coursera.org course
Writing for Young Readers: Opening the Treasure Chest
First assignment- week 1
Your Writing Identity: Life Event from a Viewpoint
A Girl in the Night
Writing for Young Readers: Opening the Treasure Chest
First assignment- week 1
Your Writing Identity: Life Event from a Viewpoint
A Girl in the Night
A short horror story by Georgia Panteli-Mpraikidi
Eugene, a nineteen years old girl, was studying at university a long way from home in an island called Rhodes. Her family was in Athens and she was living on her own. That night she decided to sleep in the living room because a few days earlier she saw a nightmare in her bedroom and was afraid to sleep in there. It was a strange night, the room was cold and Eugene woke up sensing an evil presence near her. She was unable to move, barely able to breathe and she could not open her eyes either. She felt an oppressive weight on her chest, a very strong force holding her down like someone was on top of her. She was trying with all her might to move. She fought for quite some time and finally she was able to lift her arm and open one eye slowly. She pushed her blanket which was covering her head up to her eyes with a lot of effort and then she saw a shadow detach from her body.
She saw a girl across the room standing in front of the bathroom door trying to take down a flag that Eugene had pinned there. She was pale, as pale as Eugene was, and had short brown hair, the same pixie-like hair style that she had last year. She wanted to ask that girl who she was, why was she there, but she couldn't speak and that frightened her more than the fact that she was paralysed the whole time. As she tried to talk she felt her cheeks melt inwards towards the bone and become one, her eyes sink in her eye-sockets. She felt like a skeleton.
''Go away.'' she said but nothing came out.
''Leave!'' she screamed but it only echoed in her mind.
''What is going on? Leave this place you are not welcome here.'' she yelled but her mouth was still closed, sealed like death had arrived. Eugene tried a prayer that her grandmother taught her when she was younger but she didn't believe in it anyway. Nothing seemed to work. One last time, ''Who are you? You are not welcome here. Leave!'' She felt her mouth open a little and her jaw dropped slightly to the right. The only thing that came out was a faint zombie like whisper ''aahhh.''
The girl turned around and now Eugene could see her face. She looked like her but with more elvish like characteristics. Her nose and ears were pointier, her lips a darker shade of red, and her eyes, her eyes were black as coal and sparkling. That gave her the creeps although the girl didn't actually look at Eugene with malignancy. It was more like pain. ''Leave.'' she yelled and the girl vanished in thin air and with that Eugene could move again.
She turned on the light and the TV to keep her company, reached out for her mobile phone. It was 3:30 in the morning. She never liked that hour, all the stories about ghosts and demons. No more sleep for the night.
In the morning when she went at the university she told the story to her friends and one of them said that she was visited by ''Mora, a demon like entity, a shadow in the dark, the old hag who will grant you a wish if you are fast enough to snatch her veil. Sometimes she takes the form of a young girl or boy, and sometimes she takes the form of YOU.''
- Georgia Panteli- Mpraikidi
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