Reality

There was a hum that filled the room. It was faint, but just loud enough to annoy Tim, keeping him awake. As he tossed and turned in bed, frustrated by the noise, he heard a “click”. Raised his head, then again “click, click”. It wasn’t loud, but it sounded as if someone was flipping a switch. The room was still dark and if it was a switch to the lights outside of his room, the light would have crept through the bottom of his bedroom door. But there was nothing, just the click, and the hum. After laying his head back down, he was able to will himself back to sleep.

****

In the morning, Tim sat with his family at their dining room table for breakfast. There was his father, who sat at the head of the table, joined by his mother seated to the right of his dad. He had a little sister, who sat across from his mother, and next to him his little brother. Their dad had made breakfast that morning, French toast, his specialty. They had sides of scrambled eggs, turkey sausage, and an assortment of fruit. As the food got passed around the table, each person took a little of each item. When the eggs were passed around to Tim, he noticed his mom looking up at him from her plate, giving him a side-eye. Tim looked around, confused as to why she was giving him this cold look. But he didn’t say anything. Everyone at the table was quiet. The only sounds filling the room were the scratching of forks against glass plates and the subtle smacking of food.

The dad, in old fashion, broke the chilling silence. “Tim, how many boxes do you still have left to unpack? We’re trying to get all them broken down and recycled soon. If you need any help just let me know.” Now they had just moved into this house the week before and everyone was still getting situated. For Tim, it was taking a little longer. He was a little uncomfortable in this new environment and he overthought every little sound that he heard. From the clicking the night before to the floorboards creaking. But in fear of being ridiculed he decided to keep it to himself. A seventeen-year-old boy, afraid of little noises in the house? He knew he wouldn’t hear the end of it. “Just a few,” Tim replied. “Then I’m going to set up my desk and hang up my pictures. But I was wondering if you’ve seen one of my boxes. It should be the one with all of my books in it and I think someone moved it after I brought it down to my room.”

Tim’s mom bit back instead. Her tone was hostile. “I doubt anyone moved it. Are you even sure you brought it down in the first place?”

“Well I’m pretty sure I did, and I’ve been looking all over for it but can’t find it. Are you sure you haven’t seen it?”

“I have nothing to do with your stuff, so don’t ask me. If you don’t find it, you don’t find it. It’s your loss.”

Tim looked down at his food, trying to keep from catching his mother’s glance. There was something unsettling behind the expression on her face. It was not just anger or irritation but worry, and it was all directed towards Tim. His dad, trying to keep the room at ease, intervenes. “Just make sure you finish unpacking soon. I’m sure the box will turn up somewhere. I really just want this place to feel like home.” He turns towards his wife, placing his hand on her shoulder. “For all of us.”

For the rest of the meal, they ate in silence. Tim, stared down at his food as he picked at it, eating slowly. His siblings, completely absorbed in their phones, probably missed the entire altercation in the first place. If they had been paying enough attention to hear, they did not seem to care either way. And Tim’s parents were clearly worried about something, but they were keeping that something to themselves. A little while later Tim’s little brother, Chase, gets up from the table with his plate. Soon his sister, Loren, follows suit. Then his father. Leaving just Tim and his mother at the table alone. The tension is the only thing that remains, as they both look up at each other, waiting for the other to speak as if their voices are loaded guns. Finally, his mother shoots first.

“Can you just find your box and finish setting up your room? We’re really just trying to get settled in and we don’t want anything ruining this place for us.”

This confused Tim, the badgering was starting to aggravate him, and she could hear it in his voice. “Ruining it how? My room has nothing to do with whatever is going on with you. I live in the basement, by myself. You probably won’t ever come down there anyway. So, I don’t see why it bothers you so much.” He shot back.

The irritation left her voice letting her uneasiness come out. The desperation clear. “Please just get it done… please.” She then left her seat, leaving Tim alone at the table. This was only their second move, at least the second one that Tim had been alive for. The first one happened when he was six, but he had no memory of it. It was still strange to him though. Why his parents were so stressed about getting things together. Their worry had started to get to him, and he wondered what they were hiding.

