I have been living in this flat since 2001, and currently things are going well. But I remember from the earlier stages, the many disturbance we got from the tenants who have been here much longer than us.
We live on the third floor, and my bedroom is on one end of the flat. My room has a window that faces a playground. And during the day, it all looks good, with sounds of children from a nearby kindergarten playing. But one of the nights a few months after we moved in, I saw something really odd, that I cannot explain to this day.
It wasn’t midnight or at some early hours of the morning, but at around 8pm, right just after we finished dinner, and I was going to my room to collect some dirty clothes. I walked into my room very briskly and was aware that there was a kind of wind or force. It was like I walked into a netting or smoke or something. I was perplexed and standing in the middle of my room, I looked around, as I collected my clothes. Eventually, my eyes spotted something black and shiny right outside my window. At the ledge, I could see the inky black of the top of someone’s head. I can still remember seeing hair, the parting, the scalp. It was like a person was literally outside my window, and I could see the top of his/her head. There were no hands grasping the windowsill, or anything. Just one head, with black hair.
Amazingly, I just walked out. I was not scared, but just kept thinking, how strange. Today, whenever I think back, the hairs on my neck just stand. I still stay in the same room, and my bed is right under that window. I have received no other disturbances from the “black haired head”, but that was something I suspect related to another incident.
It was the few weeks after we moved in. Some of our things were still unpacked, but I remember feeling very excited, because the renovations were finally done and my room was finally complete. I was enjoying the privacy of my new room. One night, as I was sleeping, I just happened to wake up. As I trying to get back to sleep, I noticed one of our rolled-up carpet behind my door. I thought nothing of it, until I realized the carpet was too tall. It spanned the floor to ceiling, and then wondered, why my mother choose to place the carpet there.
It was dark and I was still groggy from being awakened, but remember feeling quite annoyed that my mom chose to store an ugly thing in my room. Then, from the side of the rolled-up carpet, I saw the distinct movement of an arm. One hand was placed on one elbow, and the arm moved downwards until both hands were clasped in each other. It was only then that I truly saw that the carpet was not rolled up. It wasn’t a carpet at all, but a very long and tall thin being standing in the corner behind my door. It had no face, although I could remember its arms and thin legs, and its slight movement like breathing or swaying.
I eventually got back to sleep, similarly, I did not feel afraid only after some time later when I actually think about it. My mother said, this house actually has guardians, and I probably saw one of them. Amazingly, she also got each room blessed, and without the kids realizing, all our doors and windows have small stickers of prayers.
That “black-haired head” was probably trying to get in, but could not because of both guardians and the prayers stuck on to every window. Eventually, it probably settled on my window, being the furthest window in the house.
So far, I have had no more disturbances. But ours is just one flat in a block of many other blocks. And I have seen some weird happenings and events in this cluster of blocks that even the Town Council cannot or will not address properly. So it’s not so much that these blocks are for people to live in, over time, these spaces and rooms also collect their own share of residents.
Those that choose to either reveal themselves to us, or leave us alone.
