For the first time in weeks, something woke me up during the night.
Whether it was a dream or a loud noise, I wasn’t sure.
One thing I did notice, however, is that the room seemed considerably darker than usual
as if something was blocking the ambient light around me.
As far as I could see, the furniture had not moved, giving me this uncanny feeling that
perhaps there was a deeper reason for the strange activity that had been taking place
in my apartment.
I figured there must have been a power cut during the night which plunged the entire
neighborhood into darkness, including the streets below.
I grabbed my phone and used it as a flashlight as I carefully observed the rest of the room.
As I slowly turned to my left, I was horrified to see only a void of dark mass.
I could no longer see the furthest exterior walls of my apartment and the floor had collapsed.
I knew something terrible had happened and that it wasn’t safe for me to stay where
I was.
Fortunately, I lived on the 3rd floor so I wasn’t too far up.
If I was careful enough, I thought I might be able to access the main hallway from the
apartment down below so I slowly made my way down the collapsed floor.
The dust showed no signs of clearing and I could only see a short distance ahead of me.
As I reached the floor below, I saw that the main hallway was also blocked but surprisingly
the exterior wall had collapsed leaving a large opening that most likely lead outside.
I decided to just keep going and at last, I got a sense that I was heading in the right
direction as I spotted two lights in the distance.
I walked cautiously towards the lights being careful not to fall on the scattered debris.
I was shocked to realize that I had already reached one of the surrounding streets and
that the two lights were actually coming from an abandoned car.
Things seemed a little clearer now, although it was still dark and the lights were out.
I looked behind me and finally got to witness the full scope of what happened and how lucky
I was to still be alive.
And then I started thinking.
If my bed had remained in the center of my apartment, I would have fallen right through
the floor as it collapsed.
Survivors guilt, a lingering sense of gratitude towards something I could not understand or
even share with anyone.
I knew these things would hold me back, but that eventually, I would move on.
But deep down I knew that whatever spirit, demon or ghost that had decided to intervene
that night, may have other plans for me and that only time would tell.