'Nightmare': A Nine-Year-Old's First Step Towards Writing Fiction

It was midnight I heard footsteps stop at my window… A chill ran down my spine and even though it was winter, I could feel sweat trickle down my forehead. Who could it be? I was very frightened. I was sleeping all alone in my room and wondered if I should call anybody. When I tried to call my parents, my voice froze in my throat out of fear.

After hesitating to get out of my bed, I finally decided to show some courage and turn on the lights to see who it was. But Alas! When I switched the lights on, they wouldn't light. It was pitch dark and I thought, could lights have gone out for the whole house, or was it only my room as I could clearly see the dim light in the balcony, flickering. I tried to run down and get my parents, but when I tried to open the door, it was locked!

I took my torch and put it on the window, there I saw the most horrifying thing ever! A dim face, with cold eyes staring down at me, upside down from above the window. The torch slipped from my hand, I fell back and screamed at the top of my voice. Now I could see the shadowed, dark, cold-eyed face moving towards me.

I gave my last try and shouted with all my might. Just then I felt the warm hands of my mother tapping my cheek and my mother’s soft voice calling out, Aaditri what happened? Are you ok? Did you see a bad dream?

I opened my eyes and smiled, I was in my room again and it was just a bad dream.

Aaditri is a spirited and cheerful 9-year-old who loves to play outdoors, read stories & poems and talk to her friends. Her favourite books are the Harry Potter series and she dreams of visiting the Harry Potter theme park someday !