A boy had grown up in a small town, yet he remained unnoticed and invisible to those around him. No one noticed his perfect emerald green eyes that glistened when rays of sunlight hit them or his bush of hair that curls together just right, but I noticed him.
I noticed how every Tuesday he would walk to the library to catch up on his studies and biweekly he would go to his grandma’s nursery to sew with her.
Even though we grew up in the same town and went to school together, the two of us had officially met at a charity event in Lesotho. It was an event where we helped build new homes for the community. Oren and I were placed in the same group.
As we worked together, I got to know him better and I immediately grew obsessed with him. Once the event was over and we returned home, sorrowful thoughts suffocated me. Being away from Oren felt as though my heart was getting ripped out of my chest.
Having to go a day without his energetic laugh and alluring scent of burning wood, surged an aching through my stomach. Before I knew it, I began to long for his touch and his presence.
When I started university at Bridgeport, I had found out Oren was attending Bridgeport as well. Walking through the tall doorway into my biology class, sitting there, looking as perfect as ever, was Oren. He waved at me. Butterflies penetrated my stomach as I walked over and sat in the seat next to him. Just as I sat down, the bell rang and the teacher started his lecture.
After an hour and a half of painstakingly enduring biology class, Oren and I decided to walk to a cafe nearby. As we were seated, engaged in a conversation about our class, a girl approached us. The girl sauntered up to Oren with a provocative sway of her hips and breast practically jumping out of her shirt. It seemed someone else had noticed him too.
My mind was consumed with resentment as I watched the girl talk to Oren, completely disregarding my existence. The sound around me seemed to fade away, as if my ears had become deaf to everything else once they began discussing the idea of hanging out.
I felt an urge to release a piercing wail and assert my ownership over him, but I couldn’t ignore the painful truth: he wasn’t mine. I was aware of the wandering eyes of Oren glancing at me and giving me the look as if asking if I’m okay. I nod my head, deciding to enter myself into their conversation, “Where are you guys thinking about hanging out?” Almost looking offended, the girl replied, “I’ve got two tickets for a movie.”
“I’ll pay for a third ticket so Liyla can join,” Oren blurted out.
“I don’t mind,” the girl replied. Obviously she minded.
The girl then bellowed at me, “I don’t think we’ve met before, I’m Nevada.”
“Liyla,” I uttered.
Nevada smiled distastefully. She turned her attention back to Oren, continuing to seduce him in front of me. Not able to stomach anymore of their flirting, I excused myself to the restroom. Instead I went straight out the door of the cafe. I didn’t care if Oren saw me. My heart was broken. Tears flowed uncontrollably along my pimple-filled cheeks, as I walked aimlessly around.
I continued walking in a random direction for what felt like hours until I found myself back at my dorm. Walking inside, I hear the ding of my phone and see a message from Oren. Are you alright?
I threw my phone against the wall, hoping to shatter it into pieces. I sprang into my bed, burying my face into my pillows. That night felt different. The air was suddenly thick, like a smoker’s lung filled with mucus. It felt as if clouds covered my shining sun.
Unable to get out of bed, I decided to skip my homework and go straight to bed. In the middle of the night, I suddenly woke up. My body was unable to move.
Great another night of sleep paralysis, I thought, having been through this many times before. I lie there waiting for the hallucinations to start. In the corner of my room, I saw a short and stubby man wearing the typical trench coat, but with a sombrero. I wanted to laugh but the grip of sleep paralysis was a virus in my body. I then moved my eyes to the other side of me to see the exact same figure.
Now a little startled I try to keep my eyes closed in order to have this pass, when I feel the touch of a person’s lips around my calf, biting me. The pain grew as if it felt that someone was tearing my skin off, when I tried to scream nothing came out, just the breath from my lungs.
Next thing I knew I saw the face of a man appear as if it’s coming down from my ceiling like a spy, while unable to scream the figure laughs at me struggling to move. The figure then drops through me, I can feel the coldness take over me and my thoughts become not my own. The feeling of dread suffocates me after. Eventually laying there for maybe an hour, the biting sensation on my calf stops, I start to feel the droopiness off my eyelids, and I pass out.