The Window
During my college years, I worked part-time at a convenience store near my apartment. I moved out of that apartment years ago due to an incident.
It had been one of my usual night shifts. The store was practically empty except for three other employees and me. Customers came in, bought stuff, and left or made some small talk. It was one of those nights when I felt like I would clock out early. I was also feeling quite sleepy.
As I was about to doze off, the soft melody of someone entering the store woke me up. It was a man wearing almost all black. Almost. His hood was down, and I saw his exhausted and unshaven face. His eyes looked blank as he stared right at me. Maybe he was just zoning out.
I watched as he circled the shelves, seemingly not looking for anything particular. Then he kept glancing at me every 5 seconds. It was starting to get more than a little creepy and unnerving. Finally, he came up to the counter with a few items. I scanned them and placed them in a plastic bag, then handed them to him. Throughout the entire thing, he kept that empty gaze at me, as if...looking for something.
Then, without a word, he left. The whole interaction made this weird feeling settle in my gut, but I continued. After an hour, I clocked out and gathered my stuff to go home. I usually walk home with one of my coworkers, but I was the last one to clock out, so I ended up walking alone.
As I walked down the dark streets lit only by the streetlights, I had an odd feeling, like someone was behind me, but when I turned around to look, no one was there. It was probably my paranoia taking over.
When I finally reached my apartment, I changed my clothes and immediately headed to bed. Hours passed, and I was awoken to this soft tapping sound outside my window. The curtains were drawn, and it seemed like someone was outside...
I thought ignoring might make it stop, but then the banging became louder and louder. I pulled the blanket over my head and prayed for the noises to stop. I was so caught up in my muttered prayers that...I hadn't noticed that the pounding had stopped. I carefully peeked out from the covers and waited...
But nothing happened, so I fell back asleep. Morning had arrived, and I woke up late, as usual. I ignored breakfast entirely and threw on my casual outfit. Luckily, I hadn't missed the bus, so I quickly hopped on and plugged my earphones in. Then my thoughts strayed to the tapping noise last night, must've been a tree. My day at college was as boring as I expected it to be, and I was itching to go home already.
When the day finally came to an end, I was getting impatient to wait for the last bus. Then I remembered that the last few buses would be delayed due to bad weather. Just what I needed, but I was already outside the campus. I'm sure waiting a bit at the stop wouldn't hurt, so I sat down and listened to my music. Then the feeling of being watched suddenly came over me. I looked around but saw no one. My anxiety kept increasing, and the feeling intensified.
I instantly felt relieved when the bus arrived, and I didn't waste a second jumping in. I looked out the window and could've sworn I saw a single silhouette in the distance before it vanished. Did I see that, or was I imagining it?
I had hopped off the bus and went inside. I passed by my window, which still had the curtains drawn. For some reason, I felt a sense of curiosity. Was it really the trees?
I held my breath and mentally braced myself for whatever I would find on the other side of my window and pulled the curtains aside. Nothing. Nothing was on the other side except for...handprints and a sticky note. I leaned closer, and it read, "You really should watch yourself." That sent a chill down my spine. I was starting to freak out, but I headed to bed anyway.
This continued for at least a couple of days, the tapping, the sticky notes...I would even find dozens of them. At first, I just thought it might've been one of my neighbors being petty, but...I was starting to think that it might be a stalker. So, one night, I moved out and called the police. They said they hadn't found anything other than the sticky notes.
A couple of days went by, and I got a call from the policewoman who said that another man had moved into my room. The day after, he was murdered. Luckily, they found the figure. He was the same creep I saw on my night shift.
But there was one detail that I still think about to this day...I lived on the third floor.
