There was someone holding my shoulders down

When I was a child, I lived in an old Victorian house,

and I would always hear laughing while I was trying to sleep.

I was an only child with a single mother, and when I was about 5-6

I would wake up hearing laughter in the hallway in the middle of the night

After mentioning this to my mum

she swore it was probably just the TV being left on late.

One night, I awoke hearing the laughter in my room.

I went to sit up, but felt like there was someone holding my shoulders down,

invisible hands gripping into my shoulders

while I heard laughing.

I screamed my little heart out.

My mum ran into my room,

flicking on the bedside lamp, convincing me it was just a dream

until I said

"but my shoulders hurt."

She lifted up my t-shirt

and there were two adult-sized hand prints on my shoulders.

I honestly thought I had imagined it

and that it had never happened, but the other day I mentioned it to my mum

and she went blanket white and said

"I don't want to remember that."