is screaming at me to look, to run, to do anything, but I can't break the hold this fear has on me.

The whispers are right behind me, they're almost deafening. I blink and in that instant I hear a light switch flick, the whispers stop, the room somehow gets darker.. I'm left surrounded by a crushing silence.

I don't know how long I laid there, staring at the wall in front of me, until I was able to roll over and check the time. 3:13 am. I climb out of bed, drenched in a cold sweat. I decide to take a shower and start my day early.

Nothing could convince me to go back to sleep.

This is the story of my first experience with a nightmare that turned into sleep paralysis. My heart goes out to those who deal with something like this regularly as it remains among the most terrifying things I've ever been through. I hope it brings you some solace to know you're not alone.