My Horror Stories:

The Invisible Woman:

I am Invisible Woman.
No, it's not my actual name. My actual name is Hailey Woods, but it's what I call myself. I am twenty-five years old with medium length Dark Brown hair, dark Brown eyes, a small nose, small lips, beige dry skin and a tall curvy figure in other words I look like any other regular person but there's only one problem.
I am invisible.
To my family I am real, a woman with a personality, a slight attitude problem, plenty of family issues, insecurities and in desperate need of anger management as my mother always tells me.
I am real to them, but to you and to the rest of the World and the strangers in it I am invisible, you won't notice me even if you wanted to.
I mean it's not like I am going out my way to be invisible, I dress and act like a normal human being would or 'should' according to society's standards but people just do not notice me or hear me, I am there but I am unseen. It's like I am wearing the Invisibility Cloak from the Harry Potter movies, the one that completely makes you disappear by magic, I'm not. But it feels like I am.
It didn't always use to be this way, I had an amazing childhood filled with fun memories, magical days and nights and loving parents and family by my side until one day our family was cursed by an evil witch who was jealous and wanted us dead so she put an evil spell on us, a spell that would last during our whole lives until we met our creator.
When I say witch I don't mean the Halloween kind who wears a Black pointy hat, wears Black clothes and has Green coloured skin, this witch isn't fiction, it is an average human like you and me, she has dark hair and Brownish skin, dark under eyes from staying up late nights, comes from a poor village in a third World country and does evil magic to ruin whoever lives she wants to.
My life was good before I met the witch and she put a curse on our family, it was a late Summer evening and we were coming home from a vacation in St Eagleston, a beautiful beach a mile from our village. We had grabbed pizza for dinner and hit the road. My father was driving really slowly because there were bumps in the road and he didn't want anything to damage the car, he was driving like at a tortoise speed and we were annoyed because we all just wanted to go home and go to sleep.
We had just turned a corner with a big neon sign that read WELCOME TO LYTON! The name of the awful village in which my parents had chosen to make a home against my unfortunate will when I noticed an old woman in her late 50's or 60's frowning with thick dark hair worn in a long braid up to the waist standing next to a tree, she had dark sullen round eyes with heavy eye bags lined with heavy eyeliner, the type that rockers in concerts usually sported, and bad skin issues, she was wearing an ugly Brown dress with floral patterns on it which looked like it was brought from a second-hand shop and had never been washed or even ironed, Red leggings, an dusty leather Red handbag which was old and falling apart and old sandals that were cheap and looked like they would fall apart at any second, all in all, she gave me the impression that she was some type of a beggar.
She stood next to the tree with her hands to her side, just watching cars going by not really doing anything.
"What's up with her?" My sister Crystal commented as our car slowly approached nearer.
"Must be a beggar, plenty of weirdos in Lyton," my father responded.
We all decided to ignore her because she gave us bad vibes and we were too tired and hungry to care, also we found it odd that she was standing next to a tree near the end of the motorway since people didn't usually do that, most people just drove by or would only stop if their car was broken down or something but there was something odd about this woman, she gave me a negative vibe even though I was in the car and she was outside.
We stopped at the end of the tree where the woman was standing to wait for the traffic light because it had turned Red, there were no cars behind us.
My mother obviously felt sorry for her because she was a humanitarian and cared for everyone it was in her nature to always help others, she could never say no or refuse to help anyone who was in need, even people who didn't like her, she turned to look at the woman and rolled the car window down on her passenger side.
"What are you doing?" My father whispered in annoyance, not wanting to even wait at the traffic light, he just wanted to go home and sleep in his bed. He had had too much social interaction with us and he didn't want to spend any longer with us.
My mother leaned her head slightly out of the window to address the woman standing near the tree. "Are you okay?" My mother called out to her.
The woman slowly walked over to her. "I am fine," the woman said in a low voice almost whispering like she was telling a secret and didn't want anyone to hear even there she was the only one outside and everyone else was just driving by too busy to notice or care.
"What are you doing out here? Do you need a lift?" My mother asked.
"We need to get home," my father cut in, anxious to leave. "The traffic light may turn Green at any moment."
But the traffic light remained Red it was almost as if it was refusing to change colour like it was broken, it had been Red for more than a few minutes I had noticed.
