Chapter 5

It was late in the night when Jennet awoke from her sleep. She heard the sound of the running water from the darkened bathroom.

While turning her head to the side, she slowly propelled herself into a seating position on the bed. Her brows furrowed, ‘Did I forget to turn off the shower head?’ she questioned herself.

She flipped the quilt and slowly stepped out from the bed. Slipping in her slippers, she approached the bathroom. As soon as she pushed open the bathroom door, hot steams gushed out, wrapping her exposed skin with the warm sensation. Suddenly, her heart accelerated. The hair behind her back stood steadily as goosebumps appeared all over her body.

She halted where she stood and peeped inside the bathroom. But, there was nothing she could see.

Inhaling and exhaling slowly to calm her heart, she finally stepped into the bathroom. However, she came to a halt again when she saw a tall figure behind the fogged glass in the shower area. The unknown figure was standing under the running shower.

Muffling her voice from letting out a scream, she stepped back a few paces and reached for the light switch.

Click! Click!

She kept switching but, no lights emerged from the lightbulbs. She glanced at the switch and cursed angrily. ‘Why now the bulb has to be so problematic?!’

She was too absorbed in cursing the light switch when the running water suddenly came to a stop. She turned towards the shower area. She squinted her eyes to have a better look.

The tall figure was not there anymore!

She pressed on the light switch again but, still, nothing happened. Frowning, she looked around in the hope to satisfy her curiosity. However, the shower area was empty.

She gulped silently and stepped backward slowly. ‘I must have imagined something ridiculous!’ She chuckled over her paranoia.

When she was about to turn around, something fell to the floor. She jolted in fright and immediately looked back. “Anybody there?" she called out loudly.

Her little heart squealed in fright. The hair behind her back standing again!

Her hand trembled as she reached out and pushed the glass door open. She stretched her neck towards the shower area with wide eyes as she scanned the perimeter keenly. However, there was nothing on the floor. Even weirder, the floor was not wet although she saw the water running from the showerhead minutes ago!

She shook her head as she chuckled feeling overwhelmed. ‘I better go back to sleep!’

She hurriedly left the darkened bathroom in long strides with one hand clutched tightly on her shirt. She closed the door and headed straight to her bed. After jumping on the bed, she went under the cover and pulled it over her head with eyes closed tightly.

‘Go to sleep, go to sleep!’ she chanted the magic word-ish continuously in her head. She was so silent on the bed as she fought with herself to go to sleep.

However, the silence inside the huge room was broken by the sound of the glass door’s hinges creaking slowly.

Jennet opened her eyes widely when her sensitive ears caught the sound. From the sound alone she could already imagined someone pushing the door open widely.

She closed her eyes again and plugged her ears with her fingers. ‘Go to sleep, go to sleep. I need to wake up early tomorrow!’

Although she was frightened to death, she didn’t dare to move from the bed. She laid still under the cover and pretended to be sleeping soundly.

The sound of the door creaking died and silence filled the room again. It was a type of silence that agonized anyone who had to feel their adrenaline rushing while feeling helpless.

Suddenly, movements came from behind her, as if someone was climbing the bed. Jennet shut her eyes tighter while biting hard on her lower lips, preventing herself from screaming, which could expose her to possible danger.

Goosebumps appeared all over her body when the movements stopped just behind her. Even more depressing, she could feel the cold breeze flew above the cover.

Something was enveloping her!

The woman didn't even move a muscle and laid still like a log. She pretended to be fast asleep. However, after some time had passed, she started to feel stuffy. She wanted to pry her head out to get a breather but, she hesitated because she feared to be exposed to the unknown trespasser.

So, she kept silent for another long minute, staying alert and waiting for another movement just in case the other party would give up on waiting. But nothing happened like how she wanted.

After quite some time passed, she couldn’t stand the stuffiness. She pulled the cover down her face slowly, and as she finally sensed the cold air, she inhaled deeply.

When she opened her eyes to check on her surrounding, she was startled to see long golden hair over her. She reached out from under the cover to flick the hair away but…

A fair hand suddenly grabbed her hand from behind and she immediately let out a long and desperate scream.

Kringgg!

Jennet jerked awake from her deep sleep along with a desperate gasp. She stared at the white ceiling making sure she was back to reality. Then, she turned her head to the side, looking at the tightly closed bathroom door. Even the bathroom was empty.

She immediately sat on the bed and reached for her phone on the bedside table. The time displayed on the screen was six o’clock in the morning. She turned the alarm off and sat on the bed for a while to steady her pounding heart. When she cupped her face with her palms, she sighed in relief. "It was just a dream." She exhaled a long breath.

She looked back at the bathroom again. After contemplating for some time, she finally shook her head with a smile, ‘It was all a wild dream.’

She stepped out of the bed and pulled the curtains. The sun has not risen yet but the sky was beautifully painted in pale white. The green trees were enveloped in the embrace of the morning mists.

She pushed the sliding door to the side, went to the balcony, and hugged her arms as coldness embraced her from every direction. She stared out, watching the horizon that was all green while inhaling a few refreshing breaths to clear her mind from the bad dream she had. At the same time, she enjoyed the silence in the early morning.

'I must think about how I will manage my work as soon as I report duty today,' she whispered to herself, distracting her mind. She would be facing that two-faced woman at work, and she had to prepare herself for the worst treatment that she may come across.

From a distance, hidden behind a tree close to the villa, an old woman wrapped in a black knitted robe, was staring at the woman, who was standing at the balcony of the villa. Her watchful eyes caught the glimpse of a tall figure standing behind the woman, embracing her from behind.

"A newcomer," she whispered.

With a smile on her face, she took a few steps back before turning around and disappeared into the forest.

Her happy giggles resounded in the wind after her disappearance.

…