I'm at your bedroom window.
A warning for my fellow travelers.
If you ever have a layover in Philly over night,
don't spend the night at Economy Motel.
And if you absolutely must,
steer clear of room 103.
I was heading south to visit some family members for a few weeks
and unfortunately the only flight available included a 7 hour layover in Philadelphia.
Not wanting to spend those hours huddled outside the airport
I rented the cheapest motel I could find, and took the shuttle over at about 11 PM.
The place was just about the shadiest looking motel I'd ever seen
but it was a bed, right?
I checked in and headed to my room
103
Exhausted,
I immediately collapsed on the bed.
A bit lumpy, but not terrible.
Not bothering to take my contacts out
I closed my eyes and let my thoughts wander.
I yanked back to reality by a loud grumbling from my stomach.
Right.
The airline hadn't fed us.
Annoyed, I dug around in my bag for one of those microwaveable soup cups
which I tossed in the room's microwave.
As the microwave rattled away
I noticed a piece of paper wedged underneath it.
I yanked it out and unfolded it.
There were two words scribbled on it hastily
"Don't look"
Huh.
Whatever.
I tossed it aside and retrieved my soup.
Feeling lonely, I hopped online to see if anyone was on.
I was in luck.
My long distance boyfriend happened to be on Skype.
I called him up and we chatted awhile,
trying to keep our voices down.
Eventually, though, he said something that made me laugh,
and I heard a muffled curse come from upstairs.
Feeling guilty, I said my good nights and ended the call,
with the intention of getting a bit of rest before my next flight.
As I lay in the now dark room,
I noticed a thin stream of light coming from where the curtain didn't close completely.
Annoyed, I got up to close it.
I was almost at the window when I heard it:
"I can see into your bedroom."
The voice sent a chill up my spine.
It was a quiet, and high pitched,
like a child's.
It was so soft, I wasn't sure I hadn't just imagined it.
I shook my head and reached for the curtain.
"I know you can hear me.
I'm at your bedroom window, and I know you can hear me."
I jumped back as a shadow crossed the stream of light coming into my room.
I definitely hadn't imagined it that time.
There was a voice,
directly outside my door.
Someone was out there,
looking in.
I jumped back into bed and pulled the covers up to my chin.
"I'm at your bedroom window.
I know you can hear me. I can see in your room. Are you listening to me?
I know you can hear me. Come, take a look. I'm at your bedroom window."
The taunting went on and on,
rattling into my thoughts and leaving me paralyzed in fear.
Suddenly
I heard the tenant upstairs moving around again.
Footsteps stomped over to the door above,
and I heard muffled shouting.
"Hey, shut up down there.
This isn't funny, I have work in 4 hours!"
The door upstairs slammed, and there was silence.
I breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back against the pillow,
determined to get some sleep.
"I'm still out here.
Come look out your window."
I sat straight up,
heart pounding in my ears.
The voice was back.
It whispered on and on, repeating it's mantra over and over again.
I put my hands over my ears and rocked back and forth, trying to block out the sound.
It was no use,
the longer I sat there, the louder it got,
until I could hear it so clearly,
it sounded like it was right next to me.
Frantic, I picked up the phone and dialed the police.
Stammering and stuttering in fright,
I managed to give them the information-
where I was,
what was wrong, please help, I'm scared.
I didn't care if it was a prank at this point, my mind was reeling in terror.
The officers assured me they'd be over shortly to see what the issue was,
I thanked them and hung up the phone.
As soon as I did,
silence descended over the room.
It wasn't just that the voice stopped-
no,
utter silence filled the room.
The air conditioner stopped,
the street noises outside ceased,
even the faint hum of electricity from the TV and lights went away.
It pressed on my ears with a tangible heaviness that sent shivers through me.
Next to me, my phone rang.
The caller ID told me that it was the police station, calling me back.
Cautiously, I picked it up and answered.
Hello?
I whispered.
"They aren't coming."
growled the voice.
And every light went out,
plunging the room into complete
and total
darkness.