I wonder…why the lights in my room are dimming down. Probably my brother playing a prank on me again. “I’m not falling for it!” I yell from my desk. Instead of the usual snickering and stomping down the stairs, I get silence. And from the corner of my room, I hear a cackle. My heart thumped against my chest, and I stare at the wall. Am I hallucinating? Witches do not exist in this world. The only ones believing this are the four year olds. But another cackle follows. My eyes widen and I leap under the covers of my bed, too scared to move even one inch. And without warning, the lights go out.

In the suffocating darkness under my covers, I hold my breath, trying to make sense of the eerie cackling echoing around my room. Fear grips me like icy fingers. "This isn't real," I whisper to myself, hoping the sound of my own voice can bring me to reality. But then, a whisper answered back from the shadows.

"Who dares doubt the existence of witches?" The voice was raspy, ancient, and seemed to come from every direction at once. My heart thudded louder in my ears, and I fought the urge to scream.

"No," I whimpered, squeezing my eyes shut. "You're not real."

Laughter, low and chilling, filled the air once more. "Oh, but I am real, child. More real than you can imagine."

I clutched the covers tighter, my mind racing. This had to be a nightmare. It had to be. But nightmares didn't usually have voices that seemed to slither into your mind like tendrils of smoke. I wished desperately for the lights to come back on, for my brother to burst in laughing, revealing this whole thing to be a cruel joke. But the darkness remained, and the presence in the room seemed to grow stronger with every passing second.

Suddenly, I felt a cold breath on my neck, and my entire body tensed. "Do you fear me, child?" The voice whispered, so close now that I could almost feel its words instead of hearing them.

"Yes," I managed to choke out, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Good," the voice chuckled. "Fear is a powerful thing. It feeds me."

Just as I thought I couldn't bear another moment of terror, a faint glow began to illuminate the room. Relief flooded through me as I realized the lights were returning. But as the room brightened, I saw a figure standing in the corner, shrouded in darkness despite the light around it. 

"You see me now," the voice murmured, its tone almost wistful. "But remember, child, just because you cannot see me doesn't mean I’m not here."

With that cryptic warning, the figure dissolved into the darkness, leaving me trembling in the now fully lit room. I dared not move for what felt like an eternity, my mind replaying the chilling encounter over and over.