Many years before the man had learned a simple truth. There is no crueler jailor than your own mind. Humankind cannot create a more horrific cage than the one you engage your heart and soul in.
It may be cliche, but there is no more powerful tool than your own mind. And like every other tool its use is up to the person wielding it. Think about your greatest fear. Consider that thing or things that makes your chest tighten up and your muscles clench. Psychology teaches that sometimes the best way to overcome your fear is to confront it.
But what do you do when you are unable to put a face on it. How do you deal with it when you cannot put a name to it, when you fail to identify it. Think about how much more frightening the strange bump or scream in the night is than the same sound during the day.
Creak. Scrape. Squeak.
If you close your eyes you can feel their hot breath on your neck. You sense the presence looming behind you. It is the same feeling you get walking through a dark parking lot. That little tickle that suggests you walk faster. It takes control, oh so much control to prevent yourself from sprinting to the safety of your car.
It is a struggle to maintain your calm, but somehow you manage. A fumbling hand reaches out, key extended towards the lock and then…
Liorah,
I hear what you are saing.
the “sixth sense” is a real phenomenon, BTW
sometimes it may be best to run, particularly if something real even if yet unidentified may be out to harm you and you have no weapons of defense
This has actually happened to me twice in my life, once around 1982 ish and once in 1984. The first time, my ex-husband and I were out night fishing and we both sensed it simultaneously – like some evil presence watching us as we fished. Wordlessly we gathered the fishing gear together and threw it into our old VW van and high-tailed it outta there. It was so eerie and malevolent.
The second time I was alone with my kids at night and it felt like some malevolent presence was watching the house (we lived in a wooded area). I couldn’t ignore it, packed up the kids, got into the car and just drove until I felt it was safe to go back.
Two times, the nameless fear you describe happened to me. Just those 2 times. I never knew what/who was watching us, but something malevolent was.