if there’s nothing out there

I was awakened by a soft tapping on the window. I slowly opened my eyes and looked at the watch - it was almost three in the morning. I slipped off the bed and went sleepily to the window to investigate the source of the noise.

There was a full moon. The garden and the forest behind the fence were clearly visible in the white moonlight. At first glance, there was nothing out there and I was about to go back to sleep when I noticed a shadow of a human figure at the edge of the forest. I narrowed my eyes to get a better look at it, but soon I realized it must've been a delusion. I turned around just as I heard our dog barking. I opened the window and leaned through it to try to silence him.

The barking turned to a whining as a dark figure ran out of the woods and leapt over our fence. I saw our alsatian, retreating and hiding in the kennel. Frozen, I was watching the intruder pacing back and forth as if he was considering something. I watched him intently, thinking that I was invisible in the darkness of the room, when he suddenly looked up at me.

I recognized those shining eyes right away.

A smile lit my father's face as he called out:

"Honey, I forgot my keys to the house, will you let me in?"

I felt chills going through me and slowly reached for the phone on the shelf. I tried to turn it on, but the battery seemed to run out.

"Honey," I heard his call, "What are you doing? Won't you let your old man in?"

I looked out the window, shaking with fear.

He was standing there smiling kindly, playing with his old hat in the hands. He waved at me when he saw me in the window. I pulled myself together and shouted firmly:

"No, I won't."

The man narrowed his eyes and shook a finger at me.

"Let me in immediately or you'll be in a trouble young lady!"

"My father is dead!", I called softly, but as the night was quiet, he heard me easily.

His face twisted in anger, he began to mumble angrily under his breath, then retreated into the woods.

I closed the window quickly, ran to bed and covered myself with the duvet. After a while there was another knock on the window, louder this time. There was a violent wind blowing through the door frames and leaks in the walls into the house. I felt coldness and unable to bear being alone anymore, I decided to go to my younger brother's room.

The moon was streaming in through the skylight, which made the hallway well lit. Walking softly, I noticed suddenly that my shadow started waving at me. I stood and stared at it, and it started pointing its finger at the stairs, then pretended to come down them. I was looking at it, mesmerized, when I heard my brother's soft cry from below:

"Lucy, I'm scared, come here quickly!"

Without thinking, I quickly reached the stairs and started descending them. I was halfway through when I felt a sudden tug and stumbled backward. I turned around with a silent scream and came face to face with my little brother. He put a finger to his lips, telling me to be silent, and whispered:

"I heard him too."

He pulled me with him and we ran into his bedroom, locking the door behind us.

The clock downstairs struck three.

The wind was getting stronger and the rain began to beat on the windows. Through this noise, the sound of the doorbell reached our ears. We looked at each other in horror.

"Don't go over there," my brother said, "It can't be real, there's nothing out there!"

We huddled in his bed, trying not to go crazy. The doorbell kept ringing, and finally someone started knocking on the door. Suddenly there was a loud bang. The window swung open, throwing figures of angels off the windowsill. Through the sound of wind and rain, a high wail began reaching us. After some time, we began to recognize the words that the mysterious choir repeated more and more loudly.

"Oh, let us in, let us in, let us in or you'll regret it!"

We were overcome by the urge to listen to these voices, and as I was about to go downstairs to open the door, something told me to back off. I covered my ears with my hands and started walking towards the open window. The rain was pouring in through it, and it wasn't long before my nightgown got wet and sticky to my body.

For a moment I couldn't believe what I was seeing. In the moonlight, shadows were circling around our lawn. They waved at me, shook their fists, and crept along the outer walls of our house. At the edge of the forest, there was a group of people waving at me. Among them, I recognized my deceased father, little brother, some people I didn't know, and then I saw me, smiling so broadly that my mouth started to crack and my face was deforming.

At this sight, I quickly closed the window, barricading it neatly.

Minutes passed and finally the noise subsided. We looked at the watch - it was four o'clock. In the morning, we dared to leave the room and found our mother in the kitchen. Seeing our tired faces she asked:

"Everything's all right?"

My brother and I looked at each other, remembering the note that we found stuck to my window, left by an unknown intruder.

"Yes," we replied simultaneously, smiling at her.

After breakfast, I went to my room and noticed that there was no trace of the writing on the note. I didn't know if it was just some delusion or if it disappeared somehow, it didn't matter. Its content got stuck in my head forever.

"Dear children, even the darkest night comes to an end. The point it to not let ourselves go mad. Have you gone mad?

With all due to respect,

Nothing out there"