Cheska

I am sure that people who knew me have already heard about Cheska.

Cheska is an 11-year old ghost who seemed to have followed me ever since we moved out of my grandfather's house. Ever since I was a child, I never felt lonely despite being alone in my room for most of the time, and often times, my mom would catch me talking to myself. 

I clearly don't remember that until when I was in 6th grade that even my homeroom teacher was creeped out by my own actions. She would find me staring at the window during recess, talking and smiling on my own. I couldn't blame her though, I was definitely weird when I was younger.

I first found out about Cheska when my roommate and I moved to a house back in 2018. The house wasn't good: no sunlight and air isn't ventilated there so it's always humid and suffocating. The house is always dark. My roommate usually sleeps during the day and wakes up at night for her graveyard shift. She told me to leave the lights open in the kitchen and bathroom at night. I asked her why and she told me that she kept seeing a girl in a white dress and always wet. Instead of getting goosebumps, I felt familiarity and agreed to her request.

Ever since then, I started to feel someone's presence already when I'm up all night doing my extra tasks. It was frightening at first but I was able to get used to it in a few days. However, our house started to get dimmer and dimmer as time goes by and my stress-level has gone up to the roof. I have been having frequent sleep-paralysis and nightmares since then. I thought it was my diet and stress that are causing it, but one night, I did not expect I'd see her.

I was not sure if it was really Cheska or not, but I dreamed about having some sitting on top of my chest, a woman with long damp hair making me frozen while everything around me move. I was all alone in the house. My roommate had already left for work at 2am. I prayed so many times and was able to wake up. Since then, I have been asking my best friend or my sister to have a sleep over in my place so that I can just a good night's sleep. I have tried a lot of ways from drinking milk, exercising and even using sleeping aids to make me sleep well, but things continue to worsen until I lost it.

I got frantic, suicidal and sensitive that I even shut myself out from everyone. For a month, I was not able to meet my friends. I hear whispers in my head whenever I am alone and it was really hard for me. Then one night, I prayed so hard for help and I get to have a dream of moving out to a brighter house and a cat.

So, in desperation, I asked my roommate if we can find a different house to move in because everything aren't doing so well in that house and we really need a breather. And so we did. When we moved out to a different house, Cheska became lighter and I was at peace. Our house is actually filled with sunlight the entire day and it was pretty nice to live in. Cheska might appear from time to time but she only get to pick on some people who visit my house, those who were not good, I suppose?