Chapter : Realisation

3rd POV

[6:30 am] In the USA 

Mifa woke up early in the morning as the bright sunlight creeping through the curtains gently nudged her into consciousness. Still feeling groggy from a restless night's sleep, she yawned and stretched, hoping to shake off the remnants of her bad dreams from the night before.

As she rubbed her tired eyes, Mifa suddenly froze. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw what appeared to be a male ghostly figure slowly walking outside her window. It couldn't be, could it? Was the vision from her nightmares that always seemed so real actually happening in front of her?

Without thinking, she pulled back the curtains fully to get a better view. Her heart racing, Mifa stared at the strange figure as it slowly faded away into the morning light. Her mind whirled with disbelief as she tried to come to terms with what she had seen.

'Wait what, does that mean what happened last night was real, not a nightmare!!!'

Mifa then felt movement beneath her blanket and panicked for a second, before realizing that it was just a baby ghostly figure that looked like an old man, curled up on her lap and sucking its thumb while sleeping. She couldn't believe that this was becoming her everyday normal; that these ghostly apparitions were becoming a part of her life.

'Oh God help me.'

Disturbed, Mifa decided she needed to focus on getting ready for school. She quickly pushed aside the blankets and made her way to the bathroom. As she brushed her teeth and combed her hair, she tried to shake off the eerie feeling that the morning's events had left with her.

She got up from her bed then and prepared to go to school: Brushing her teeth, combing her hair, changing from her night clothes into her school uniform, and putting on sneakers.

Mifa then changed out of her pajamas into her school uniform and slipped on her sneakers. Ready to face the day, she took one last deep breath and headed outside, determined to shake off the spooky events of the morning and focus on her studies.

                                      ☯︎

[ 7:05 am ] at STEM Academy 

Mifa arrived at school with ten minutes to spare before class began. As she walked down the hallway, she was preoccupied with her thoughts, mostly focused on her impending coursework. A tendency to either look down or be enthusiastic was a characteristic that often defined Mifa's behavior.

Suddenly, a set of arms wrapped itself around Mifa's body, pressing large, round breasts against her back. A familiar voice shouted out, "MIFA!" confirming the presence of one of her closest friends, Shalu.

Mifa turned around to face her friend, a slight smile appearing on her lips,"Hi Shalu." 

Shalu circled around her, giggling at the familiarity of her behavior. "So you guessed right again Mifa~" Shalu said playfully while giving her friend a playful nudge.

"Of course..." Mifa scanned her surroundings, looking for a particular someone. "Where is Nash?" she inquired.

Shalu responded, "She took an early leave. Did you forget?"

Mifa's mind went blank, as it had nearly slipped her mind that Nash left early for summer break,"Oh yeah." Although she felt a twinge of guilt for forgetting, she brushed it aside and continued to focus on the tasks at hand.

                                      ☯︎

[3 hours later]

Mifa sat slouched in her seat, her eyes drooping with exhaustion. She had been struggling with nightmares for the past week, and her lack of quality sleep had started to take a toll on her. Unconsciously, she had dozed off during class.

Mi-

Mif-

"Mifa!!"

"ahhh- wait what?" As she was roused from her sleep by her friend, Mifa's bleary eyes opened to the sight of her friend's concerned face. She tried to shake the sleep away from her mind as she heard her friend inform her that it was lunchtime.

"Mifa," her friend repeated, concern etched on her face. "You fell asleep during the lesson, get up it is lunchtime now."

Mifa was initially disoriented, but she quickly came to her senses. She looked around the classroom and realized that most of her classmates had already left for lunch. She groggily rubbed her eyes and gathered her bag, ready to leave for the cafeteria.

'I fell asleep in class .Oh those nightmares are killing me now,' Mifa thought. 

Her friend looked at her with concern and said, "Are you okay? You seem tired lately."

Mifa nodded wearily, not wanting to talk about her nightmares. She needed some time to figure everything out. "You go first. I need to use the washroom now," Mifa said tiredly, hoping her friend wouldn't press the issue.

"Ok but don't be late," Shalu admonished as she walked out of the room.

Mifa took a few moments alone to steel herself before getting up to make her way to the washroom.

                                      ☯︎

She eventually found one after 5 minutes, and she went in there alone and quickly went in.

After relieving herself, she approached the sink to wash her hands. She then splashed some water on her face.

'Damn it was hot today.'

As she examined herself in the mirror, a schoolgirl in a STEM Academy uniform suddenly appeared behind her. The girl had long black hair and a smile that stretched unnaturally from ear to ear. Mifa blinked and was about to open up her mouth to speak to that girl when her neck snapped, lolling to the side as the skin rotted away.

'No No No. Why?! Not again, why is it happening again in daylight?! No No. God, please save me. Save me!!'

Mifa was paralyzed with fear, unable to move or scream. She begged God for help, but before she knew it, the girl reached out to touch her shoulder. Mifa's knees began to shake uncontrollably, and she felt tears starting to sting her eyes.

*BAM!*

At the exact moment the door to the restroom swung open, a few of Mifa's classmates walked in, giggling and chatting. The sudden noise made Mifa flinch, and she turned to look for the girl, only to find her gone. 

Mifa's classmates looked at her, bewildered by her crying and shaken state. They realized they had frightened her and apologized,"Omg Mifa, did we scare you? We are so sorry- Wait. Why are you crying?" but couldn't understand why she was in such a state. 

Mifa managed to gasp out her gratitude,"Thank you. You saved me!!"

Thanking her classmates for saving her from the ghostly apparition she had encountered.

Despite her classmates' attempts to comfort her, Mifa couldn't shake the fear that the girl ghost would return. She knew that it wasn't the first time she had experienced a malevolent presence, and she was terrified that it wouldn't be the last. Despite her attempts to put on a brave face, the memory of the girl with the rotting face continued to haunt her.