During high school, one Saturday when I was back home, on a whim, I decided to sleep in reverse. In the middle of the night, I was awakened by the ticking of a wind-up alarm clock. Listening closely, I also heard rustling sounds. Initially, I thought it was a mouse, but something felt off – there were footsteps, the sound of slippers dragging on the floor. I couldn’t see anything in the darkness, but I could feel the movement of air and faint breathing.
After a while, a dry female voice came from behind my feet: “Where’s the head?” The voice sounded a bit like my mom’s. I was startled. Just then, the phone rang. Instinctively, I sprung from under the covers, not bothering to put on slippers, and ran to the living room.
“Hello, have you gone to bed?” It was my mom’s voice.
“Yeah, I was asleep,” I said, still confused.
“I won’t be able to come back tomorrow; I need to stay one more day. Take care of your own lunch.”
“Ah?”
“Didn’t I tell you I was on a business trip!”
My heart skipped a beat, and it dawned on me that my mom wasn't home. Then who was in my room just now? I glanced at my bedroom; the lights were off, and it was too dark to see clearly.
“I just had a nightmare,” I said.
“Were you sleeping in reverse?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“Ah, how many times have I told you not to sleep in reverse at night? It's going to lead to trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?” I asked. Suddenly, there was silence on the other end, and then, after a moment, the sound of the wind-up alarm clock ticking away, accompanied by rustling sounds and the noise of slippers dragging on the floor, came through.
I was terrified. The caller ID was definitely my mom’s number, but on closer inspection, it looked odd. One of the zeros was slightly bloated, resembling the letter “O”.
Just as I was about to hang up, a dry voice simultaneously emanated from both the phone and my room:
“Where’s the head?”
