This happened around 8–9 years ago, when my family and I used to rent a place on the second floor of a two-story residential building. The first floor was unoccupied and so we we’re given permission by the caretaker to use the entirety of the house, including the other room in the second floor next to a terrace. I was still in my early years of high school back then and was pretty much still a child.
It was a sunny afternoon (I know that sounds cliche, but it’s true) and my mother and sister were both out at the moment. The only people at home were my father (who was feeling unwell at that time) and a younger me. While the former was taking a rest on our room, I was in the other one doing some stuff. The doors all the way to the terrace was open, to allow the cool afternoon breeze to circulate around the house.
As I was busy with whatever I was doing, I caught an apparition of some sort in my peripheral vision. I thought I saw a tall figure of a man, wearing a hat, entering the room from the terrace. Creeped out, I decided to return to our room, where my father was sleeping, regretfully leaving the balcony door wide open. However, I did close one of the doors connecting our room to the next one that lead to the terrace.
It took only a couple of minutes, maybe 5 minutes or so, before I heard the turning of the knob of the door connecting us to the next room. Thinking, for some reason, that it could have been the old tenants that decided to visit unannounced, I raised my voice saying, “Who are you?! Who is it?! Get out! Get out!” My voice was loud enough, thankfully, to even wake my father who was sleeping next to me. He, too, noticed the knob of the door turn and stared at it as it opened.
What looked back at us was a young man’s head, peeking through the door. He was short from my estimation, but was pretty muscular. It seemed he was contemplating for a good second whether to attack me or not, as the first one he noticed was a small helpless boy sitting on the floor (which was me). But when my father quickly turned into the offensive and moved towards him, he was alarmed and immediately closed the door on us. He and my father fought over the knob before the burglar successfully locked it from the other side.
Guessing he would try to escape, my father and I quickly ran outside the door, only to find the first floor area and the gate closed and empty. When we checked outside, it seemed the burglar used an unfilled water container to climb up towards the terrace and enter through the open door. My father, who thought that the guy was still inside the house, suggested to take up his old crossbow and burst through the first floor door. But because I was still a kid, and he wasn’t really feeling well at the time, I was scared and worried that the burglar would get the better of us.
My father probably understood why I was worried, as he asked me to buy him food outside while he stood guard at home. When I came back, he had already opened up the first floor and checked the entire house thoroughly. He tricked me! That could have been really dangerous if the burglar was still inside! But thankfully the latter had already escaped.
Now this raises a lot of unsettling questions: What if I had continued using the other room and failed to notice the burglar entering the terrace? What was that “apparition” I saw, and was it just a coincidence or intentionally done by some supernatural being/s (not that I believe that)? What if I had been home alone at the time? What if my father did not wake up when the burglar opened the door? What if the burglar was still inside of the house and got the better of my father? Most of these questions have answers I don’t even want to think about.
Lesson learned: close your balcony doors and lock it. Remember that burglars are cunning and, most importantly, never break into a home without any weapon in hand. Be careful and be mindful always of your house’s security.
I am grateful that both my father and I got out of that situation alive and well. One mistake and the outcome would have been a lot worse. Thank you for reading.
