I have always been scared of the dark. Ever since I was young, I always had a horrible thought something was going to crawl under my sheets or I'd find someone standing in the corner of my room... just staring at me.

Perhaps it was my overworking imagination that one night... I actually saw something, that I could never forget.

I was in bed, ready to fall asleep, when I heard my closet door creak open, and my closet door was quite loud. At first, I thought it was my brain drifting into a dream, until I opened my eyes and saw my closet door slightly opened. I remembered clearly shutting it, because I couldnt stand my closet door opened at night. But maybe this time... I did forget to shut it. I tried to ignore the many scary possibilities of to why my closet door would be open, and I eventually started to drift off to sleep.

Until I heard scratching.

Not the kind of scratching sound that trees would make when brushing agaisnt eachother. Not the kind of sound that would be made from a rat in the wall.

But nails on wood. The cringy unpleasant sound like nails on a chalkboard.

Too afraid to take action, I simply opened my eyes, only to see my closet door shut.

Trying to convince myself again, I was about to close my eyes, until I saw something shift before my closing eyes.

And then, that's when I actually saw it.

Someone was sitting at the edge of my bed, their head bobbling up and down.

My dog who was sleeping at the end of my bed instantly took action and started barking. A horrible hissing noise rang out, and suddenly, the person crawled back on all fours to my closet, slamming the door shut just in time as my parents walked in.

I was so frightened, I couldnt move.

And I knew, this time, it wasn't my overimaginative brain.

Because my dog had seen it too.