In the days leading up to my 13th birthday, I was just playing on my PS4. I didn’t want my birthday to be such a big deal, so I asked for no presents. A few days before, I asked my mom if I could just stay home for my birthday. Of course, she didn’t hear me, so we went to Texas Roadhouse. It was fun and all, but it wasn’t what I wanted on that day. When we got home, I stayed up some more and played some XCom 2. Finally, some time after 1 in the morning, I decides to clock out. I turned it off, crawled under my blanket and fell asleep the second my head hit the pillow. But, that night, I didn’t sleep very well. I had the feeling you get when a jump scare is coming in a movie or video game
The last straw for me was when I heard scratching at my window. I woke up and stared directly at my window. Nothing. Maybe it was the horror movies I constantly watch making paranoid. We live in a two story apartment, and there was a tree directly outside my window, so if there was someone there, they would have to climb the tree, which wouldn’t support even me. Finally, I let it all go, and I fell asleep.
The next morning, I had waffles with whipped cream and strawberries, as the Wisconsin Forward Exams were the same week as my birthday. School progressed as normal, but I had a lingering feeling that someone was watching me. I was constantly looking behind me when I walked the empty halls, and on my way back home, I even pulled out my phone to record anything outside the window of my bus. Nothing.
At midnight, at my mother’s house, something was different. I usually sleep on the couch at my mom’s, and the living room leads to the balcony, so when I started to get immersed in my gaming, I heard something drop onto the balcony. I was busy trying to get something in Portal 2, so I passed it off as the cat pushing off a pot or something. But then a shadow lay across the floor. It looked humanoid, but it’s its arms were longer than an average person’s, and it was incredibly tall. I cautiously walked towards the glass door leading to the balcony and flicked the switch right behind the TV. The moment the lights went on, the person leapt off the balcony railing and into the darkness.
The next morning, I told my mom about the encounter, and she passed it off as sleep deprivation. I do stay up pretty late and don’t sleep the recommended amount I should. It’s been months since my birthday, and we were camping with our cousins for the Fourth of July weekend. I was getting my bed ready, and it was about 2 in the afternoon. The thing about the other encounters was they all took place late at night. Well, that day was different. It was broad daylight, and I was helping my dad set up everything. When we were starting the fire, I went to get firewood, literally about 20 feet from the fire pit. I bent down, grabbed two logs, and looked up. Behind my uncle’s camper, I saw it again. And I got a real good look at him this time. He had deep, dark eyes, long limbs and pale grey skin. I quickly yelled to my dad and he quickly stopped what he was doing and looked.
“Dude, what is it?” he asked.
“What is it?!” I said angrily, “Look right in front of…”
I looked back, and he was gone. My dad looked at me and said, “Don’t raise your voice like that to me ever again.”
Later that day, I was ready to hit the hay. I had three puck lights in my part of the tent that could be different colors. I set them to red, white, and blue, for obvious reasons. Sleeping on the air mattress wasn’t very comfortable, but it was all I had. Well, at around 3 in the morning, I woke up on a flat mattress, red lights, and the creature looking over me. His sunken eyes were staring intensely at me. In a shrill, yet calm voice, he quietly said, “Happy birthday…”
He then left the tent. I told my friends about what happened, but they just called me crazy, that I’m looking for attention and the like. Since that moment, I know he’s been watching me from inside my own home. I don’t feel safe in a place that’s supposed to keep you safe. He’s watching me as I write this. I can hear his breathing. Help me.
