A few weeks ago I began visiting a small independent cinema in the city I live in. They show less mainstream movies and more independent films, you might call them more artsy. Please don’t judge me for how often I went there. Everybody needs a hobby.
I was watching some drama and in the middle of the movie something in front of the screen caught my eyes. I that that two eyes were looking at me. But once I looked at them directly I could just see the backs of the heads of other visitors. This happened maybe 3 or 4 times during the runtime of the movie. It was strange, but at this point I didn’t think much of it.
A few days later I was watching a mediocre sci-fi movie. I saw the eyes again. I looked at them. This time I could clearly see a young girl looking at me. She did not move. And I did not see her blink. I was a bit disturbed. I thought maybe she wasn’t really looking at me, but at the projector, or some other guest. Or maybe she just didn’t like the movie. Honestly, I would get that. It wasn’t really good.
The next day I saw no one looking at me in the cinema. Which was a relief. I was watching a horror flick. If someone had looked at me creepily I would probably have wet myself.
On the saturday of that week I saw her again. She sat much closer to me this time. And I was now sure that she was looking directly at me. She did not blink, at least not when I looked. I could only see her eyes above the backrest of her chair. But for some reason I imagined a creepy smile. Her gaze followed me even while I walked out of the room.
I did not go back for a few days. I told myself that there were no good movies. Of course this were just excuses because I was too spooked. Well I went back on wednesday. And I was very relieved, when I did not see the girl and her unnerving gaze for the whole duration of the movie. I collected my jacket and the waste from my popcorn after the movie and turned towards the exit. There she was. Standing right in the exit. Her eyes fixated on me. I looked around, but there was no other way to leave the cinema hall. I exited my row, her gaze following me. I approached her standing in the exit. She was watching every step. I stood right next to her. She looked up, straight into my face. She did not blink. For a moment I thought about saying something. I swallowed and just left.
Well. Let’s just say I have not been back since. Today I decided to just watch some old sitcom at home. It was an enjoyable evening. I can not pretend to be fully at ease, but not having anyone observing me for a few days certainly was relaxing. That was until a few minutes ago. I turned off the TV and just sat there for a moment, when I saw them. Two points of light. Reflected in the TV, just past the windows of the living room. Now I am sitting here. Pretending to just scroll through my phone. The eyes are still there. My heart is beating so hard that it is deafening to me. At some point I will need to stand up and go to bed.