"Yes, I'd love a lift I need to go home," the woman responded and without waiting for any permission she opened the Honda Civics door and sat next to my sister and brother, forcing her to move closer to me in order to make space. We were now tightly cramped in a small car which was not designed for so many people there were already the five of us.
I felt uncomfortable as I didn't want to share the ride with a stranger who I didn't even know. The woman slammed the door shut making my heart jump a little from the loud noise and my Dad wince because he was worried it would damage the car and he couldn't afford any repairs, my mother usually paid for anything and everything.
"Where to?" My father asked peering at the woman from the car mirror.
The woman frowned as if she was confused by the question like she didn't know where she wanted to go to or didn't understand why my father would even ask her.
"Home," the woman replied after a few seconds as if we all knew her and knew where she lived and what her address was.
"Where is that?" My father asked. "What's the address?"
"Address?" The woman asked as if she didn't know what that word meant.
Crystal turned to my brother Zack to give him a 'who the hell is this weirdo?' type of a look and Zach just shrugged his shoulders not really knowing what to say or do in this awkward situation.
"Yes," my father said getting impatient. "The place you live like the road, area code that type of thing." He usually loved people and could talk to them for hours but this woman made him feel uncomfortable and also angry although he didn't know why.
Finally, the traffic light turned Amber and then slowly transitioned to Green, my father sighed and put his foot on the peddle and started to drive again, slowly.
"Better put on your seat belt," Crystal said to the woman. "Not that Dad will kill you with his driving, he's really slow."
The woman reached over and pulled the seat belt on not even bothering to talk or even acknowledge Crystal.
"I'm Crystal," my sister introduced herself. "This is my Mum, Dad is driving, this is my sister Hailey and our brother Zach," Crystal pointed to each family member introducing us all."
"Good to know," the woman replied in a dull tone of voice like we were boring her to death by talking about some uninteresting conversation like math equations or something rather than wanting to get to know us since she had decided to hitchhike in our car with us.
"I'm Catherine, Cathy for short," my mother said smiling at the woman, the woman glared back as if she hated my mother's name.
"I'm Mark," my father said not taking his eyes off the road determined more than ever to drive us home.
"What's your name?" Zach asked the woman.
"Just call me Gertrude," the woman said quietly.
"Gertrude?" My father mused. "That's a very old fashioned name."
I looked at the woman's face and bad sense of style. She didn't look like a Gertrude at all, I had no idea what name suited her but I imagined a more foreign name would have made more sense. I sensed that maybe she was lying and that Gertrude wasn't her real name but I didn't care enough to find out what it was, I just wanted to go to sleep.
"Okay, Gertrude are you going to tell us where you live or not?" My father demanded. My mother shot him a look that said 'don't be rude.'
"Well, actually," Gertrude paused leaning towards my mother and putting her hand on the car's headrest. "I was wondering if you'd let me stay the night as I don't have anywhere to stay right now."
My mother looked over at my father for help on what to do but my father didn't notice or care enough to understand.
"You don't have a place to stay?" My mother inquired in a gentle tone of voice.
"Yeah you see, I'm... homeless," Gertrude said with a pause her voice shaking like she was about to cry. It made me feel a little bit sorry for her, if she really was homeless then living in Lyton would be worse as people would definitely judge and make fun.
"I don't know about that," my father said after a while which meant that he had been listening to the conversation after all but had chosen to ignore my mother for some reason.
"It's just for one night then tomorrow I'll figure something out," Gertrude pleaded looking in his direction with a sad facial expression.
"I guess one night is okay," my mother mused.
My father made a left turn into a road filled with rows of trees, bushes, manicured lawns and old fashioned houses with flowers, statues and intricate decorations in each house, he drove until we reached our house and my father parked the car.
"Beautiful house," Gertrude commented admiring our tall five-bedroom White mansion that stood next to a beautiful bright Green freshly cut lawn, flowers hung on the hanging baskets outside and we had a Brown mat that said WELCOME HOME written just outside the door.
"Thank you," my mother beamed.
We climbed out of the car and my father went over to the door where Gertrude was sitting and opened the door for her, she climbed out of the car without a thank you and followed us into the house after my mother had unlocked the door. My dad watched her leave silently shaking his head negatively in clear disdain over how rude she was being.
