The Hug

This is by far the strangest thing that has ever happened to me.

When I was younger, my parents would occasionally check on me in the middle of the night on school nights to make sure I wasn't still awake reading or playing on my phone. If I were asleep, I would usually wake up at the sound of my door opening and drift off again when it closed.

One night, I heard my door open. I felt as though I had been asleep a long time, and sensed that it was later than they would normally come in. I heard footsteps on the carpet walking into my room and around to the side of my bed. I remained still, my eyes closed, waiting for them to leave so I could go back to sleep. Then I felt them sit down on the edge of my bed. I heard the springs creak and felt the weight of their body. I still didn't open my eyes, groggily willing them to leave. I could feel them leaning over and I felt arms wrapping around my body. Arms that were too long, almost like snakes circling my torso. All of the sudden my entire body erupted with the sensation of pins and needles, like when your foot falls asleep, but everywhere at once. I jerked awake and shot upright breathing hard. No one was in my room, and the door was closed.

Everyone says that I dreamt it but it was too real to be a dream. The sound of the footsteps, the weight on my bed and arms were all things that I distinctly remember, and I have never felt as deep of a chill and as intense of a tingling as I did that night. I guess I will never know.