"The Intruder" by Victoria Romão Nóbrega ('23)

It was a dark and stormy night. As I closed the window, I could see the big drops of rain falling against the trees. I grabbed my cup of hot chocolate, turned off the kitchen light, and headed to the library. The walls were covered with books. There was a huge window seat and my favorite blanket. I walked to the closest bookshelf to grab the book I was reading. Something about missing girls and solving a murder. I got comfortable in my seat and started reading my book. This was exciting: he was about to grab her and then…

Suddenly, I woke up. A loud noise came from the kitchen. Maybe I left the window open? No, I closed it. Someone is in the house. I started to shake, I was sweating, and I could hear my heart pounding. I should run. No. I stood up, grabbed the heaviest book I could find and headed downstairs. I got off the stairs. I heard a noise right behind me. I turned as fast as the lightning lighted up the house. “YOU?!” They faced me clearly wanting me to see them. My eyes were wide like the moon. I felt I should run but I couldn’t move. I was frozen. They smiled, that perfect smile that I knew almost too well. I could hear my heart pounding loudly in my ears. Then they laughed as I started to shake and launched themselves into my direction. A thunder noise blasted through my ears and everything was dark.

I screamed louder than ever. I opened my eyes; everything was dark. My legs were shaking, and my heart was pounding. I was still at the window seat, with my blanket. The cocoa was now cold, the house was quieter than before. I looked outside and only the stars faced me now, and I knew: the intruder existed only in my nightmares.