00:00My name is Allison. I am 27 years old. I live alone in a small house. My life is simple and quiet.
00:11I work from home. I make websites for small companies.
00:16I needed more money, so I decided to rent out my guest room.
00:22One day, I got a message from a website.
00:26A man named Peter Collins wanted to rent my guest room for one week.
00:33His online page looked good. He wrote that he was coming for work.
00:39He needed a place to stay. I agreed to his request.
00:45He sent the money very fast. Everything seemed normal.
00:50I waited for him to arrive. This was a good way to earn extra money.
00:57It would make the house feel less empty.
01:01On Tuesday evening, he came to my house.
01:05He was a tall man. He carried a small suitcase.
01:10He said,
01:11Thank you for letting me stay. I opened the door for him.
01:16He walked inside.
01:21I showed him his room, and he liked it.
01:25From that night, the man named Peter lived in my house.
01:30The first two days with the guest were nice.
01:44He woke up early each morning.
01:48He was a very quiet man, but he was always kind and polite.
01:54Peter told me he was a writer.
01:58He said he was working on a new book and needed a quiet place to think.
02:04I felt I could trust him.
02:06However, I began to notice strange things.
02:12For example, his phone would sometimes ring.
02:19But he never answered it.
02:22Not once.
02:23He would just let it ring until it stopped.
02:27Also, his laptop was always closed.
02:30When I walked into the living room, it was always shut.
02:36One night, I could not sleep.
02:38It was very late, maybe 2 o'clock in the morning.
02:43I went to the kitchen for some water.
02:46As I passed the living room window, I saw him.
02:51He was standing in the garden.
02:53He was looking out at the street.
02:56It looked like he was waiting for someone.
02:59I felt confused.
03:02When I asked him about it later, he just said,
03:05I like the night air.
03:08I did not ask any more questions, but his eyes made me feel uneasy.
03:14He was a very strange guest.
03:18On the third day, I was in my room, working on my computer.
03:24Suddenly, my phone rang.
03:29It was an unknown number.
03:32I felt surprised.
03:33I usually did not get calls from unknown numbers.
03:38I took a deep breath and answered.
03:41A man's voice said,
03:43Hello, this is Peter Collins.
03:45I could not believe what I heard.
03:49Sorry?
03:49I asked.
03:51I thought I must have heard wrong.
03:54The man on the phone spoke again.
03:58He said,
03:59I am calling about the room I rented.
04:03I will arrive next week.
04:05I just wanted to confirm the address for my stay.
04:09I froze.
04:11My hands started shaking.
04:14I could hear a sound from the kitchen.
04:17It was the man who was already in my house.
04:21I whispered into the phone,
04:24You said your name is Peter Collins.
04:27The man on the phone said,
04:29Yes, that's me.
04:31Is everything okay?
04:33I could not answer him.
04:36My mind was racing.
04:38The man in my kitchen was not Peter Collins.
04:41The real Peter Collins was on the phone,
04:45Talking about coming next week.
04:48This meant the man in my house was someone else.
04:52He was not who he said he was.
04:55He had lied.
04:56He was a stranger.
04:58Who was he?
05:00Why was he here?
05:01What did he want?
05:03My heart began to beat fast.
05:06I was alone with a man whose name I did not know.
05:09I was scared.
05:11But I had to be careful.
05:13I decided to ask him about himself.
05:16Peter, I said,
05:18Where did you say you were from?
05:20He looked at me and said,
05:22You don't remember?
05:23My throat felt dry.
05:25I said,
05:26Just remind me.
05:29He said,
05:29I think you already know.
05:32He knew.
05:33He knew that I knew he was not Peter.
05:35Oh, right.
05:36I said quickly.
05:38My memory is bad.
05:40I stood up from the table.
05:42I'm tired.
05:43I said,
05:44Good night.
05:45I did not look at him again.
05:47I walked quickly to my bedroom.
05:50I closed my bedroom door and turned the lock.
05:54I was not safe.
05:59The man was a stranger and he was not afraid.
06:03I felt alone.
06:04I had to leave the house.
06:06I opened my door slowly.
06:13I walked toward the front door.
06:16Then a voice came from behind me.
06:19Going somewhere, Allison.
06:21I turned around fast.
06:23He was standing in the living room.
06:26I just need to go to the store, I said.
06:29I hoped he would believe me.
06:31He walked towards me.
06:33He said,
06:34You already know, don't you?
06:36You know I am not Peter.
06:39My heart stopped.
06:40I could not breathe.
06:42Who are you?
06:44I said.
06:45He smiled and said,
06:47I am not here to hurt you, Allison.
06:49But I need you to listen to me.
06:52I did not listen.
06:54I did not want to hear anything more.
06:57I pushed him with all my strength.
07:00He stepped back a little.
07:01Near the door, on a small table, there was a metal lamp.
07:07I grabbed it, lifted it, and hit him.
07:11He cried and fell to the ground.
07:14I did not wait.
07:16I pulled the door open and ran outside my house.
07:21I began to scream for help.
07:23I was crying and shaking.
07:25My neighbors came outside.
07:29They quickly called the police.
07:32Soon, police cars arrived.
07:35Two officers came to me and asked what had happened.
07:40I told them about the stranger in my home.
07:44They listened carefully, then went inside my house to search for him.
07:49After some time, the officers came out.
07:54They told me the man was gone.
07:57Not only him, but all his things were gone, too.
08:02His suitcase, his clothes, everything had disappeared.
08:08It was like he had never been there.
08:11My house was empty and quiet again.
08:16The police checked security cameras, but they found nothing.
08:22No one had seen him leave.
08:25They asked me for his name, and I said, Peter.
08:30They searched for a man named Peter Collins, but there was no record of anyone with that name or face.
08:39There were no fingerprints, no ID, no proof he had ever been in my house.
08:47It was a complete mystery.
08:50For many weeks after that night, I could not sleep.
08:54I was always scared.
08:56I felt like he could come back any time.
09:00Months passed.
09:01I moved to a new apartment and changed my phone number.
09:06I wanted a new, safe life.
09:09One evening, I came home and saw a key on my kitchen table.
09:15It was a house key.
09:16It was exactly like the key to my old house.
09:20How did it get there?
09:22Who put it on my table?
09:24My door was locked.
09:25My windows were closed.
09:27My mind began to race.
09:30He knew where I was.
09:32He had found me.
09:33I called the police quickly.
09:36They came and searched everywhere, but found nothing.
09:41Two years passed.
09:43The police tried to find the man for many months, but they never found him.
09:50The real Peter Collins, who had rented my room, was safe.
09:55He lived in another city and knew nothing about what had happened in my house.
10:02He did not know about the stranger.
10:06Sometimes I still saw him in my sleep.
10:09I knew he might come back one day.
10:12And if he did, I did not know what would happen.
10:16I was not sure if I could escape again.
10:22Maybe this time, I would not be so lucky.
10:26I was still waiting for the stranger to come back.
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