Decoding the mysterious call at dawn
The voice was very clear. Anna hadn’t misheard, and it seemed the whisper was coming from the inside wall, not the window. Anna wouldn’t have paid much attention to it if nothing had happened when she woke up. Psychologists have proven that single people often experience hallucinations and hear their names called in their dreams. But there was something very strange about Anna’s case.
When she woke up, she found the blankets neatly folded; the goldfish water bottle sparkling clean as if someone had just changed the water; her office clothes neatly ironed and hanging on the hanger; and the window wide open… These were the usual things she did upon waking. This made Anna uneasy. Could someone have sneaked into her room while she was asleep and done all those things?
It was a story straight out of a fairy tale. Anna was even more terrified when she thought that her best friend, Brige, had returned to help her with those things. Brige had died in a car accident long ago. This fear immediately haunted Anna’s sleep, and she heard Brige calling her name. Finally, Anna sought help from psychologists.
It was believed that Anna was deeply affected by Bridge’s death, leading to psychological distress and impaired memory. The tasks completed when Anna woke up were most likely done the night before. Anna insisted that she never changed the water in her goldfish tank at night. However, she admitted that she occasionally ironed her clothes before bed so she could sleep in later in the morning.
The doctors maintained their conclusion that Anna’s memory was impaired due to her friend’s death. She had been in that car with Bridge but miraculously survived. To avoid further trauma, the doctors advised her not to sleep alone. Anna called a friend to sleep over. The first night, the two friends stayed up late talking. That night, Anna fell into a deep sleep and woke up happy to find her morning tasks still untouched: her clothes still hanging on the sofa, and the goldfish tank’s water still cloudy…
But things started again on the third night. Her friend was still sleeping with her. Anna dreamt again of someone whispering to her in her sleep, and the next morning her clothes were ironed by “someone.” Anna went to the doctor again. They advised her to go back to sleeping normally, and they would find another treatment. That night, the doctors secretly sent someone to monitor Anna’s bedroom.
The room was bathed in the dim, pale pink light of the bedside lamp. Anna Bray and her friend were still fast asleep. The large bed was covered with many small pillows. The window was slightly ajar. The night sky was quiet and starless. It was past three in the morning, and Anna’s window rattled slightly. Nothing. It was just a gentle morning breeze. Suddenly, Anna got up. She quietly avoided disturbing her sleeping friend.
She switched on the light, stretched lazily, and pushed the window wide open before going into the bathroom. A moment later, Anna returned to the room, ironed her work clothes, hung them on the hanger, and then changed the water in the goldfish tank. Finally, Anna rearranged the extra pillows on the bed, being careful not to disturb her sleeping friend. Having finished, Anna lay back down on the bed and went back to sleep.
This discovery greatly surprised the doctors.
They decided to secretly send several people to observe and get closer to Anna’s room. Finally, after notifying the police, a doctor managed to sneak into Anna’s bedroom and hid there, waiting. He noticed that Anna got up, her eyes closed, but her movements were very precise. She worked and walked around without bumping into anything in the room. Even when she came out of the bathroom, Anna still kept her eyes closed.
Anna’s case showed signs similar to sleepwalking. However, sleepwalkers usually only get up and walk around for a while before lying down again; they cannot walk for long periods, do many things, or even perform tasks involving physical contact like bathing. Psychologists confirmed that Anna was not the only case with such strange behavior.
It has been discovered that in the countryside near London (England), there is a 34-year-old woman named Merey, and another woman named Dlune in New York, USA… About a dozen people with similar characteristics to Anna have appeared in the US and England. The strange thing is that they share a common characteristic: they are single and over thirty years old. Even more remarkable is that despite their age and living in a social environment full of temptations and desires, these women have maintained the lives of young women. None of them have ever slept with a man.
Sleepwalking or a yearning for love?
According to scientists, people who sleepwalk often suddenly wake up, pacing back and forth with their eyes closed and muttering something. This phenomenon is due to a certain autonomic nerve being stimulated, waking up before the conscious nervous system. Therefore, the limbs can move completely unconsciously for a short period of time.
However, there are also many opinions contrary to this view. Some psychologists believe that the patient’s memory is too flexible and sharp, so they remember daily activities beyond normal limits. Nevertheless, sleepwalking remains a mysterious, unconscious behavior that science has yet to fully explain…
There are also cases where sleepwalkers do something and then lie down to sleep. But most of these tasks have negative consequences, such as spilling water on the floor or clothes getting burned. Studies of sleepwalking suggest a connection to impaired brain function.
Normally, during sleep, the body creates a “space” that prevents signals from the brain from reaching the muscular system, allowing us to remain still. However, if this “space” mechanism is disrupted or disordered, it can lead to actions and sleepwalking.
Most sleepwalking patients appear during puberty and usually recover after adulthood. This is why scientists find it difficult to diagnose patients over 30 like Anna. They began compiling psychological profiles of these patients and discovered something very unusual: they had never truly felt attracted to any man in their lives.
Furthermore, medical tests showed they were perfectly healthy, with no congenital defects. The estimated time (later determined by external observations) when they heard the voice was around three o’clock in the morning. This time was the deepest sleep period, and the body’s “sleep state” reached its peak. This was the mysterious key to unlocking this illness.
Scientists believe that for those who have never experienced love, never had a genuine desire for someone of the opposite sex, there is always a constant anxiety of loneliness. These people work diligently because they fear running out of time. And because of this anxiety of loneliness, their souls develop a very special reflex; they fear going to the end of a certain event or feeling. Why is that?
In normal people, love gives them a strange sense of courage and confidence. This self-confidence lies within each person’s instinctive response to life. Furthermore, they don’t hesitate to “venture” into a particular sensation because they are clearly “dependent” on their partner. But those who live alone and have never been in love don’t experience this feeling.
Anna said that after hearing the call, “Anna, wake up, wake up,” her limbs felt very unsteady. She didn’t feel like she was walking or flying, but rather her body felt limp and drifting aimlessly in a large circle. Then, just as she was about to touch that large circle, she startled awake. What surprised scientists was that sleepwalking patients usually can’t remember what happened during sleep. Yet, Anna experienced this “unsteady” feeling.
It is explained that Anna and others exhibiting similar symptoms have developed an unconscious reflex of not letting themselves “go” to the very end with any sensation. Therefore, that unconscious reflex remains “awake” even when sleep arrives. This reflex acts like a “guardian” watching over all their life actions. As natural sleep gradually transitions towards morning, the human body “drifts” towards its most restful state. The “guardian” immediately intervenes, preventing restful sleep by creating a calling sound.
When natural sleep is interrupted from its peak, the person falls into a semi-awake, semi-asleep state. A portion of the signals is transmitted to the muscular system. And that system performs familiar tasks that have been repeated for a long time.
Although there is no consensus on these findings, scientists agree that patients can only recover when they have a man in their lives. Love or living with someone of the opposite sex will help people develop more confident life reflexes. This is a very “practical” but essential aspect of love that single people should know.