****

A few days later and Tim found himself lying awake in bed again. He just could not get comfortable in his room. The hum appeared again that night and it seemed louder to him, which it was, but he couldn’t stop focusing on it. Since he couldn’t get himself to sleep, he reached for the phone off his nightstand. Turning it on, letting the light from the screen beam across his face. He opened Twitter and scrolled through his timeline for a while, just trying to pass time. Eventually I have to pass out from exhaustion, right, he thought. So, he didn’t bother fighting his body to fall to sleep. Once he got through every new post on Twitter, he closed the app, switching over to Instagram. Just as the multicolored logo appeared, he heard the “click”. He dropped his phone and it slid down his arm falling to the mattress. His head shot up. Looking into the dark room, startled. Tim couldn’t see anything, so he let it go, looking back to his phone. In the black mirror, he saw himself. But in the corner, behind him, he saw a face. It appeared for a second and he couldn’t make out what it looked like because it was too dark, but he knew. He saw a face.

Immediately, he jumped out of bed and turned on the flashlight to his phone. The light shown across the room. No one near the bed. In the corners? No. So, he made his way to the light switch by his door, keeping his back towards the door and the light on the rest of the room. As his hand reached, “click, click, click, click,” the flipping of a switch played rapidly. Then Tim flipped his switch and the clicking ceased. There was nothing misplaced in his room. Everything was normal. At this point, Tim wasn’t just uncomfortable, he was terrified. There was no way he was going to be able to get to sleep. The noises had stopped completely while the lights were on, but there was an eerie feeling the lingered. A feeling of uncertainty, and when Tim trekked back to his bed, getting under his covers, he couldn’t open his eyes. He was too afraid of what he might have seen if he opened them.

****

“BAM, BAM, BAM” someone was banging on Tim’s bedroom door, making him jump out of his bed from his slumber. “Timothy! I know what you did!” His mother’s voice howled from the opposite side of the door. Half-awake, Tim dragged his feet across the cold hardwood towards his door, not ready for whatever drama was coming for him. He rubbed the crust from his eyes as he swung the door in. “What do you need?” He was clearly annoyed, but his response only angered his mother more.

The words came out slowly, “Go get your box, out of my room.” She was no longer yelling but as she spoke, she clenched her teeth, restraining herself.

“What box are you even talking about?” Tim replied.

“The box you’ve complained about not being able to find. Why would you put it in my room? Did you want to make me more upset?”

“More upset? Wait my box was in your room?” Tim was still confused as to what his mother was waking him up for and he had no clue of why she would be upset. “You said you didn’t see it, but it was in your room?” Clearly, he wasn’t conscious enough to have an argument.

“Yes, it was in my room. Because you put it there last night.”

“No I didn’t. I mean I thought about coming up and checking to see if you had it yesterday. Why, if I complained about losing this box, would I put it in your room instead of just unpacking it?”

She didn’t respond. The anger started to fade away and her face morphed into one of anguish. Tim noticed the shift and immediately felt terrible. He knew he didn’t put that box in her room, and he did not understand why she would be so worked up over it. But he apologized anyway. “I’m sorry… I’ll go bring it down now.” He pushed past his mom who stayed by the door even as he walked upstairs. Something bigger was clearly bothering her but what it was, she would never say.

As Tim made his way to the top floor of the house, where the rest of his family resided, he overheard Loren in Chase’s room.

“Chase… the noises haven’t stopped.” She was scared of something, just like her mom. Chase was only two years older than her, but she always came to him because they were close in age. That was just how their relationship had ended up. Tim knew this, so her going to Chase for comfort wasn’t unusual in his mind. But Tim stopped in the hallway before getting to the master-bedroom, waiting to hear their conversation play out.

