There was no one there, but Chalano really felt as if someone had tried to approach him. He stood up, and walked to his bedside table to get a flashlight from its drawer. He walked to the door. Putting his right hand on the doorknob, he tried to remain calm by taking a deep breath. Turned the doorknob. Pulled the door open with speed that would surprise the intruder.

                There was still no one there. The dark, 1-meter wide corridor before him was empty. He carefully stepped out of his room. Looked to the right. The dark living room was empty. He switched the flashlight on to clearly see the living room. Barefoot, he carefully walked toward the other end of the corridor, which was 6 meters away. Halfway to the other end of the corridor, he stopped. Turned to the left to check the doorway to the bathroom. He stood still, listening in the hope of hearing the slightest sound. Silence. You should always protect your back. Frightened, he suddenly turned around to face the door that was behind him. The door was exactly in front of the bathroom, and it led to his mother’s bedroom. Maybe a man was hiding under her bed. Maybe a man was making his way into the hole in the ceiling of her bedroom to enter the ventilation system, and he could use the passage to enter Chalano’s bedroom! Chalano’s imagination was going wild. What if …? He thought of all possibilities as he hurried back to his bedroom. Then he sensed something moving behind him. Something … warm. He turned to look at the other end of the corridor.

The corridor had no lights, and the lights of the bathroom and his mother’s bedroom had been turned off. There was a large floor area at the other end of the corridor that was surrounded by lots of big windows. Lights from their neighbors’ houses were entering through the big windows. The lights cast a white glow on the corridor, lessening its shadows. Chalano reluctantly walked on the clean, waxed surface of the wooden floor of the corridor. He was so scared. Even though he was walking to the other end of the corridor, he was paying attention to his bedroom. If I hear noises from my bedroom, I’ll run back there to confront him.

                He really wanted to run downstairs to ask his mother for help, but, if there really was an intruder, he shouldn’t leave the top floor unchecked. It was his house, and, though young, he was the only man in the family. He had to start being responsible for a change, and he had to protect his mother. He stepped into the huge room. Looked around him. It was 24 square meters, and it was empty. Giving a sigh of relief, he casually walked to the end of the room. He peered out of a window. The neighbors’ TV was tuned in to the news. Ah, it’s about that fire again. Then he realized that the air in the room felt different. The double doors that led from the room and to the balcony. Was open.

He gasped in sudden horror. He grabbed the doors, and locked them as he warily looked around him. He was hurrying back to the corridor when he realized what he had missed.

                The wall to his left was the wall of his mother’s bedroom. In its bottom part was a passage that led into her room. A man could easily fit in there. He could’ve pulled Chalano’s feet. Trying to control his fear, Chalano leaned to the floor to check the passage. Only the huge bottles of medicines from his father could be seen. There was no man there.

                He had finished checking. He let his fear to finally take over him, and ran back to the corridor. He went into the living room and made sure that the doors there were locked. Then he went back to his room. Checking the wide passage on the ceiling above his bed, he tried to calm himself down by thinking that his mother probably left those doors open when she came home that afternoon. He really felt that there was something different about the house, but, this time, he was certain that it wasn’t human. It was moving quickly along the corridor, and it was warm. Only his wild imaginations scared him, but the presence was actually sending out a strong sense of peace. Was it a ghost? Was it his father’s ghost?

                He turned to look at the picture frame on his bedside table. It was a small, simple picture frame. It contained the picture of his father, who was in military uniform. Could it be you?