"Welcome to our home, it's not much but it's our home," my mother said smiling at Gertrude.
"It's a good place," Gertrude answered eyeing the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, her eyes peered over everything as she slowly took the whole house in seemingly admiring it all from our Lilac coated walls, polished wooden floors and soft carpeted stairs on the landing.
"It's very clean and pristine, you must be rich," Gertrude boldly declared.
"Thanks," my mother smiled warmly. "We try our best to keep it in good shape, we all take turns doing the chores," she turned and looked at us.
I took my shoes off and ran upstairs into the bathroom to use it. I locked the door, switched on the warm tap and started to wash off my make-up for the day, my skin was now dull as the make-up had faded after I had worn it for so long. I wiped my face off with my White make-up towel that had one big Pink rose imprinted in the middle. Downstairs I could hear my mother speaking to the unwelcome guest, unwelcome in my opinion that was.
"You can sleep in Crystal's bedroom," I heard my mother say. She turned to address my sister before continuing. "Crystal you will have to sleep in Hailey's bedroom for one night you can sleep on the floor, I'll grab a sleeping bag for you in a moment."
I heard Crystal's voice but I couldn't understand what her response was as I heard my Dad and Zach's footsteps pounding up the stairs at that exact moment.
"Hurry up, I need to use the bathroom," Zach shouted from outside to me.
"So do I," my father chimed in.
"Okay, wait," I said. I turned the tap off, grabbed my towel, unlocked the door and stepped out of the bathroom.
Zach dashed into the bathroom and shut the door, my father stood outside patiently waiting although I could tell that he was silently angry because he had wanted to use it first as I passed by on my way to my bedroom just as my mother came upstairs and headed towards the linen cupboard, Crystal headed into her own room and Gertrude awkwardly waited outside in the hallway.
'I don't want to share my room with anyone," I told my mother as she entered my bedroom carrying a sleeping bag, Crystal followed her in carrying her pillows and duvet which she had gotten from her own bedroom in her arms.
"It's only for one night," my mother put the sleeping bag onto the floor beside my bed and started to unfold it. "You are sisters, it will give you a chance to bond you can talk about your crushes or tell secrets to each other."
"She snores really loudly," I pointed out not caring or in the mood to chat as I was too tired so I would be falling asleep fast but if Crystal was snoring then I would probably stay up all night because of the loud noise.
"Just use earplugs," my mother sighed. She grabbed Crystal's pillows and duvet and started setting up the bed, Crystal bent over to help her out.
"They don't work, they only block out noise that's far away not noise that is near you." I felt annoyed but decided not to say anything more as I really just wanted to go to sleep as it had been a really long day and tomorrow night I would gain my privacy and personal space back again... hopefully.
"I don't want to sleep here either," Crystal chimed in annoyingly. "My bedroom is way better and more spacious too, it's not as hot and sweaty there as it is here."
"Okay, quit fighting and just go to sleep," my mother said firmly she stood upright and walked out of the room. As soon as she left I changed into my pajamas, closed my eyes so that Crystal could change and I climbed into my bed and Crystal climbed into her sleeping bag complaining to herself about how the space was too small and the room was too hot.
I shoved my earplugs into my ears said a little prayer to God and closed my eyes.
An hour later at the strike of midnight I opened my eyes to the sound of a loud scream coming from outside my bedroom door, in the hallway. A shrill woman's scream.
I listened to the sound of it, it didn't sound like my mother's she was probably going to sleep if not already sleeping, it wasn't Crystal either because by now she was heavily snoring completely overtaken by sleep, I thought about going to investigate but felt scared at the same time.
Gingerly I climbed out of bed, put on my fluffy Pink gown and tiptoed past my sister who was tossing around on her sleeping bag and quietly headed towards the door. I slowly turned the handle to open the door and almost screamed myself by what I saw.
Right next to the steps downstairs there was a man standing in the dark at the bottom of the steps, it was too dark to see his face by the night light in the hall but immediately I knew it wasn't my Dad or brother as they were both sleeping as well I was the only one awake right now as well as this man whoever the hell he was and also whoever had screamed just now.