“I know but don’t worry. It’s probably just the air conditioning, we’ll get used to it eventually.” Chase was relaxed and it irritated Tim a little. His thirteen-year-old brother didn’t seem like he was worried in the slightest about the noises. Yet, Tim, the seventeen-year-old was scared and becoming more frightened every day. This was why I can’t say anything, he thought.

“But it’s getting louder Chase and it sounds like its coming from downstairs.”

So clearly Tim wasn’t the only one bothered by the noise. This put him at ease to know he wasn’t just hearing things, but the thought that it was all coming from the area in the house where he lived. It left him unsettled. He stopped listening and continued to walk towards his parents’ room, picking up the box and taking it down to his room. Tim didn’t see his dad, so he assumed his father wasn’t home and when he walked into the basement, he found his mom was no longer there. After setting the box down on his bedroom floor he started to unpack, placing all the books on the bookshelf that stood on the wall beside the door. Tim thought he should finish setting everything up to help his parents avoid the stress of the move and he did just that. Setting up his PC on his desk in the corner, hanging up his movie posters on the wall and unpacking the rest of his boxes that held clothes, figurines and random things of the sort. By the time he finished in his room, Tim was ready for something to eat. So, he made his way up from the basement. But before his last step was made, he heard a familiar voice coming from the living room.

“You haven’t seen it yet have you?”

Tim’s mom replied, “No, I haven’t seen it yet. I don’t think things have gone that far yet, but it is getting pretty bad. The noises are getting louder and Tim’s box… Tim got it in my room. I just… just wish we never had to move. I mean, I thought we put this all behind us.”

“Tim doesn’t know does he?”

“No, he doesn’t. He was so young during the last move, so he doesn’t really remember anything from it. We just thought that, now, since he’s older, it wouldn’t be as serious this time.” His mom sounded as if she could break down in tears at any moment. But Tim had no idea who the other voice was or what thing they were talking about.

“You can’t let the fear get to him. As soon as he starts thinking he’s seeing things, because we already know he’s been hearing them, it will come back. This is why you’ve been so careful with Tim all these years and surely, he won’t forget if it happens this time. It won’t be so easy to forget, and when he knows… at this age, who knows what might happen. And who’s to say we can stop it again.”

Tim had had enough and wanted to see who was talking to his mom. As he took that final step, pushing through the cracked door, he saw his mother seated on the couch, next to his grandmother. They held each other’s hand but when they made eye contact with Tim they broke apart, the grandma getting up from the couch. She walked over to Tim, arms stretched out to give him a hug, As the two embraced each other she gave him a quick peck on the cheek telling him, “It’s so good to see you Tim. I’ve missed you honey. Grandma will be staying here for a few days. I just really couldn’t wait to see the new house.” Tim could only fake a smile; he didn’t say anything. Things were already getting very weird around the house as it was and now his grandmother was there and the way she was talking made Tim nervous. The two of them are definitely keeping something from me, he knew it. Instead of going to eat like he intended, Tim made his way back down the stairs, leaving his grandmother and mother without a word uttered.

What was happening? Were the noises more than just noises? There had to be more, Tim just knew there was. But no one was talking to him. Did he really see a face behind him the other night? What hasn’t shown up yet? Tim started to overthink everything. He was getting scared. He was already uncomfortable as it was in the house but now, he was unsure of it all. They were talking about him, that was certain, but what about Tim? Tim locked himself in his room and sat on his bed wondering what was really happening. Then, “click…click…click”. It started again. This time echoing through the room louder than it ever did. Tim covered his ears, just trying to think, but the sound got louder and louder. To him, it felt as if it was only playing in his own head. He closed his eyes then the hum came, mixing with the click, ringing in his ears. Both continued to play, bothering him so much that he started to wince. Then he felt the room start to shake. He didn’t want to open his eyes. He couldn’t. Was he insane? Did everyone feel this or was it just his imagination? He didn’t know and the fear of knowing was worse than the uncertainty. Finally, he opened his eyes. Just as he could see, he scanned the room. But this time, instead of seeing everything the way he left it, his noticed his bookshelf was pushed to the foot of his bed. Behind it stood a man. His back was faced towards the door so Tim couldn’t see what his face looked like as he towered over the bookshelf. His hair was dingy and long, the chestnut locks hanging down to his shoulder. Tim was terrified, yet he sat there. He didn’t call out to the stranger, he just sat there. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This was the only thing Tim was thinking. Tim shut his eyes tight and when he opened them back up the man was gone, but the bookshelf remained. No one came to check on Tim.

