The fear that lingers

The rest of the night passed in uneasy silence. Sana lay awake, her body curled stiffly under the blanket, her back pressed against the headboard. Every tiny creak of the dorm, every shift of the wind outside, sent a shiver down her spine.

She kept her eyes fixed on the wardrobe, on the darkness beneath it. It looked still now, just an ordinary piece of furniture. But she couldn't shake the feeling that something had been there. That something had touched her.

It wasn't just a nightmare. It wasn't just her imagination.

Something had crawled towards her. Something had breathed against her neck.

She swallowed hard, gripping the edges of her blanket. Should I wake them up? Should I tell them?

Her pride wouldn't let her.

She had dismissed Maya and Liya's experiences so easily, calling them overactive imaginations, coincidences. She had rolled her eyes at their fear.

Now, she was the one terrified.

Sana closed her eyes and took a slow, steadying breath. It's morning soon. Just hold on.

---

A few hours later, the alarm blared through the dorm room, making Sana flinch. Liya groaned and smacked her phone to silence it.

Maya sat up, stretching and rubbing her eyes. "Ugh, that felt like two minutes of sleep."

Liya yawned. "Same. I had a hard time falling asleep after what happened last night."

Sana stayed quiet, her gaze flickering to the wardrobe.

Maya noticed. "Sana? You okay?"

She hesitated. "Yeah… just tired."

Maya tilted her head, studying her. "Are you sure?"

Sana forced a small smirk. "I told you guys, all this ghost talk is getting to your heads. Now it's even affecting me." She laughed, but it was dry, forced.

Maya didn't look convinced. "Sana… you're pale."

"I said I'm fine." Her tone was sharper than she intended, making Maya and Liya exchange glances.

Liya groaned and got out of bed. "Well, if we're all 'fine,' let's get ready. I'm starving."

Sana nodded quickly, grabbing her things and heading to the bathroom first. She needed space. She needed to breathe.

But as she closed the bathroom door behind her, she paused.

The mirror above the sink was slightly fogged up, but they hadn't used hot water yet.

And in the center of the glass, written in the condensation....

"I SEE YOU."

Sana stumbled back, her breath catching in her throat.

Her own reflection stared back at her, wide-eyed and frozen.

She wiped at the words with trembling fingers. They smeared slightly but didn't fade completely.

She wasn't imagining this.

Something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

And no matter how much she told herself otherwise...

She wasn't sure if she could ignore it anymore.

Sana stared at the words on the mirror, her breath coming in shallow, uneven gasps. "I SEE YOU."

The letters still clung faintly to the glass, smudged but unmistakable.

Her fingers trembled as she wiped at them again, harder this time, until all that remained was the streaky reflection of her own pale face.

This isn't real. This isn't real.

It had to be some condensation trick. Some weird leftover smudge from before.

She took a shaky breath and turned on the sink, splashing cold water on her face. The icy sting grounded her for a moment.

But when she looked up again, her own reflection… didn't move right away.

Her heart nearly stopped.

For a split second... just a fraction of a second... her reflection was delayed.

It blinked just a moment too late. Tilted its head slightly after she did.

Sana yanked her gaze away from the mirror, her hands gripping the edge of the sink.

No. I'm just paranoid.

She squeezed her eyes shut, took another deep breath, and forced herself to act normal. She couldn't let this get to her.

With stiff movements, she grabbed her toothbrush and went about her routine, not looking at the mirror again.

But even as she brushed, she felt it.

A strange weight pressing down on the room.

Like she wasn't alone.

---

By the time she stepped out of the bathroom, she had forced her expression into something neutral. Liya was busy scrolling through her phone, while Maya was tying her hair into a ponytail.

"Finally," Liya groaned. "I swear you took an eternity."

Sana forced a laugh. "What, you timing me now?"

Liya smirked. "Nah, but if you took any longer, I was gonna start charging you rent for that bathroom."

Maya chuckled, but her eyes lingered on Sana. "You okay? You look kinda off."

Sana hesitated.

For a second, she almost wanted to tell them. To tell them about the mirror, about the words, about the way her reflection lagged behind.

But she swallowed it down.

It was nothing. Just her mind playing tricks.

So she rolled her eyes. "You guys keep saying that. Do I really look that bad in the mornings?"

Maya let out a small laugh. "Fine, fine. But seriously, tell us if something's up, okay?"

Sana nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Now let's go, I need coffee before I die."

She grabbed her things and walked toward the door. But before stepping out, she hesitated for a fraction of a second,

And glanced back toward the bathroom mirror.

The door was slightly ajar.

From this angle, she could see just a sliver of the reflection inside.

And for a moment, just a fleeting moment, she thought she saw someone standing there.

Someone who wasn't her.

Sana slammed the door shut and marched out of the room.

She wasn't going to think about it.

She wasn't going to let this fear win.