It was the school holidays and I was staying with my aunt Nafisa and cousin Asad. We often visit one another and stay at each other’s house during the holidays.
Asad and I enjoy watching horror movies and telling ghost stories to each other. On the first night at her house we huddled together on the living room couch to watch a hair-raising movie. Auntie Nafisah allowed us to stay up late as it was vacation time. But before she went to bed she said, ‘Don’t you have nightmares tonight!’
After the movie we went to bed. I slept in Asad’s room. In the middle of the night I got up to go to the toilet. There is one adjoining the bedroom. As Asad was sleeping peacefully and even snoring gently, I did not want to wake her by switching on the light. I groped my way into the bathroom, leaving the door slightly ajar when I was inside. Later, as I was returning to the bedroom, I couldn’t open the door wider. I pushed, but the door did not budge. Not only did the door not give way, but it was like there was someone or something tugging it from the other side. A chill went down my spine. I tried to pull the door shut but it again resisted. I even forgot where the light switches were! It was dark and threatening. Panicking, I screamed for help. That woke Asad up. My aunt heard the screams too.
I would have fainted if Asad had not switched on the lights. What she found was that the doormat had accidentally got stuck under the door on the bedroom side. Therefore it was impossible for me to move the door either way. When she told me what had happened, I collapsed on the bed, laughing and crying at the same time.
It was impossible for either of us to go back to bed after that. We left a bedside lamp on and talked about the events of the night until daybreak. That incident was more frightful than any horror movie I had seen.
ajar slightly open
budge move