The train left the station just as I arrived. The panic I felt the moment the train started moving was immeasurable.
I knew there wasn’t anything I could do to get on that train; so I simply had to wait. I sat down on a bench at the station and stared at the message on my phone, saying that she didn’t have much time left. I closed the messaging app and played flappy bird to make the time go by faster.
The next train arrived around 50 minutes later. I boarded and sat down in my seat. Looking out the window, I started imagining not making it in time. I was so stressed it felt almost like a cramp in my belly.
After the one-and-a-half-hour train ride, I exited the train and sprinted straight to the hospital. A tear fell from my eye when I was sprinting. “Please be alive, please let me make it,” was the only thing rushing through my mind.
“I’m sorry, your mother passed away 15 minutes ago.”
My body froze. I didn’t know what to say. I tried to push out a simple ok, but I couldn’t; my body wouldn’t let me speak. I stood there for what felt like an eternity before just walking out without saying anything.
I meandered around outside like a zombie, looking straight at the ground, for about 20 minutes. It all felt hopeless. I didn’t even get to say goodbye.
Nothing mattered anymore…
Abruptly, I heard a car horn. I slowly looked up and saw a car speeding towards me. I didn’t realise what was going on until it was too late.
Everything went pitch black.
I woke up, laying on my stomach. As soon as I remembered what happened, I shot up to my feet. I quickly regretted doing that. It hurt so bad that I almost threw up. I looked down and saw red. All over my body, dark red.
I looked around and saw no one in the area. It must have been a hit-and-run. I started limping towards the town to look for help. The feeling of hopelessness had vanished and my survival instinct to rescue myself had kicked in hard.
Eventually, I saw a girl walking towards me in the town square, looking at her phone. I continued limping towards her. At that moment, I felt hope; it felt like I was about to be saved.
If I only had known that she couldn’t see me…
When I stood before her, I managed to squeeze out a shakey “help”.
She walked through me.
Like I was a ghost. A disgusting chill travelled down my spine as I looked back at her, still walking, still looking at her phone.
I started walking around the town square like a headless chicken.
“Hello? Hello?!”
Nothing. No one could see me. I thought I was dead. I hopelessly collapsed on the ground, laying face down on the concrete. I lay there for around 5 minutes and, suddenly, a black van pulled up beside me.
A man in a black-on-black suit and a black trilby hat jumped out and lifted me into the van. His face was not visible. It seemed to be covered by some sort of shadow.
After the van door closed, everything went black again.
I woke up in the hospital where my mom recently died in. I had been out for two days. I quickly tried to sit up, but I was halted by the excruciating pain in my side.
The doctors said I was extremely lucky to be alive; I had just been taken off critical when I woke up.
I was released from the hospital about three weeks later. I was walking down the street, on my way to the train station. I saw a man walking towards me. I had a deja vu, I recognized him, but I couldn’t remember from where.
When he walked past me, he looked at me with a creepy smile and said:
“You’re welcome…” in a horrifying tone.
It felt like an apple was shoved down my throat when I realised it was that man; the man that threw me in the van. He was wearing the exact same clothes.
I quickly looked behind me, and he was gone. I kept on walking, trying to convince myself that I was only imagining it.
On the train, his words bounced around in my head. Should I be thankful? Should I be scared? I don’t know.
When I was walking home, it was getting dark. I kept seeing him in my peripherals, but when I looked there, he was gone.
After a couple more minutes of walking, I started hearing his voice saying that same phrase: “you’re welcome,” over, and over. I was horrified. I looked straight down and ran home. I felt like I was going crazy. Is he following me? Who is he? What is he?
When at home I tried, once again, to convince myself that I was only imagining him. I never believed in ghosts or anything. So maybe I just hit my head in the car accident and hallucinated?
I hit myself in the head a couple of times, hoping that would, in some way, knock the hallucination out of my head. I then went upstairs to my room.
I was in bed, trying to get some sleep. It was really hot in my room, so I went to open the window.
When I looked out, I saw him.
My body froze. He was standing in my backyard. I quickly grabbed my gun and sat down on my bed. I sat like that for the rest of the night.
I haven’t slept or eaten for two days, and I dare not leave my room. The gun has been resting by my side this entire time. What do I do here? Help, please.