I lay in my bed, silent and still as I look towards my closet. The light was spilling through the bottom. I made sure to turn it off before I went to sleep. This has been happening for a while now; I was almost used to it. Almost. I was almost accustomed to my closet door creaking open every night to reveal a faceless, shadowy figure. Not to my surprise, the same thing happened tonight. The figure emerged and walked, almost floated, closer to my bed. I cowered under my sheets, squirming to the other side of my bed, almost falling off in the process.
“Wh-what do you want?” I stammered
It didn’t answer. It never did. It just stood there, its featureless face boring into my terrified one. I tried to scream, but no sound came out. As always. I grabbed my iPhone from my nightstand with shaking hands without breaking my stare with the figure. I opened the camera function and pointed it at the… Thing… And pressed the screen to take a picture. The light flashed, and the figure was gone. I could never get proof. Never. The dang thing was smart.
I woke up the next morning and walked to my bathroom to look in the mirror. I looked like a mess; my short, black hair sticking up in all directions, my makeup smeared from me failing to take it off the night before, giving me the look of a raccoon, even though under my eyes were always dark anyway because of the bags under them. I trudged down the stairs to find my dad sipping his coffee and reading the newspaper.

“Did you sleep at all last night?” My dad asked, seeing my dead eyes.

I glared at him. He asks this every single day, “Do I ever?”

He sighed and looked defeated “You need to get over this fear, Sarah. You’re too old to be scared of some ‘monster in the closet’”

“Dad, you have no clue what it’s like. This isn’t the ‘boogyman’ or something. I see it every night! And… And…” I started getting light headed and had to grip the countertop to regain my balance.

“Sarah? Are you okay? Sarah?”

I felt my dad grip my arm. This was the last thing I remembered before blacking out.


I woke up to blinding white lights, loud beeps, and needles in my arms.

“She’s awake.” I heard who I assumed to be a nurse announce.

I heard shuffling, then I felt two hands grasp mine. I couldn’t see the faces clearly since the lights disoriented me, but I presumed they belonged to my parents.

“Sweetie, are you alright? Do you remember who I am?” My mother asked in a scratchy voice. It sounded as if she had been crying.

“Yeah, I’m fine. And of course I remember you, mom!” I replied groggily

A grin spread across her lips as she kissed me on the forehead. Then I looked to my father, who was smiling down at me.

“I’m so glad you’re awake, Sarah. We were so scared.”


The next week, they finally let me go home. Turns out, I had been in a coma for a little over two weeks. They don’t know the concrete reason yet, but I’m going to guess it had to do with the fact that I hadn’t really slept in over a month. I almost didn’t want to leave the hospital; I wasn’t looking forward to more countless, sleepless nights.

I expected that night to be terrible like they always were, but the only thing I remember when I woke up was my head hitting the pillow. I forgot how good it felt to actually have a good night’s sleep in my own bed.

When I got downstairs, there was an older, balding man in a suit sitting at our kitchen counter drinking a cup of black coffee with my dad. I paused on the step I was on and eyed my father quizzically. A warm grin spread across his face.

“Sarah, honey! Good morning! This is Dr. Jonathan Walker, your new psychologist!”
I looked at him in shock. “Psy-psychologist?” I clarified in a shaky voice.
My dad’s smile faltered
“Yes, honey. Psychologist. After your fainting incident, your mother and I decided it would be in your best interest if we seeked out help for you.”
The psychologist, Dr. Walker, continued after my dad was finished, “Yes, Sarah. After hearing your story, it seems necessary to put you through therapy sessions. We can find out what causes your delusions, and maybe even put an end to them.”
Both my father and Dr. Walker were smiling at me like I was a small child. I didn’t like it.
“De-delusions!? You guys are treating me like I’m crazy! There’s no way this thing is a delusion! It’s way too real!” I yelled, balling up my fists in rage.
My dad walked towards me and put his hands on my shoulders. I shook him off.
“Honey, it’s okay. You’re not alone. There are plenty of other people suffering from the same thing as-”
I cut him off by screeching, “Just stop it already, stop!”
I put my hands up to my head to try and stop the pounding in my brain. It seemed like the room was spinning.
“Sarah, it’s okay, please don’t make this difficult.” He paused, waiting for my response. But I couldn’t even bring myself to speak. “Honey, are you alright?”
My vision clouded. I screamed, “Leave me alone!” And sprinted up the stairs two steps at a time.
“Sarah!” I heard my dad yell at me. “I’m sorry about this.” He dropped his voice to a whisper to talk to Dr. Walker.
I ran into my room and slammed the door as I jumped onto my bed, burying my face into my pillow. They think crazy. Delirious. Insane. Delusional. My own parents got me a psychologist. What if they send me to an asylum or something? What if I never get to see my friends and family again?

“Honey, open this door right now!” My dad demanded, pounding on the door.

I groaned, grudgingly getting up and trying to calm down. I took a deep breath and opened my door to reveal my grimacing father.

“Your attitude is atrocious. Imagine what Dr. Walker thinks. You’re making this a much bigger deal than it really is.” My dad whispered harshly, grabbing my arm and pulling me down the stairs. I sighed and braced myself for whatever the psychologist was going to tell me.

Dr. Walker scrunched up his forehead and said, “Sarah, you’re not going to like this, and I hope you’re not too upset, but…” He paused, “You want to tell her?” He looked to my dad.

It felt like my heart was in my throat.

“Sarah… I’m just going to tell you. Your mother and I have decided to send you to Polk Boarding School. It’s a boarding school for teens just like you.”

I was speechless. Boarding school. Teens like me. This can’t be happening.

“I… No… You Can’t…” I stammered.

“C’mon, let’s go.” My father said, placing his hands firmly on my shoulder and pushing me towards the door. I was too shocked to even struggle.

So now here I am. On my way to boarding school. Filled with “teens like me.” Away from everyone and everything I love. And I can’t do anything about it. Why did I have to open my mouth about the figure in the first place? I could’ve suffered through it. And I’d be at home right now.

Now I’m here. In this car. With a psychologist. On my way to boarding school. Every girl’s dream, right?