The Apartment (Part 1)

Ten years ago I moved into a small two bedroom apartment in the city. The building was old, built in the early 1900’s as a hotel, then converted to town homes, then apartments. My apartment had beautiful original woodwork and vaulted ceilings, making the meager 900 square feet seem much more spacious. I had my own entrance with a cramped entry way that I used as an office, and the master bedroom had a stone fireplace that was boarded up, I didn't mind, the design appeared original and it was gorgeous. The first month in this apartment was normal, I was busy unpacking and decorating when I wasn't at work and the only annoyance I noticed was college kids leaving the bars downtown at two in the morning, loudly stumbling home past my windows, and the lack of air conditioning. It was the end of summer, so I managed without the air for a short time. It was mid September, I had been in the apartment for about six weeks and was mostly settled in. That is when strange things started happening. It started small, with things that were easily dismissed, but they escalated quickly. It started with strange noises, the sound of footsteps on the carpet when no one else was around, clunking noises in the kitchen, upon investigation, nothing was ever found out of place. That feeling on the back of your neck like ice cold fingers lightly running along your spine, the feeling that you are not alone when your eyes tell you that you absolutely are. These were all things I chalked up to adjusting to a new place and noises an old building makes or mice. Looking back, I wish I had listened to my instincts, although I don't know what I could have done about it, I had signed a six month lease, so I was stuck no matter what. After a few weeks, other things started happening. Things would not be where I left them, cupboard doors would be standing open in the mornings when I knew I hadn't left them open before going to bed, tv’s would turn on or off without anyone near them or their remotes, small annoying things, things that don't really scare a person, just confuse them. Then things started moving in front of me, I would set my laptop up on the kitchen table at night, a can of coke and an ashtray to the right of it, when the ashtray slid, slowly at first, toward the edge of the table. I turned to stare at it as it stopped just short of sliding onto the floor. “What the…” I breathed, unbelieving my own eyes. I quickly reached out and pushed it to the middle of the table and just watched, hoping it would do it again and also hoping it wouldn't at the same time. Nothing happened. I quickly began to examine the table, maybe it was lopsided, even though nothing else moved from its spot. Couldn't be wind, no windows were open and that's just ridiculous it was a heavy glass ashtray that was no match for a little wind with the exception of a tornado. I found no logical reason for it to move anywhere and tried to forget about it as best I could. I didn't sleep much that night, I was suddenly hyper aware of everything, the sounds of the freezer humming, the clanking of the old furnace, people walking by on the sidewalk just outside my window, the whistle of the wind outside and then THUMP. I sat up, what was that? I listened, afraid to breathe or move. THUMP then CREEAAAK. My heart was pounding so hard it was all I could hear, then I saw my bedroom door slowly open…. Then “Mommy?” A small voice said groggily. Relief flooded over me as my toddler son entered my room. After getting him back to bed, I crawled back into my bed and sleep came quickly. It wasn't until a couple weeks later that things started getting really bad. By now it was fall, the air had turned crisp and the leaving were changing colors, the apartment had been silent since the incident with the ash tray, I had nearly forgotten the incident all together. This night was cold, I had shut my windows before going to bed for the night. I awoke suddenly to a voice yelling “WAKE UP!!” I groggily looked around, rubbing the sleep from my eyes when I froze. There was a man standing at the foot of my bed. I was frozen, afraid to move a muscle, maybe he would think I was still sleeping if I stayed perfectly still. There was something odd about him though, I couldn't quite put my finger on it, he stood motionless, staring right at me. He was wearing a heavy military style winter coat, much to warm for the weather, his face was shrouded by the darkness but I could see a full beard that appeared to be turning silver, he had a hat covering his head. His appearance made me think of a hunter. Then I noticed it, he wasn't staring at me at all, he was staring past me. My fear turned to confusion, I slowly turned to look out the window, expecting to see something awful on the other side of the glass…nothing. I quickly turned my attention back to the mysterious intruder and he was gone. I quickly flipped on my bed light, noticing the alarm clock next to it ‘3:30am’ it said. I jumped out of bed and ran through the apartment, checking the doors and windows. No sign of the man and nothing broken, out of place or unlocked. What just happened? I stood in the middle of my living room, catching my breath and trying to process the events. The would-be intruder dressed like a hunter in green instead of blaze orange, was just standing in my bedroom and then disappeared without making a sound or unlocking a door. I began to pace my living room floor as I thought this out. I was too wired to go back to bed and too scared to close my eyes anyway. Did I just see a ghost? No way, I couldn't have. Then another problem came to me, if that wasn't a ghost, and someone did manage to break in, then he is still here. I instantly ran for my son’s room and whipped the door open to find my little boy fast asleep in his bed, oblivious to his mother running around the apartment. I checked under his bed and his closet like I was checking for monsters and quietly left the room. I checked the bathroom and the entry way, nothing. My bedroom closet had been standing open and was still that way so I checked under my bed and sat down, dejected. It was a dream, it had to have been a dream. Only it wasn't a dream….