I’m someone who’s not often on their phone. I prefer reading a book, taking naps or if I am on a screen, it’s going to be on my drawing tablet, since I’m a digital artist. I usually leave the patio door in the living room open at all times, since I’m in the middle of the forest and I can hear the birds sing better that way, but sometimes, I forget to close it at night, but I don’t mind it since the morning breeze is refreshing. The only downside with my house is that the nearest building from here is at least 12 km away, and since my car broke down, if I have to run errands, I have to call my mom to come pick me up. Compared to me, all of my friends spend their whole days on apps or texting each other; including me. I receive hundreds of messages from them everyday on my phone, but I hate having to reply to them, since they’ll keep sending more, so I usually wait till the end of the day to reply. Unfortunately, for an unknown reason, I can’t turn off the notification sound on my phone, so I just have to hear all of the « ding »s and « tululup »s from all the messages I get. To get rid of that problem, I leave my phone in my bedroom at all times, since it’s the room that’s the farthest from the living room, where I usually spend my day, but since the walls are thin, I can still briefly hear the annoying disturbance.
It started a week ago. It went like my usual days. I woke up to the sound of my phone already exploding with notifications, I went down the stairs to the living room, felt the usual breeze from forgetting to close the patio door the night before, took my drawing tablet and did my things. I could still hear the notification sounds coming from my bedroom, but I’d gotten used to it, and managed to ignore it. When it got late, I made myself a glass of warm milk and went to bed. Before falling asleep, I checked my phone, getting ready to reply to all those messages, but when I opened it, I had no notifications on the front page. I would usually click on those to get to the texts faster, but there weren’t any. I unlocked my phone, and I had the little red dots on the corner of my apps, confirming that I got notified, but no pop-ups were shown to me. I thought it was weird, but since my phone was already acting up, I kinda just ignored it, and replied to my friends as usual.
The next day, I had the same routine, still hearing the sounds of the notifications coming from my room throughout the day, but at night, the same thing happened. No notifications. None.
The next day, same thing. No notifications pop-ups, but I heard the sound of them playing all day long. I even had the red dot on my settings app, but no notifications from it. I talked about it to my friends, but they said my phone was old and that I needed to buy the new one that just came out, so I ended the conversation there because they got annoying.
The next day, something happened. You know when you get a notification but swipe it away before the sound it makes finishes? It makes like a half ring or a « tulu » instead of a « tululup »? Well I was just doing my stuff when I heard one of the notification sounds cut half way. I didn’t really mind it, but then it happened again. And again. And again. I got confused, cause how could it happen if no one was there to swipe them away? But then I remembered that sometimes, when multiple notifications came at once, the sound would cut, then play again, but in this case, the sound wouldn’t play again, but just stop.
Curiosity took over me and I went back upstairs. I opened my bedroom door, to find my phone, sitting on my bed, with, again, no notification pop-ups. I sat on my bed, staring at my phone, then looking up to my closet, half closed up. I must’ve wrongly closed it the last time I went through it, which was a while ago, since all there was in there were old sketchbooks and art supplies, from when I used to still do it all on paper. I put down my phone, closed the closet door properly and went back downstairs.
The muffled sounds continued, as I finished my day.
I made myself my usual glass of warm milk and headed to bed, ready to answer all of my texts. Again, no notifications were there. I kinda just accepted it at some point. My phone was old, and it was very surely not as good as the new model that just came out like my friends talked to me about, but I was going to make it die before buying a new one. I answered my friends and went to sleep, staring at my closet door, that weirdly managed to still not be fully closed, again.
The next morning was when it all happened.
Same morning.
Same routine.
Same notifications.
But not the same feeling.
I woke up and went downstairs. I didn’t feel the usual morning breeze. I closed, then rubbed my eyes, before opening them back up and looking at the patio door.
Closed.
Why.
I approached the door, wondering when I would’ve closed it up, cause I had no memories of doing so. It wasn’t locked. Just closed.
I didn’t open it back up again. I just sat on my couch with my drawing tablet, listening to the sound of the notifications, that sounded way louder now that I didn’t hear the birds from outside.
Then it happened again. The sound of the notification, starting to play then getting cut at random.
I felt something was wrong.
I slowly got off my couch, then walked up the stairs, quietly to my bedroom door. I peeked at the small crack I left between the door and the wall.
That’s when I saw it.
The black figure of a long man covered in dark mud.
Skin so thin you could trace out his bones.
Back so curved it could snap in half.
Fingers so long you couldn’t differentiate his fingers from his crusty nails.
Chin so pointy it gave it such a long face.
Smile so wide you could see all of its broken and rotting teeth.
Eyes so opened they could pop out of its skull.
I looked at it. I looked at it swipe away the notifications. One by one, waiting for their little jingle. Sometimes it swiped them faster. Each time, he would giggle, making his bones move and deforme its skin.
I closed the door.
Slowly.
Not making a sound.
I took a chair from the next room and held the door closed with it.
It’s been two days. I’ve been sleeping on the couch since then. No where else to go. No way of contacting anyone. Still hearing the notifications. Thinking about it. Still in that room. I don’t know what it is. I don’t know what it wants. I just know it’s there. And no one is coming to save me.