The room was cloaked in darkness, save for the faint, silvery glow of moonlight that streamed in through the curtains. My heart pounded in my chest as I scrambled to the ground, confused and disoriented. My foot had caught on something—or someone—and I had gone sprawling.

I froze, my breath hitching in my throat. There was someone there. I wasn’t alone.

With trembling hands, I fumbled in the dark, patting around for my phone. My mind raced, trying to piece together who it could be. A thief? No, the air was too still. It didn’t feel like danger, but the hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end, prickling with unease.

Finally, my fingers brushed against my phone. I unlocked it, my thumb sliding clumsily over the screen, and activated the flashlight. The beam of light cut through the shadows, and my breath caught.

There, lying on the floor, was a man. But he wasn’t just any man.

His hair was an otherworldly shade of white, shimmering faintly even in the dim light, as if it were spun from moonlight itself. Long, delicate eyelashes framed eyes that were closed in serene rest, and his skin was flawless, pale and glowing faintly. He looked like he belonged to a painting or a dream, his features so perfect that they seemed almost unreal. His body was sculpted, lean yet powerful, with an elegance that left me speechless.

For a moment, I couldn’t move. Was he...dead? No, his chest was rising and falling, slow and steady. But what was he doing here? In my room?

“Wh...o,” I stammered, my voice barely above a whisper. “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

The man didn’t respond. He didn’t even stir. I crawled closer, the light trembling in my hand as fear warred with an inexplicable pull to approach him. He was beautiful, almost unbearably so, but something about him felt...off.

“Hey,” I tried again, louder this time, my voice cracking. “Are you listening to me?”

Still, there was no response.

My heart hammered against my ribs as I slowly got to my feet, the phone shaking in my grip. I reached out a hesitant hand, my fingertips just inches from his shoulder.

But before I could touch him, the door to my room burst open with a loud *bang*, making me jump and spin around.

! Are you okay?” My brother’s voice was sharp, his figure silhouetted in the doorway.

“Wha—" I started to explain, turning back to point at the man. But the words died in my throat.

He was gone.

I blinked, the flashlight beam sweeping the empty floor. My pulse quickened even further, if that was possible. I spun around, shining the light into every corner of the room, but there was no sign of him. It was as if he had vanished into thin air.

“What’s going on?” my brother demanded, stepping into the room. “I heard a noise—did you fall?”

“I... There was someone here!” I insisted, my voice shaking. “A man—he was lying right there!”

My brother frowned, glancing at the spot I was pointing to. He knelt down, inspecting the area, but shook his head. “There’s no one here. You probably just hit your head when you fell.”

“No,” I said firmly, though doubt was starting to creep in. “I *saw* him. He was real. He—”

But even as I spoke, my certainty wavered. The room felt too normal, as if nothing had happened. The air was no longer charged, and the strange, magnetic presence I had felt was gone.

My brother gave me a concerned look, but he didn’t press further. “Maybe you were dreaming. Just... try to get some sleep, okay?”

I nodded absently, still scanning the room as he left and closed the door behind him.

But as I sat on my bed, clutching my phone tightly, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t a dream. The memory of him lingered, vivid and haunting.

And somewhere deep down, I knew.

He’d be back.