****

That night the father came downstairs and found Tim curled up in a ball on the bed. He rubbed his hand across Tim’s shoulder, trying to comfort him. “Hey, Tim…. We’re going to watch a movie as a family tonight if you wanted to join us. We’ll be in the area right outside your room. We’re right here.” That’s all he said, even though it seemed there was more he wished to say, more he wanted to do for his son, but he didn’t. No one explained to Tim what was going on.

A little while later Tim got out of bed, dragging himself out to the couch where his family was sitting. Everyone was there but his mom. The noises hadn’t occurred since the man appeared earlier that day and even the man himself had not shown himself again. When Tim sat down, he noticed that everyone seemed strangely relaxed, besides his sister, who looks around every second like she is looking out for something, or someone. This made Tim feel even more crazy as he assumed nobody in the house heard the noises that afternoon. “Hey, before you get comfortable could you run upstairs and grab some popcorn?” His dad asked him.

“Sure, just don’t start the movie without me.” Tim then made his way upstairs. He walked slowly as if he anticipated something. When he reached the top step, he opened the door slowly, afraid of what might lie behind and once the door swung all the way out. Tim saw him, the man. He was standing in the corner across the room, staring directly at Tim. The man’s eyes are like daggers, piercing Tim, causing his heart to stop. A wide chilling smile stretched across his face. It wasn’t sinister. No. More like the man was happy to see a long-lost friend. But Tim couldn’t will himself to move. Neither of them spoke. They just stood there, meeting once again. The man took a few steps towards Tim, who was still standing on the last step. But Tim didn’t run, he didn’t even move. The stranger’s facial expression stayed the same as he carried that smile towards Tim. Just before he got to the door, the man and the boy heard a blood curdling scream.

It came from Tim’s mother. She was standing in the kitchen doorway and both Tim and the stranger turned their heads towards her. The three were in a standoff. When the stranger looked at the mother he frowned, the chilling smile disappearing as anger flooded his face. He walked towards her, hands out to grab her and no one came to her rescue. Tim continued to stand there, stiff, still, unwavering. It finally set in his mind that he was not the only one who saw this man. As the stranger grabbed her shoulders she screamed louder. “Timothy! Do something!” but to no avail. He picked her up with sheer power, lifting her off the floor as he squeezed her in his hands. She screamed at the top of her lungs. Her son wanted to help, he did, but the memories came flooding in. Tim had seen this man before. During the first move when he was five. He remembered this strange man standing over his baby brother’s crib on multiple accounts. He remembered this man smiling at his own doorway when Tim himself was just a child. Welcoming Tim to his new home. Just then Tim was thrown to the floor as his father pushed past him, rushing in to save his mother. On the ground, Tim looked up, but the man was gone. Nowhere to be found. Only the father who held his crying wife in his arms. While they were all panicked Tim felt a tiny ounce of relief. This wasn’t just in his head, it was reality. But if it was reality, what did it actually mean for his family? Before he could really come to terms with what happened he felt a hand grab his shoulder. It nudged him to the front door. Tim turned his head back to see who was guiding him and saw it was his grandmother. She was leading him out of the house.

When the grandmother pushed Tim out the front door, he could only see his mother crying on the ground inside. She was still being held by his father. This was the last thing he saw. The last moment he would have of his family. Then the door closed, cutting off his view. His grandmother looked him in the eyes. “You are coming to stay with me for a while, we can’t have you terrorizing this family again. You need to learn to not worry and forget this… I believe we can put this all behind us.”