The Silhouette in the Window

I was home alone one night while my boyfriend was working the night shift. The house was completely quiet, and I had fallen asleep on the couch with my puppy nearby. Sometime in the middle of the night, my puppy started whining and pacing around the room. At first I thought she just needed to go outside, but then I heard it, a scratching sound coming from the front door. It wasn't the kind of noise an animal would make. It sounded slow and deliberate, like someone was dragging their hand against the door.

I sat there frozen, trying to convince myself it was nothing. Then I looked toward the front door window and saw a silhouette of a person standing outside. Before I could even process what I was seeing, I noticed another figure through the living room window. Someone else was standing there too, completely still, just watching me. My entire body went cold. I grabbed my phone, locked myself in another room with my puppy, and called the police while also calling my dad.

The worst part was how quiet they were. They weren't knocking or yelling, they were just there, looking inside like they knew I was awake. I kept waiting for the glass to break or the door to open, but nothing happened. After what felt like forever, I heard the scratching stop. When the police and my dad arrived, there was nobody outside. The yard was empty, the street was quiet, and whoever had been there had disappeared.

At first everyone thought maybe I had been mistaken, but then they checked around the house and found a basement window that had been partially kicked in. Someone had tried to get inside. The police searched the area but never found out who it was or where they went. I still think about that night every time I hear my dog whining or a strange noise outside. The scariest part wasn't knowing someone was there, it was realizing they had been standing outside my home, watching me, and I had no idea how long they had been there.