Cassie

what if...sleep paralysis angel. What would you think that would mean?

You were busy. Busy having fun, hiding in a game of hide and seek. You know who the seeker is, and you love trying to keep out of their sights until you get to the giant tree stump where they counted, ready to call home base.

What you didn't know, is that you were feeling too cocky at that moment to notice a hand grabbing your chest from behind you. The sudden feeling of being grabbed- no, caught, jolted you out.

Out of your dream.

You're awake, but your eyelids could not open, no matter how hard you tried. You're not sure why you're like this. It'd feel so tempting to lose yourself back in your dreams, but it feels like it's no longer the right time for that anymore...

You try to turn in your bed, but it seems even that isn't making you budge from your spot. You try again, and again you stayed still against your will. And now there's a funny feeling in your armpit. You're gonna be tickled, aren't you? Your armpits are crazy sensitive; and often times your mom took advantage of that whenever she felt like it, tickle-paralyzing you if she decided to have a little fun with you.

...Wait. You're in your home. Of course your mom's gonna be the one who tickles you. In your effort to confirm what you've think you've figured out, you finally open your eyes, ready to find the culprit of your current tickles. Your body may stay still, but that won't stop you.

It's still dark. The lights in your room are out, as you usually set it before bed. Your sight darts around as much as you do in your bedroom, trying to find your mom as your body remains glued to the bed. She has to be around, somewhere, given how the ticklish feeling is starting to feel overwhelming. You don't have a lot of time before you can't move for other reasons.

You managed to make out a figure in the blinding darkness. But right then too, the ticklish feeling is really getting under your skin now. Any more seconds with a hand under your armpit and you're gonna start squirming in your own bed. Honestly, you wish you could start squirming, because that means you can move your hand at least, and grab at what seems to be your mom, who's now putting both of her hands on each armpit, and tell her to knock it off this time, because this time, it's not funny, it's starting to hurt! It's no longer purely ticklish now, it's like your armpits are being scratched with nails! She must've forgotten to trim this week, didn't she!? Your armpits are gonna bleed at this rate!

You feel something in your body, and immediately rise up from your bed, and to stop this tickling pain, now.

"MOM!!?"

...

You're finally awake in full, and quickly rush to flip the light switch as your body lets it. But after that, there's no one there. And the tickling, painful feeling is also gone now.

Disappointed, you make a low groan, as you tiredly turned off your light, and head back to bed.

"...hey, what's wrong, dear?" You heard your mom's voice from across your bedroom door. She sounds worried about you averting your look at her face all this morning, up until you've finished changing your clothes on back in your own bedroom.

"Mom? Did you tickle me last night?" 

You heard your mom giggle a little from across the door. "Oh, dear, you know you lock your room every night, right? You never forget, right?"

Her question made you vividly remember that you did, indeed, lock the door to your bedroom before hitting the sheets.

"Or...did you?" You heard your mom ask cheekily, as you gaze upon the key inserted upon the doorknob, trying to recall that chilling night. Whereupon your mind snags on a specific detail.

When you turned your sight away from the light switch for a brief moment, you remembered that the shape of the key was vertically aligned. Unlocked. 

And then you remember that it remained in that shape when you walked out of your room this morning.

And from what you could recall...the doorknob's key only made a noise again right when you went back in just a moment ago. 

"Are you done, dear?"

...What the hell was mom doing?

"Hello~? What's taking so long~?"

How did she know how to break into your room?

Knock knock knock. "Hey, if something's still bothering you, just tell me! It'll be alright!" You hear her voice again, this time more assertive.

Your mom's calling to you. Your hand's on the doorknob, and you don't know whether you'll be alright once you open the door to confront her about last night.

But you're also scared on what she might do if you don't listen to her for too long. What if it happens again, like when you were caught playing games on a Monday? And if what happened last night was true...would you be safe from her anyway? Would you still be alright?

And so, with shaky breath, you opened the door.