Dear reader…
Do you really believe you're alone right now?
You're holding this book, reading it quietly… and maybe you think no one is watching you. Right?
Let me correct that illusion: You are not alone. You never were, and you never will be.
When you close your bedroom door… there's someone watching from behind the mirror.
When you turn off the lights… someone sits at the edge of your bed, counting your breaths.
And when you go to the bathroom and glance at your reflection… are you sure that's really you in the mirror?
Or is it just… something pretending to be you?
You might think I'm a fool, or insane. But you'll remember my words…
When you wake up one night and your voice is gone.
When you see yourself smile in the mirror without your lips moving.
Can you feel it?
Sometimes, when you're alone in your room and silence fills the space…
No sound, no motion, just your slow breathing…
Then suddenly, you feel something strange. Something you can't explain.
A subtle but heavy sensation… as if someone is standing right behind you, staring in complete silence.
You try to ignore it. You convince yourself it's nothing.
But your heart doesn't believe you.
It jumps in your chest, like it's trying to escape.
Your eyes are drawn to the corner…
To the place where no one should be… or so you think.
You know that feeling? When you walk past a mirror and your reflection lags behind just for a split second?
Or when you close the bathroom door and hear a faint whisper… like someone's talking to you from inside the room?
How many times have you ignored the sound of footsteps in the hallway when you were home alone?
How many times did you notice the curtains moving for no reason… or the air suddenly growing heavier?
Don't tell me it's all coincidence.
Don't try to convince yourself that it's just your imagination.
The mind doesn't create fear it reveals it.
Reveals the truth we try to bury beneath a thousand excuses:
"Tiredness," "Stress," "Anxiety"…
But deep down, you know.
You know you're not alone.
There's always someone watching.
Don't pretend you don't understand.
I'm not talking about cameras or human eyes.
I'm talking about eyes you cannot see.
Bodies that cast no shadow.
Breaths that leak from your bedroom walls without a sound.
Muffled laughter at midnight that you convince yourself was just part of a dream.
But it wasn't.
They've been with you since the moment you were born.
They follow you in silence, watching you grow.
They see every glance, every thought, every secret you never dared to speak aloud.
They listen to your inner voice more than you do.
And when you make a mistake… they record it.
And when you falter… they judge.
Did you think you were above the law?
That you're alone in this world?
That only humans have courts and justice?
No, my dear…
You've been under surveillance your whole life without even knowing.
And now…
It's your turn to answer:
Do you still believe that this world is only made of humans, animals, and fish?
Or are there others, always watching?
Our story begins.
"What the hell is this place?" said Adam, hands in his pockets, laughing with his usual short, sarcastic chuckle. "An abandoned house by the sea?"
My name is Yassine.
And for reasons I still don't fully understand, I agreed to come with them.
My friends or rather, the people I thought were my friends are:
Adam: The cynic, the mocker, who believes in nothing but himself.
Layla: Quiet, intelligent, doesn't talk much, but her eyes read you like they've known you forever.
Salim: The dreamer, obsessed with strange tales, mysteries, and horror stories that usually end in scandal or tears.
And then there's me Yassine. I don't believe in ghosts. I don't like adventures. I don't even like the sea. But I came along anyway, just to kill time. I was bored at home.
"Do you guys feel that?" Salim whispered, eyes fixed on the house. "Did you hear those sounds?"
"What, the air? The waves? Or your eternal stupidity?" Adam replied, laughing again.
Salim ignored him. "This place… it's like someone's watching us."
I swallowed hard, silently.
I'm not a coward. But since I stepped out of the car, I've felt something pressing on my chest… like someone was sitting on it.
I looked at the house. The door was hanging off its hinges. The windows shattered.
But it didn't look empty.
Then, suddenly, I screamed.
Someone… someone just touched me.
"Oh, Yassine, you're going to cry before we even reach the door?"
I heard Adam laughing behind me.
His laugh always came before the insults.
I stared at him coldly, but my heart was pounding.
I wanted to say something, to push back… but the words caught in my throat, as always.
"I'm not scared. It's just… the place feels off."
I said it calmly, but I knew… even I wasn't convinced.
Layla stepped forward, speaking seriously:
"This cabin's been sealed for 17 years. The man who built it vanished. They never found a body. Not even a trace."
"Oh, wonderful!" Adam shouted, imitating a horror movie voice. "Should we light some candles and summon spirits too?"
Salim chuckled, though his eyes stayed locked on the house.
I took a step forward… I don't know why. Maybe to prove to Adam I wasn't scared.
But I regretted it instantly.
I felt something… invisible, but real.
It was like the house breathed.
A long inhale.
A cold exhale that pierced my bones.
I stepped back instinctively.
Adam burst out laughing:
"Bravo! Our brave hero retreats before we even go in. Your family must be proud."
I tried to ignore him.
But inside, I was boiling. Not from anger… but from the fear I was trying to mask with silence.
"I'm going in," Layla said suddenly.
"What?" Salim shouted. "Alone?"
"I don't wait for anyone," she said and walked forward.
I watched her approach the door, and I swear for a split second I saw a face in the window.
Gray.
Featureless.
I blinked.
It was gone.
"Did you guys see that?!" I cried.
"We saw you about to piss yourself," Adam snapped.
Salim came close, whispering quietly:
"I saw something too… I swear. You're not the only one."
I looked at him.
His eyes were honest.
Layla entered the cabin.
Adam followed, pretending to be brave.
Salim hesitated.
And me?
I stood at the threshold. I wasn't ready.
But I knew…
If I stepped inside, I wouldn't be the same person who came out.
If I came out at all.
I stepped inside.
And the stench of death welcomed me like a judge greeting a criminal he's seen before.
What I didn't know…
Is that my first step into that cabin was the first step in my trial.
The Court of the Jinn… had begun.