I was about to walk downstairs to ask the man who he was when I noticed that his eyes started flashing Red I felt terrified and wanted to scream but no sound come out, my heart started to beat faster and I ran into my bedroom slamming the door shut forgetting all about the scream, the fact that it was midnight and everyone was asleep.
"What was that?" Crystal groggily asked half awake from sleep, the loud noise had woken her up.
"Nothing, just go back to sleep," I told her not wanting to disturb or scare her by stating what I had just seen.
I slowly walked back over towards me bed and climbed back in pulling the duvet cover over my head and remembering that Crystal and family were here so I was safe and the man wouldn't be able to do anything to me.
I closed my eyes and tried to force myself to go to sleep but I was wide awake now and too disturbed by what I had just seen to be able to sleep again properly or even to avoid having any nightmares.
I grabbed my phone which was charging by the bedside table, unlocked it, switched on the Wifi and started browsing online looking at photos of random animals on Google.
At around 03:30 AM I finally fell asleep but had a scary nightmare.
I dreamt that I could fly and that I was flying around the house instead of walking, I flew into the kitchen and grabbed a chocolate chip cookie and took a bite out of it, it was warm and chewy just how I preferred my cookies to be.
I was about to take another bite when suddenly the day changed into night and the sky turned Black, the curtains closed by themselves as if they were being controlled by a remote and the whole room became dark around me, even the hallway was dark and the nightlight that usually turned on didn't turn on.
I started to feel scared as some strange scary music started to play, I felt like I was in a scene in a horror movie and I had this feeling in my guts that something bad was about to happen, something terrible.
I heard heavy footsteps of someone walking down the hallway and then I saw the man I had seen earlier enter the kitchen, he was dressed entirely in Black and had glowing Red eyes, he held a huge dagger in his right hand.
He slowly walked towards me with a twisted smile on his face and aimed the dagger high in the air showing me that he had this intention to kill.
I moved backwards slowly until my back was to the oven, the kitchen was small unfortunately and there was not much space between us.
In a few seconds he was right next to me, he pushed the knife towards my chest, I closed my eyes, I heard a loud bang , I screamed a horrifying horror movie type of scream that was sure to have landed me an award if I was in a movie.
And I woke up.
I was panting and covered in sweat.
It was now morning.
"What's going on?" Hailey?" My mother rushed into the room.
"Nothing, what do you mean?" I sleepily asked feeling confused.
"You just screamed really loudly," Crystal said annoyed. "And you woke me up last night too."
She turned to look at my mother.
"She slammed the door super loudly at midnight at it woke me up," Crystal complained.
"Why did you do that?" My mother demanded.
"I saw a monster," I said getting out of bed to put my slippers on.
Crystal rolled her eyes. "She reads too many books."
Crystal was the popular one in her College, she had a lot of friends and loved talking a lot, she could talk for hours. She had once picked up a novel to read and it had taken her five months to finish it after that she had never bothered to read any books again.
Me on the other hand I loved reading and enjoyed taking creative writing classes in school, I could read books all day long in fact it was my dream to own my own apartment with a library inside it.
I preferred reading books or being with animals rather than communicating or being around humans.
"Don't read too many scary stories," my mother said. "And get ready for breakfast we'll talk more about it then."
I sighed and shoved my feet into my slippers and put my gown back on, I beat Crystal to the bathroom, washed my face, got ready and headed towards the sitting room for breakfast.
Gertrude was already sitting at the table helping herself to a tall glass of Orange juice, she frowned when I entered the room.
The smell of pancakes and Golden syrup entered my nose, my mother was in the kitchen cooking pancakes for breakfast, we rarely ate them only when it was special occasions, chocolate chip was my favourite flavour.
When everyone was gathered at the table Gertrude suddenly got up nearly knocking her chair down.
"I have an announcement to make," she loudly declared.
My mother pushed a bowl of fruit over in my father's direction but he shook his head. He didn't like fruit, it was too sweet he only liked sour foods.
"I am leaving the house tonight I'm going home again but thank you for allowing me to spend the night in your beautiful house." Gertrude looked around the house silently admiring the huge room, walls and fine decor.
"I thought you were homeless?" Crystal asked puzzled.
"Yes here I am but in my country I am rich," Gertrude answered impatiently.
"What country?" Zach asked curiously.
"North Myang."
"Never heard of it," Zach shook his head.
