A full bladder forced Trina awake at 2:38 a.m. She kicked off the blanket and crossed the living room to the hall.
When she stepped into the hall, she observed through bleary eyes a shadow move down the hall. She blinked several times, more cognizant now than before.
The dark mass had no distinct form. The shapeless entity glided down the hall away from her.
Trina scampered back to the living room. She shook with fear and her heart palpitated. She waited a few minutes, all the while with her eyes on the hall.
The dark mass was not seen again.
She tiptoed down the hall to the bathroom. With self-consciousness and trepidation, she pulled down her pajama bottoms and sat on the toilet.
Please don’t come in here and stare at me, she thought, or watch me. Just don’t come in here at all.
She bit her lower lip and gazed around the bathroom. Her eyes darted about and then she stared at the shower curtain.
Oh, please don’t be standing there, she thought, hiding behind the curtain and watching me, and don’t all of a sudden jump out at me, either.
She eyed the curtain as it moved. Yet, the air in the bathroom was still. She knew the air conditioner was off since it was chilly at this time of night.
The curtain moved again.
The ice-cold hand of fear swelled in the middle of her chest and radiated outward in waves. She drew in a sharp intake of breath.
It crossed her mind that when someone opened or closed a door, curtains or drapes fluttered due to the movement of the air. Then she realized it was the way she was breathing that caused the shower curtain to move because of the terror that gripped her.
When done, Trina washed and dried her hands in a hurry, too scared to look back, let alone peek behind the curtain. She ran back to the couch in the living room and pulled the covers over her head.