I have always been an extreme perfectionist. Any mess irritates me. If a glass is not exactly in the center of the table, I adjust it. Books on the shelf must be arranged in a certain order. Towels folded perfectly, shoes by the door — strictly pair by pair. I notice details that others don’t even see.
But this story is not about my character.
It is about how this habit saved my life.
It all started about two months ago. At first, it was small things. So small that any normal person wouldn’t have noticed them.
One evening, I placed a glass of water on the nightstand and remembered clearly that I hadn’t drunk from it before bed. In the morning, approaching the table, I saw drops of water on the walls of the glass. The glass was wet inside, as if someone had drunk from it. I stood there trying to remember if I could have done it at night, but I don’t sleepwalk and never wake to drink water. I decided I was just tired and confused.
A few days later, I returned home and noticed dirty footprints on the entry mat. I live alone, it was dry outside that day, and I clearly remembered wiping my shoes. I stared at the mat for a long time, then convinced myself it was leftover from the previous day and I just hadn’t noticed.
Then a piece of bread disappeared from the pantry. I always cut evenly and know how much is left. This time the edge was uneven, as if someone broke it by hand. That evening, I could no longer sit quietly in the kitchen.
I began photographing the room before going to bed to make sure I wasn’t imagining things.
I called all friends and family who theoretically could have keys to my apartment. No one knew anything. I changed the lock. It got a little calmer, but the strange occurrences didn’t stop.
At the police station, they looked at me like I was crazy. They said I was too sensitive, that it was all stress and imagination. One officer even suggested I watch fewer ghost movies and take a sedative. I left feeling unheard.
But I knew something was happening.
When the book I had placed on the table at night miraculously appeared on the couch in the morning, I realized I could no longer wait. If no one believes me, I have to prove it myself.
I installed hidden cameras in the bedroom and kitchen. I went to bed with a pounding heart, and for the first time in my life, I was afraid to close my eyes.
In the morning, I played the footage and was horrified at what was happening in my home at night 😨😱
At first, nothing. Empty kitchen. Quiet bedroom. Then, around 1 a.m., I saw a man slowly descending from the ceiling hatch leading to the old attic. Thin, balding, dressed in dark clothing.
He walked through the kitchen, opened the fridge, drank water from my glass, ate bread. He moved a plate, touched the towel. Then he entered the bedroom.
And this, I will never forget.
He stood next to my bed and watched me sleep for almost an hour. Just standing, observing. Sometimes leaning closer, as if checking if I was breathing. At one point, he even ran his hand over the blanket, very close to my hand.
I watched the recording and was shaking.
The police arrived immediately when I showed them the video. It turned out that a young man was living in the old attic above. He had entered illegally and was hiding.
Previously, he had been involved in a missing girl case but had been declared insane and placed in a psychiatric clinic. Somehow, he was free.
He was arrested but never explained why he did it.
After that, I could no longer stay in that apartment. I had to move to my parents. I still wake up at every noise and check the doors several times.