Gertrude laughed. "It's not a popular country, it's one of those far off places where you don't get many tourists."
"Oh, right," Zach said.
After we ate breakfast Gertrude got up and put her shoes on, she didn't help us clear up or even say anything she left the house without a word.
"How rude!" Crystal commented after the door closed and we saw her walking away from the kitchen window.
"I agree," I said.
Nobody said anything afterwards we all retreated back to our bedrooms, Sunday was a quiet day to just relax and I liked spending it reading alone.
As I entered my bedroom I felt a cold draft of wind that made me shiver.
'That's so weird,' I thought to myself. 'Its a hot Summer day today.' I figured I might be getting sick or something with a Summer cold which was unusual but it had happened to me before when I was a little kid.
I grabbed a book from my nightstand table and sat down on my Pink armchair and started reading it when another cold gust of wind came, this time it was much icy, it was the type of chilly wind that usually occurred during Wintertime. I got up and put my nightgown before resuming reading my book. I felt warm now but as I continued reading I had a strange feeling that I didn't understand, it was a feeling of discomfort and also the foreboding feeling that something bad was going to happen but I didn't know why or understand why I felt that way.  All of a sudden I felt extremely tired and sleepy as if my whole body was exhausted even though I had had plenty of sleep the night before. I put my book down and climbed into my bed.
'Maybe a little nap will make me feel better,' I convinced myself, it was late afternoon so it wasn't too late. I closed my eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
When I was about to wake up I felt as though the whole room was spinning like I had been on a exhilarating roller-coaster ride and the dizzy feeling that came after getting off, my bed was shaking at the same time, almost as if somebody had grabbed hold of the bed and was violently shaking it. I felt sick, I tried to get up but for some reason I was unable to. I felt like my whole body was glued onto the bed, my head was pounding like somebody was banging a hammer extremely hard inside my brain.
'What the hell is going on?' I wondered to myself. I felt weak, uncertain and also scared. I thought about calling for my mother or even my father or family but my voice wouldn't come out either, it was like I had completely lost my voice. I was mute. I felt even more scared now more than I normally ever felt in my life, I also felt vulnerably and I hated feeling like I couldn't protect myself it made me feel useless.
"Hailey," I heard a voice call my name but it was a strange voice, it was as if the voice was calling from miles away yet at the same time it sounded like somebody was whispering inside my ear. I didn't know whether to respond or not. "Hailey," the voice came again after a long minute or so. I tried to move my mouth but still no sound came out, I spent the next few minutes trying to communicate, I knew how to speak but for some reason I just wasn't able to. It must be a cold I told myself. I must be coming down with something like a Summer flu or such as.
The window slammed shut and I turned at the loud sound of it, it was as if somebody had closed it, I knew it wasn't the wind because it wouldn't shut the window and also I couldn't move either. I felt uneasy, I had the feeling that my house was haunted but I pushed the thought away fighting for a more logical explanation.
"Hailey," this time it was my mother's voice calling me. I tried to sit up and force myself out of bed but I felt extremely tired, I looked outside, the sky was Red and the sun had almost set, the Summer day had ended. I felt tired, the nap didn't help I didn't even know how long I had been asleep for.
"What's going on?" My older sister Crystal burst into my bedroom without knocking. "Mother has been calling for over an hour now?"
I rolled out of bed. "What time is it?" I grumbled finally getting my voice out, I rubbed my tired Red eyes.
"It's seven thirty," Crystal eyed me. "You sound tired," she noted hearing the low change of my tone of voice.
I tried to nod but my head felt like it was being weighed down by a pile of rocks. "I took a nap," I said barely able to form the sentence.
"You don't seem well," Crystal frowned looking worried now. "Do you want dinner in bed?"
I shook my head. "I'll come downstairs in a minute," I told her.
"Okay then," she left the room without closing the door.
I sighed and forced myself to get out of bed, I shoved my feet into my fuzzy Pink slippers and took my time climbing the stairs to enter the sitting room. Everyone had already eaten by now and were gathered by the sofa.
"It's dinner time," my mother said pointing at the clock on the wall. "I called but you didn't respond." She frowned looking annoyed at me.
"Sorry I said," I didn't hear you. I don't feel well." I sat down at the table waiting to be served.
