Describe the most terrifying experience in your life.

- by Nur Syafika Binti Ruslan

SMK Agama (P) Alawiyah Kangar

Kangar, Perlis

The sky was so beautiful. I could see stars glittering and the moon shining mother earth. I was impressed by God's magnum opus. I was enjoying my lovely night and listening to a charming piece of English music when all of a sudden, my happy night turned the other way round. I heard something broken in the kitchen. I took off my headphones and went downstairs to investigate.

The kitchen was in a mess. Utensils, broken cups, plates and bowls were strewn across the floor. I was so shocked that I shuddered. The weird thing was that my parents had gone into town to attend a dinner in a hotel. There was nobody in the house except for me. Was there a robber? I questioned myself. I was going to call my parents when I noticed a strange man, with his back facing me, in the far corner of the kitchen. I tip-toed and approached him with a mini guitar in my hand as my protection. My sweat started to wet my forehead as I was approaching the stranger. I felt so scared. My knee shook and my heartbeat accelerated. When I was close to him, he turned his head and I hit him with the guitar. He screamed out in pain. He then grabbed my hand. I was so shocked and terrified that I froze like an iceberg. I could not do anything. Then, he injected me with something and I collapsed.

I felt dizzy as I opened my eyes. I noticed that I was already on my bed in my bedroom. I then heard the sound of someone sharpening a knife. I tried to get up but I could not move. My hands and legs were tied to the bed posts. He came closer and closer. He showed me the picture of a dilapidated house with a leaky rotten roof. I had no idea what his motive was.

"Please let me go. I don’t want to die," I begged. He ignored my plea and kept pointing to the picture without saying anything. Then, he crumpled the picture and started to rampage. He screamed non-stop and made a mess in my bedroom. At that moment, I realised that the man was mentally ill. I was terrified and my heart was pounding in my chest. What if he was a lunatic who was capable of killing innocent people? I did not know what to do. Within minutes, he took the knife on the table and wanted to stab me with it. I was panic-stricken and shouted for help from the top of my lungs. At that time, I thought I was going to die.

In the twinkling of an eye, my father rushed into my room with a baseball bat. Instantly, he hit the man's hand with the bat and the knife fell off his hand. Then, he fought back. As he was strangling my father, thank God a police team arrived and rescued my father and me from the mad man.

After the man was apprehended, my parents sent me to hospital to be treated by a doctor. My mother hugged me and cried worriedly after the treatment. Then, a policeman came and told us the real story. The man was actually a patient of a mental hospital. He ran away from hospital because he had problems coping with life stresses. He eagerly wanted to go back to his house as shown in the picture to meet his wife, who had already passed away 8 years ago. Due to the fact that he was an orphan, he did not have anybody else in his life. Since the demise of his wife, he stopped talking as the trauma was too much for him to handle. After escaping from hospital that morning, he got lost and did not know where to go. So, he randomly chose my house and attacked me.

Although I suffered from shock, I was glad that I was physically unharmed. Since the man was mentally unsound, I forgave him. I felt sorry for his misfortunes too. I will never forget the incident as long as I live.