” No! No! Damn, not again,” I said, terrified. As I slowly regained my consciousness, I found myself in bed. It must be a dream, I thought, or was it not. I found myself repeating the question again. My heart was beating hard as if trying to break through my ribcage. Cold sweat broke all over my body, making the back of my shirt wet. The crickets broke the silence with its’ eerie tune. The room was dark and the window was close tight. My mind was clouded with unanswered thoughts to notice this. The dream was very real. For some reason, the haunting had start again. It had begun to haunts my dream again.

I could remember the beginning. It all started on one Sunday morning when the doorbell rang. I opened the door to try to see if anyone was at it. To my surprise, I saw a thin wooden box. I looked left and right to catch a glimpse of the sender but I could not see anyone. The street was empty except for a few litters scattering about. I picked it up and looked it at it curiously. “Must be an April fool’s joke, I’m sure. Maybe a late April fool joke?” I tried to chuckle at the joked but could not. I know that April fool was last week. I fiddled with the locked and slid the lid out. A sweet smelling scent caught my nose. “Aaaarrrrrgggghhh! ” I shrieked and dropped the box. I was shocked as a cold shivering spell travelled across my spine. In the box nicely laid in chiffon bedding was a freshly cut finger that was still bleeding. A note was attached. “Curse you!” it, says.

The flames roared in delight as it licks up its’ new fuel. Dad had thrown the box into the makeshift bonfire once he came to my scream. I was shaking all over. The incident seems to engrave itself into my memories. Flashes of the incident had clouded my mind. But looking at the flames hungrily devouring the box makes my heart lights up a bit. Maybe it won’t be long before I would forget about the incident, I used to think. But I was proved wrong. Three days later, the nightmare started. It was always the same dream. A badly scarred face woman would chase me until I tripped and fall. The fall would always made me jolted out of the dream in cold sweat. Her laughter would be in my mind wherever I go. “You will be mine! YOU WILL DIE!” she used to shout in a demonic voice. Dad tried to heal me by bringing me to bomohs, the Malay medicine man, but his effort was wasted. But one week later, the dream stopped miraculously. I sighed. Was it the end or just the beginning?

Ten days later, I was returning home late one night. I had forgotten about the nightmare. After winning a soccer match, I felt that nothing could destroy this sense of happiness. Then suddenly a sweet familiar scent caught my nose. The smell was intense that I almost choked. Then something hit me. The scent was the same as the scent from the wooden box. Something cold when down my back. Without knowing I turned. There she was the lady in my dream. Her face broke into an ugly grin. The smell became overpowering as she edges nearer. Hundreds of hungry maggots feast on her remaining flesh. I broke into a run. “I’m waiting,” she called. I stepped on the stone and fell. My vision blurred. Then, I blank out.

I wipe the sweat that was forming on my forehead. I was really terrified. A sudden gale blew open the window. A face turns and bares its fang. It was the lady. She smiled hungrily at me. I closed my eyes and prayed that it was a dream. Then I felt a sharp pain in my thigh. It had bitten me. I just manage to realise something. It was not a dream. It was a nightmare that had gone truth. Then her sharp teeth tore my head from my throat.