"Then you should just rest tomorrow," my mother said.
*************************
The next day I felt slightly better, it was the weekend so I decided to go shopping with Crystal for new clothes for my College which was starting in Autumn, Zach stayed at home to play games.
"I hope the bus come soon," Crystal grumbled fumbling through her purse to search for spare coins for the bus fare. We had been waiting almost an hour now, the sun was beating down hard on our backs, it was another sweltering hot Summer day, it seemed even hotter than yesterday was.
I made a silent prayer for the bus to come and a few minutes later my wish was answered as the Red bus slowly drove into view and parked at the bus stop, we climbed on, payed our fares and headed to the back to the empty seats. The bus was almost full with mostly senior adults and a couple of teenagers who were texting and gossiping, they all turned to stare at me as I sat down. They had a strange look on their face. I pulled my phone to check my reflection but my make-up was subtle and there was nothing on my face or wrong with my clothes either so I wondered why they had stared.
After the bus dropped us into town we started to shop around, the whole town seemed to stare at me as I walked by, I felt as if there was something wrong with me, like I had eight arms or something. I felt uncomfortable like I was an alien.
As we passed the flower shop a young man with Blonde hair and sparkling Blue eyes came out of the shop holding a bouquet of Soft Pink roses, they looked beautiful and the scent wafted into my nose.
"For you," he told Crystal and handed her the bunch.
"Oh thanks," she leaned in to smell the roses and smiled back at him.
My eyes stung a little, it wasn't even jealousy but I wish I was so lucky to be given flowers by an attractive man as well.
"It's not even Valentine's Day or my birthday," my sister gushed feeling warmly touched by the gesture.
"That's great," I silently agreed, admiring the pretty colour of the roses, trying not to let my emotions betray how I really felt.
We headed into Superstars the latest designer shop in town and I brought a Leopard Print dress with matching boots, Crystal brought a Black hoodie with White sneakers, her style was much more basic and simple then mine I was the glamorous one who loved beauty, make-up and handsome men.
After shopping for a few hours we both felt hungry.
"Let's get some lunch," I told Crystal.
"Great, I'm starving," she replied, we walked into Chows. I ordered Orange chicken with rice while she got wonton soup and we sat down to eat our meals.
A man in a t shirt and jeans headed over towards us. "Excuse me," he asked tapping Crystal on the shoulder as she was about to take another sip of her soup, she put her spoon down and turned around to face him, he was average looking definitely not too bad with Brown wavy hair and pale skin.
"Yes?" Crystal waited for his reply.
"Can I get your number, I couldn't help but notice you from over there?" The man asked.
Crystal shook her head. "Sorry I'm not interested," she said with a polite smile feeling sorry for him.
I quietly sighed. If only it was me, the whole day I felt as if I was being ignored I felt like I didn't exist at all next to my sister, I was short, plain and ugly, she was tall, confident with clear skin. I wore glasses, she wore contact lenses. She was beautiful and I was the ugly sister I came to the sudden realisation that I always had been, our family and other men always admired her the most, never me.
After lunch we grabbed the bus and headed home.
I went into my mother's bedroom to complain to her about what had happened.
"I feel as though I have been cursed," I explained.
"What makes you say that?" My mother asked peering at me with her reading glasses.
"Nobody seems to notice me," I said. "Wherever I go these days I am getting ignored."
"By who?" My mother asked.
"By everyone." I explained.
I left her bedroom and went to bed hungry that night, I looked in the mirror at my reflection before I fell asleep and saw that I could still see myself but for some reason it was other people who couldn't see me. The strange thing was that when I was alone people could see me and they would stare at me with a strange expression almost as if I was another species or something but when I was with someone it was as if I didn't exist.
I fell asleep and the next day I woke up with the sudden realisation that I didn't exist, I had dreamt of my whole life, my family existed but I was never born, I was stuck in an unknown World and it was not a reality, I had never been created, I had only imagined myself into existence, I didn't know why or even how it had happened but it was reality.
I looked around my bedroom, it wasn't even my bedroom it was actually my little sister Pia's room, I was a spirit who had pretended to be here and lived a life through someone else. That was why I could see people but they couldn't see me.
I was invisible.
I never existed to begin with.
This was real.
This was my life.
I was an imaginary spirit.

THE END.