08
I wake and see through my bedroom doorway that the kitchen light is on. The kitchen light shouldn’t be on. Like most people, I have a nightly routine. The kitchen light’s the last thing I switch off before going to bed. Now I wonder if I’ve forgotten to turn it off, or if there’s somebody in my little flat. Which is the likelier possibility? I might’ve forgotten to switch off the kitchen light. It’s possible, because everything is possible. But it’s unlikely. I’ve never forgotten it before. Also, I would not only have to forget to switch it off, but then jump into bed, switch off the bedroom lamp, and…
06
I lie in bed and know there’s something in the room with me. I’m only 8; I share the bedroom with my brother, but he sleeps obliviously in his bed. Something else is in here with us. Springing out of bed, I run to my parents’ bedroom and wake them, but can’t explain what’s wrong. It’s not just some free-floating anxiety that’s manifesting as this disembodied threat. There is something I’m feeling, that I’m sensing, that has taken form in my bedroom, but it’s just beyond my understanding and imagination to conceptualise and articulate. I sleep with my mother that night, while my dad sleeps in my bed. During the…