The Night I Saw Something or Someone Move

It was around 1 a.m. on Saturday night. I was working on my laptop. But before I explain what happened, I want to describe my room so you can understand the situation better.

There’s a window in my room, and right below it is my study table where I usually work or read. To my right is my bed, and behind me is a sofa where I sometimes waste a few minutes.

While working, I have a habit of turning off all the lights and working in the dark with headphones on. The only source of light is the study lamp on my table, placed to the right of my laptop.

Now, back to what happened. This was the only time something like this has happened to me, and it was strange. I was working on a personal project when I felt like someone—or something—was walking in front of my window. At first, I thought it might be my imagination or a reflection in my glasses from the lamp. Just to be sure, I adjusted the lamp and tilted it downward so I wouldn’t get distracted again.

A few minutes passed, and it happened again. This time, I clearly saw in my peripheral vision that someone or something was walking past the window toward the other rooms. At that hour of the night, I was the only one awake. Everyone else in the house was asleep.

I got up from my chair and stepped out of my room to check—maybe it was my mother. She sometimes checks on me (mother things). But when I went to their room, they were fast asleep.

Great... Shujaat, what was that? Or who was that?

I was a little freaked out. The living room was dark. I’m not afraid of the dark—I actually enjoy working in it—but I didn’t like what was happening.

This never happened to me again.

I believe in ghosts. I think they exist just like we do—some good, some bad. But was it really a ghost I saw? Or just a reflection in my glasses? Then again, reflections don’t move when both the object and the light source are still. I saw it walking.

And it didn’t end there.

Around 1:20 a.m., I decided to take a short break to clear my mind. I stepped outside for a walk.

It was quiet—just how I like it. The streetlights were casting light across the road, and a cold breeze gave me goosebumps.

As I walked a little farther from my house, I noticed a small flame—about the size of a hand—flickering in the darkness on the side of the footpath. There weren’t any broken or off streetlights, yet that particular spot looked darker than the rest. I couldn’t believe my eyes. First the figure, and now this?

Out of fear, I turned on my phone’s flashlight to see what it was, but it was about 100 meters away. I couldn’t bring myself to walk toward it. I don’t know why I didn’t just go back home—it had only been three minutes since I left.

I stood there, unsure what to do.

While I was frozen in place, a car passed by. Its headlights lit up that part of the street, but I couldn’t see clearly without my glasses. Once the car passed and the area dimmed again, the flame—or that strange darkness—was gone.

I gathered some courage and walked toward that spot. When I got there, nothing. I looked around to see if anyone had tried to light a fire, but there was no one, and no sign of anything.

I told myself, “Shujaat, maybe these are signs. Maybe you disturbed something. Go back, shut down your laptop, and go to sleep.”

Nothing physical happened to me that night, but those incidents were strange.

I still have many questions. Was it real? I know I wasn’t dreaming.