Home alone and a strange man walks in on me.

(Warning: Long) When I was about 11 or 12 my parents went on a short weekend trip up to San Francisco to visit my grandparents who were up there at the time on an extended vacation. My dad and his sister were very close, so she convinced my parents to let me stay with her. It was a three bedroom house, large living room and kitchen, perfect for her husband and three kids. There was an attached double garage that was sectioned off in the middle. On one side my uncle had his office and on the other side they had a guest bedroom that you could enter from the laundry room. This was where I would be staying for the weekend. I was sharing a bunk bed with my cousin, my aunt’s eldest who was about the same age as me. The guest bedroom had it’s own bathroom so we wouldn’t have to walk through the house in the middle of the night. The first night my aunt and uncle went to bed a little earlier than usual. My cousin and I were still chatting when he whispered to me “Be careful tonight.” I asked him what he meant. He said that the previous weekend when he had stayed in the guest room with his siblings their grandma had walked into the room late in the night. He said she told them to “get ready.” My cousin had woken up to the sound of the door opening and when he looked over he saw his grandma standing there just staring at them. When he asked her what she was doing she said she thought they were ready to go. But they had no plans. No idea what she was talking about. And they were all in bed sleeping. My cousin thought it was weird but funny, so he didn’t mention it to anyone. Didn’t want to get his grandma in trouble. But now he was worried about me. He told me to just be careful tonight. I thought he was joking. I fell asleep pretty quickly and didn’t wake up until I heard the door open. I was in the bottom bunk. My cousin was fast asleep in the top. I was groggy and half asleep when I turned over to see an older lady standing in the doorway. She looked familiar but I couldn’t quite place her. I remember thinking it was my grandma. But I knew she was in San Francisco. I sat up a little when she took a couple steps closer to the bed. That’s when I realized this wasn’t my grandma. It was my aunt’s mother. We called her “Nana.” I had never met her before. But I recognized her from photos and knew she lived in the state somewhere. I had no idea how close until that moment. I was confused and still half asleep when she approached the bunk bed. I didn’t know what to do. When she got closer I noticed she had a small blanket in her arms. I remember thinking that was weird. Then she said “Let’s go.” I tried to respond but all that came out was gibberish. She looked at me sternly and said “Come on, you’re ready. Let’s go.” I finally found my voice and said “I’m sleepy.” She said “Fine. I’ll wait.” And she sat down on the bed next to me. When she sat down I saw a glint of light reflecting off of the knife she had in her hand. She was holding it close to her body, pointing down at the ground. That’s when I realized she was holding the knife and the blanket. I panicked and tried to get away but she grabbed me and held me in place. I tried to scream but she covered my mouth with her hand and told me to be quiet. There was no one to help me. I was on the other side of the house from my aunt, uncle and cousins. No one would hear me. I knew that. And so did Nana. I remember trying to struggle. I kicked my legs and flailed my arms but she held me in place with one hand. I was so scared. I didn’t know what she was planning to do. I didn’t know why she was there. But I knew I had to get away. I had to get out of there. We struggled for what felt like forever. In reality it was probably seconds. I finally managed to push her off of me and fell out of bed onto the floor, landing on my elbow. I cried out in pain and rolled onto my back. That’s when Nana turned into a monster. Her eyes rolled back in her head, she started screaming and convulsing and collapsed to the ground. When she fell she dropped the knife. It landed on the carpet just a few feet away from me. I saw it and froze. I thought she was playing a trick on me. I thought she was going to jump up and stab me. But she stayed on the ground. She wasn’t moving. I started to feel more brave. So I crawled backward and reached up to the nightstand and turned on the lamp. When the light flickered on Nana was still on the ground. She was still. Not moving. Eyes closed. I stood up and backed away slowly. I walked backward to the door and flipped the light switch and turned to run. I didn’t stop until I got to my aunt and uncle’s bedroom. I flipped on the light and ran in, jumping onto their bed. My aunt screamed and my uncle groggily sat up and asked me what I was doing. I told him to check on Nana. I told him she was on the floor and not moving. My aunt got out of bed and followed my uncle to the guest bedroom. A few minutes later my uncle came back to their bedroom alone and asked me what had happened. He said my aunt was taking Nana to the hospital. I told him everything. The whole story. From my cousin’s warning to Nana collapsing on the floor. My uncle listened silently until I was finished. Then he called my parents and told them everything I had just told him. My parents came to pick me up the next day. Neither of them had slept the entire night. They told me Nana had died the night before. I asked what had happened. They told me she had a stroke and died on the way to the hospital. Then my dad asked me about the knife. My uncle had told him about the knife I mentioned in my story. I confirmed that yes, she had a knife. And she collapsed when I turned on the light. I asked if that had contributed to her death. My dad told me they would never really know. They would do an autopsy but it would probably show that she had the stroke first and the fall is what killed her. Nana’s death was ruled an accident. She was buried in a nearby cemetery and my aunt and family went on with their lives like nothing had ever happened. Like Nana had never walked into that room with a knife and a blanket. Nothing was ever mentioned about it again. And I never spent the night over there again. Nana, this is our Let’s Not Meet story. I hope you can’t read this from the other side. But if you can, just know that I’m staying on the other side of the country from now on.

Home alone and a strange man walks in on me.

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