Am I Being Stalked?

https://youtube.com/shorts/ZV4pzfhqJwQ?si=fCThCV2WSREIc6re

The flickering fluorescent lights of the library cast elongated shadows, and tonight, they feel… predatory. Or perhaps it's just my imagination, a trick of the tired mind. But the prickling sensation at the back of my neck refuses to subside.

It started subtly. A glimpse of a familiar figure in the periphery, a sense of being watched. A feeling that someone, somewhere, is paying too much attention. At first, I dismissed it. Campus is crowded. People cross paths. It’s normal.

But then there was the repeated sighting of the same worn leather jacket, the same shadowed face, always just out of focus. The way he seemed to appear in places I frequented, the library, the coffee shop, even the quiet corner of the park where I went to clear my head.

Is it paranoia? The overactive imagination of a stressed-out student? Or is there something more? A darkness lurking just beyond the edge of my vision?

I try to rationalize it. To tell myself it’s coincidence, that I’m seeing patterns where none exist. But the feeling persists, a cold dread that settles in my stomach like a stone.

I find myself scanning crowds, memorizing faces, avoiding dimly lit paths. I jump at the slightest sound, my heart pounding in my chest. The familiar comfort of campus has morphed into a landscape of potential threats.

I’ve considered telling someone. But who? And what would I say? “I think someone is watching me, but I’m not sure?” It sounds…insane. Like the ramblings of a character in a bad thriller.

What if I’m wrong? What if it’s just my anxiety, amplified by late nights and looming deadlines? I’d feel foolish, exposed.

But what if I’m right? What if there is something, or someone, out there? And I ignore it?

The uncertainty is a constant torment. It gnaws at me, stealing my sleep, poisoning my thoughts. I’m trapped in a liminal space, suspended between fear and doubt, unsure which is more terrifying.

The shadows deepen, and the hum of the lights seems to grow louder, amplifying the silence. Every rustle of leaves, every distant footstep, sends a jolt of fear through me. I just want to know. I just want to know if I’m losing my mind, or if something truly sinister is lurking in the periphery of my world.