So this was about 13 years ago, when I was staying at a dormitory close to a coaching center that I was studying at (in the city of Thrissur, which is in the southern indian state of Kerala). On November 4th of 2011, the guys in my dorm and I were waiting to go back to our homes for the weekend and the guys took off early, while I had to catch an early day train the next day. This meant that I had to stay in the dorm alone for the night.
Now the interesting thing about the dorm is that it is a very old house that was converted into a dorm. The most interesting bit was my room, as it used to be a balcony, which was then converted into an additional room. Therefore my room was huge, with two beds at each end of the room (the left one was mine and the I never had a roommate, so essentially the whole room was mine). The only door to my room had its locks on the other side of the door, which meant that anyone could lock me in my own room. The wall that was raised up on the previously balcony wall was in fact only windows from end to end. And since my dorm was located smack at a traffic intersection, there was a street lamp right outside my room and all its light would flood in all night, giving my room an orange glow. Last but not the least, the ceiling of the room was a false ceiling, with a single fan fixed on a hook in the centre of the ceiling. The fan had only two modes- either off or at full speed. Since the fan was on a steel hook wedged into a false ceiling, the fan would shake crazily and create a racket akin to a freight train all night. The reason I explained the room was because of the many things that happened that night.
So the guys left for their homes and I slept in for the night. At a deli next to the dorm I had my dinner and the boys at the deli decided to try to ruin my sleep by scaring the hell out of me by explaining the cause for the fan in my room to shake so much and all the silence in the house but not in my room etc. Their theory was that a boy committed suicide in my room many years ago and that’s what made the fan loose and shaky. Sure, it sounds as good as anything but I was the “seeing is believing” kinda guy, I scoffed their theories and turned in for the night. I was ready for the journey the next day and had my mobile phone, a ridiculously sturdy metal torch and my train ticket safe at my bedside. I was traveling back home for getting done with a few exam registrations, which I couldn’t get done while I was there at the dorm and so I had a lot of money in my wallet, earmarked for the registrations. I fell asleep without any remarkable experience and thought that i would wake up like everybody else in the morning. But not before ensuring that all the door and windows were locked, the windows in my room were locked and I tied up the handles of the door with a steel wire, as I had no other ways to lock up my door from my side of the door.
When I opened my eyes next, it was still night. I didn’t know what woke me up as I woke up very smoothly. I wasn’t thirsty nor did I have any urge to pee. I looked at my watch and saw the time- 2 AM. That was weird. I was facing the left wall and so naturally I was twisting and turning to get comfy and turned to face the other end of the room. And then I saw it.
There was a man standing at the other end of the room, looking at me with a soft smile. He was wearing a white-and-blue check shirt. I was so comfy in rickety bed I actually smiled back at him and turned back to the face the wall. I dozed off for 15 mins, before suddenly releasing the reality of what I saw. I saw my phone and I remembered every detail of what I saw. The reason I still remember the guy and the colour of his shirt is because I suddenly realized three things-
It didn’t occur to me that there might be a paranormal entity in my room at the time. What worried me was that the 5k bucks that I had in my wallet and if he would steal it. I was frozen in my bed, straining my ears to listen to any kind of movement. But i could hear nothing, not even the fan. I stared at my phone and saw 2.15 become 2.16. I had to take a chance and I wasn’t sure how I could dial the police without being sure if what I saw was real or not. I then realized that I had my torch with me. I decided to flash my torch at the other end of the room. If push came to shove, I figured I would throw the torch in his face and gain some time to overpower him. It sounded like a genius plan to the 18 year old me back then. I slowly reached out for the torch and, mustering up all my courage, turned around and switched on my torch. Only to find nothing. I was so relieved to find no one in my room that i only bothered to check if the money was there right where I had kept it and slept soundly for the rest of the night.
I woke up next morning and when I got to the door to go to the bathroom, I saw something that freaked me out. The steel wires on the door handle had become undone and was lying the floor, while the door was half open. I knew the door well and knew that it wouldn’t move on its own. I got worried and checked my possessions again and checked all the windows and doors. I have no idea what happened and how the steel wires could unwind themselves. Nonetheless, I got ready and headed out for breakfast, and just as I was passing through the hallway, I was looking at my messages and then I stood still. There was a text from a guy in my coaching class whom I didn’t know so well. I suddenly realized that the guy whom I saw in my room was exactly like the guy who had texted me. I texted him back casually asking if he had been to the dorm. I knew he was back at his house and so I was both surprised and not so much at the same time when he told me that he was at his place. I asked him if he had the kind of shirt that I had seen “him” wearing last night. He was confused with my question. Imagine my surprise when he told me that he did indeed have a shirt like that.
To this day we have barely spoke to each other, being only acquaintances and all. I have no idea why I saw that guy in my room and to this day I keep wondering if I accidentally dreamt of it all or if something did happen that I cannot explain just yet.