I woke up to a strange man sitting on my bed. Just days later, I saw him on the news.

Like many people, I walked into 2020 feeling inspired and optimistic. It was the start of a new decade, and I was expecting a fresh era of greatness. I think you can probably guess where I’m going with this. When the pandemic began spreading throughout the United States, I knew I would be staying home from work all Spring. Alas, it looked like I was about to experience the least interesting year of my young life. <br><br>I yet had no idea just how wrong my predictions would prove to be. <br><br>I was on the phone with my boyfriend when it happened. It was the second week of March, and I had already begun staying home from work to avoid the coronavirus. <br><br>I had fallen asleep early that night, and the sound of my phone ringing woke me up. It was my boyfriend calling me from his work. We were chatting for a while, laughing, when I heard a noise behind me. I was in bed, so whoever it was had to be standing right behind me. I turned my head to look. <br><br>There was a strange man sitting on the edge of my bed. I never would have believed it if I didn’t see it for myself. I froze in shock, barely remembering that I was on the phone. <br><br>“What?...What?” my boyfriend asked on the other end. “You okay?” <br><br>I couldn’t speak, my voice paralyzed in my throat. <br><br>The man wasn’t looking at me. He was looking at the wall, his eyes fixed on some invisible target. “No!” he shouted, in a deep voice. “It’s mine now!” <br><br>“What?!” my boyfriend shouted back on the other end. “Baby, what’s wrong?”<br><br>My eyes fixed on the man, my phone still held to my ear. Was this real? I had to be dreaming, no such thing could ever happen. But here he was, a total stranger, sitting on the edge of my bed. <br><br>“Ahh!” I finally shouted, loud enough for my boyfriend to hear. <br><br>“What’s wrong?!” He shouted back, and then the line went dead. I lost all feeling in my body, except for the feeling of numbness. <br><br>The man was still shouting at the wall, not acknowledging me at all. I finally mustered up the energy to move, to get out of bed and run out of the room. I didn’t make it very far, but I managed to get to the other side of the room before the man stood up and tried to grab me. <br><br>I tried to push him away, but I realized quickly I was no match for him. He was a grown man, and even if he wasn’t a strong one, he still wasn’t within my strength capabilities to push away. <br><br>I knew I had to run, or I’d be dead. I somehow managed to absorb his blow and knock him to the ground, but as he fell, he still managed to knock the wind out of me. I felt as if I had been punched in the chest. I stumbled backwards, gasping for breath, when I felt the man grab me again. <br><br>My dog saw what was happening and charged at the man, barking. The man let go of me and retreated, and I took advantage of the opportunity to run out of my room as fast as possible. My boyfriend called back, asking me what was wrong. I was still struggling for breath, but I managed to tell him what was happening. <br><br>“Call 911,” he told me. I found my parent’s phone on the ground and dialed the number. <br><br>“911, what is your emergency?” <br><br>“There is a strange man in my house!” I shouted, huffing for breath, trying to keep calm. <br><br>“Okay, stay calm. Can you give me your address?”<br><br>I was so stressed, I couldn’t remember it. “Uh...Uh....” I stuttered, and then my boyfriend reminded me on the other line. I never would have remembered it otherwise. I thought I was going to die. I thought my time had come. <br><br>“Do you see the intruder?” the operator asked. “Stay away from him.” <br><br>“Yes,” I said. “He’s in the hallway.” I peaked around the corner, looking for the man. Just to make sure he wasn’t right behind me. I saw him, walking toward me. I backed away and went into my parent’s room. <br><br>“Where are you?” the operator asked. “Are you in your room?”<br><br>“No,” I said. “My parents room.” <br><br>“So is your father there?”<br><br>“No.” I said. “Yeah, only me.”<br><br>“How old are you?” the operator asked. “Is there an adult with you?”<br><br>“No,” I replied. “I’m an adult.” <br><br>“Oh, so you’re alone in the house?”<br><br>“Yes,” I said. “But my boyfriend is on the other line.” <br><br>I was talking to the operator, my boyfriend, and trying to keep an ear open to hear the man coming. This was the worst day of my life. <br><br>Suddenly, my dog began barking again. I heard the man charge down the hallway, and then I heard a window shatter. <br><br>“What was that?” The operator asked. “Are you okay?”<br><br>“I think the intruder jumped out the window,” I said. <br><br>“Okay, stay where you are. The police are on their way.” <br><br>We waited for about 5 minutes. I was still shaking in fear. I was hoping the man was gone, but I couldn’t be sure he hadn’t found another way into the house. It was a long 5 minutes. <br><br>“Okay, you can come out now,” the operator said. “It’s okay. The police are there.” I walked out of the room and looked out the window. There was a police officer standing in our front yard. <br><br>The police searched the premises to make sure the intruder was gone, and once they were sure, they let me come out. They asked me questions. They asked me if I knew the man. <br><br>“No,” I said. “I have no idea who he is.” <br><br>They promised that they would look on the neighborhood surveillance cameras to see where he went after he left my house. They still couldn’t find him, and I was warned to lock all of my doors and windows. <br><br>Two days later, I woke up hearing my father and mother talking in the kitchen. I tried to ignore it, I was still half-asleep, but then I heard my father shout. <br><br>“What?!” He said. I finally sat up and walked out to see what it was. <br><br>“Look at this,” he said, pointing to the news. <br><br>There was a headline on the screen that read “Man arrested for breaking into homes and stabbing residents.” <br><br>I gasped and lost my breath when I saw the man’s picture. It was the same man from two days ago. <br><br>“Holy shit!” My mother shouted. “That’s him!”<br><br>“But this happened across town,” I said. “How are we sure it’s the same person?” <br><br>“There’s no way it’s not him,” my father said. “It looks exactly like him.” <br><br>I shivered at the sight of his face, remembering the feeling of his hand around my wrist. I was so glad my dog had protected me. I owe my life to him. <br><br>The police called me later that day to tell me that they were in fact the same man. He has broken into many homes in my area, and he would break in during the night, attacking the residents. He has stabbed people before, and he was likely planning to do the same to me that night. <br><br>I feel so lucky to be alive. I owe my life to my dog. <br><br>That man is now in jail, and he will hopefully stay there for decades. <br><br>The world is full of weird and scary people. I’m sure you know that by now, if you made it this far in the story. <br><br>I’ve been studying the news this past year, most of it pertaining to the coronavirus. I’m glad that my original predictions for this year were wrong. This pandemic is a reminder of the vulnerability of humanity. If there’s anything we should be afraid of, it’s not people, but germs. <br><br>The world is a messed up place, but some beauty remains. <br><br>&#x200B;