He's watching!"

"

When I was little, we had good neighbors—a young woman and her daughter. This woman's name was Laura. She was very cheerful and told funny stories. And her daughter was very beautiful, with golden hair and blue eyes. Her name was Salem. Everything would have been fine, but this woman's mother, Irina, lived with them. She was disabled. Her legs didn't work, and she was very weak. She was terribly thin, with crooked teeth and dry skin, but she was very kind and loved her daughter and granddaughter. When the granddaughter came up to her, she stroked her hair and kissed her. She couldn't speak yet—she just mumbled loudly, as if her mouth was full of water, and sometimes she screamed. But you could tell she was a kind grandmother. She was strong-willed—she never wanted to be pitied.

It was Monday, and we went to visit these neighbors to celebrate the holiday of Navruz. Laura cooked a delicious dinner, poured some compote, and we all sat down at the table, except for Grandma—she was in her room, as always. Laura brought her some food and gave her some compote through a straw. You should have seen the way she looked at her mother, how she wanted to help her... Whenever Laura looked at her mother, not a trace of her cheerful personality remained.

We were having dinner, and suddenly, from the room, we heard the words, "Sal-r-r-llllmm..." Grandma was calling her granddaughter. Laura picked her up and carried her to Grandma. Grandma kissed her tenderly and hugged her tightly. Laura left them alone.

Then, about five minutes later, Salem came running in, crying, and said, "Mom, Grandma again..." Laura immediately ran to her mother's room. I ran after her and through the doorway saw Irina thrashing hysterically on the floor, screaming incoherently, "Ravr!!! Gaaaarr!!! I saw-rrr-rraaaa..." Laura quickly calmed her down and put her to bed. My mother immediately took my hands, and we went home.

The next day, Laura came to ask for forgiveness. I was escorted out of the room, and my mother and Laura were left alone. I didn't know what they were talking about.

Seven years passed. I grew up, our neighbors moved away, and we never heard anything about them. Recently, remembering them, I started asking my mother what they talked about back then. She always kept quiet about that conversation. Finally, she told me a terrifying story about Irina.

It was in the USSR, at a factory where Irina worked that made pots and other household utensils. They were a close-knit group, having a good time. Housewives longed for a good pot or mug made of pure metal, but lacked the money, so they had to steal them. Even the watchmen were assigned to the night shift at the factory, and Irina volunteered to stay there for an internship. After all, where else could one watch a black-and-white television, a rare commodity in those days, if not in the watchman's office?

One evening, after watching too much television, Irina decided to go to bed. It was late, so she spread a mattress on the floor and went to bed. She was awakened by strange sounds in the basement, where the unfinished products were stored—sounds like jumping. They were so loud that Irina became terrified. Her first thought was that someone at the factory was probably stealing products again. She woke up Dmitrich, the janitor, who had also stayed on night duty. Irina armed herself with a flashlight, and Dmitrich with a rifle, and they went into the dark basement. Upon entering, they saw nothing but darkness. Dmitrich left, angry at Irina for waking him up over nothing. Irina decided to check everything thoroughly—after all, if the burglar stole anything, her boss would fire her on the spot... As she went deeper into the basement, she heard giggling, turned around, and saw something staring at her from the darkness, something that left her permanently disabled.

Laura never learned from her mother what or who she saw. She always either wandered off in thought or burst into hysterics, exclaiming, "Look, there he is!"

Irina told her daughter this story when she could still speak, until this something began to visit her every night and even during the day. And it finally destroyed her, leaving her not only disabled but also an unhappy mother and grandmother, unable even to hug her family.