My roommate was a sleepwalker. In the dead of night, she’d climb onto beds and slap people awake, or leave strange messes in our slippers. Once, I woke to find her brandishing a carving knife, hacking a watermelon to shreds, splattering crimson juice across the floor. She'd explained she’d dreamt of cutting a melon, only to find it wasn't ripe. We kept our distance, gave her a wide berth. But the next night, I jolted awake from a dream. My sleepwalking roommate was standing over me, one hand clutching the knife, the other stroking my head. “This one’s finally ripe, huh?” 1 A tremor ripped through me. I screamed. “Ahhhhh!” My shriek instantly woke the other two in the dorm. Lily’s small desk lamp, on the top bunk, flickered to life, illuminating the nightmare before my eyes. Stella stood there, eyes wide but vacant, one hand still patting my head, the butchering knife in her other hand poised to strike. “Holy crap!” Ryder, from the bottom bunk, sprang into action. She was an athlete, all speed and raw power. She lunged, tackling Stella from behind, pinning her arms back. I snapped out of my terrified trance, grabbed the half-empty water bottle from my desk, and splashed its contents onto Stella’s face. She gasped, a shudder running through her. Her unfocused gaze finally sharpened. When she saw the knife in her hand, she startled, dropping it with a loud clatter to the floor. “What… what just happened?!” My face was ashen. “I was about to ask you! Do you even know what you were doing?!” Stella’s face was ghostly white. She stammered, “I… I just had a dream. I was back in the watermelon patch, trying to find a good one. And this time, I finally felt a ripe one, and I just wanted to cut it open…” All our faces went instantly bloodless. Stella’s sleepwalking had been an issue for a while. When we first discovered it at the start of freshman year, we were all a little scared. But then we realized she mostly just stood by the window, staring blankly, and since she was so friendly during the day, we gradually let our guard down. As we got closer, we’d even joke about her sleepwalking, asking her what bizarre dreams she’d had. Lately, she’d kept talking about dreams of her grandpa’s watermelon patch back on the farm. She wanted a big, sweet melon, she’d say, but they were always unripe. We’d all laughed then. But now, the laughter died in our throats. Stella’s hand stroking my head—she’d clearly treated my head as a perfectly ripe melon in her dream! My gaze dropped to the large butchering knife on the floor—the one Ryder usually used for chopping fruit. It was big. It was sharp. If I hadn't woken in time, my head might have been split open like that watermelon. A cold sweat slicked my skin. I stood up abruptly. “I’m calling the RA. I’m switching dorms!” 2 The RA, roused in the middle of the night, was initially annoyed, but our story made her skin crawl. “Stella,” she said, her voice strained, “I’ll contact your academic advisor and your parents to see if we can get you some medical help. Until then, you’ll stay in the vacant dorm room upstairs!” Stella herself was terrified. Her eyes red-rimmed, she went to pack her things. She moved quickly and even posted a photo of her new dorm in our group chat—the picture showed the door barricaded with clutter, and she’d captioned it: [I’ve locked the door and blocked it with a bunch of stuff. I even threw out all sharp objects. Don’t worry, I won’t hurt anyone.] Seeing the message, a knot of unease formed in our stomachs. Lily couldn’t help but say, “Are we being too harsh?” Ryder immediately shot back, “Harsh? When she nearly sliced your head open, would you still think it’s harsh?!” Ryder’s name carried a hint of wildness, and her temper matched. Her words instantly extinguished any guilt I’d felt. The four of us were in different majors anyway, so after Stella moved out, we lost touch. We didn't see her for days. Until three mornings later, just before dawn, a bloodcurdling scream ripped through the dorm building. We all shot awake. “What in God’s name is that?! So early!” Ryder grumbled, climbing out of bed, still half-asleep and irritable. Lily rubbed her eyes, fumbling for her phone. “It’s not even six yet, what the… Oh my God, no!” Her sudden scream startled me. “What is it?!” Lily almost collapsed as she scrambled down from her top bunk. “I… I saw someone in the Business School group chat say… someone died in our dorm building!” “What?!” Ryder and I’s faces drained of color. Ryder pressed, “Which room? How did they die?” Lily shivered, glancing at her phone, her face even whiter. “It’s on the floor right above us.” She looked up, her voice trembling. “Their head was split clean open. They said… it looked like a melon.” 3 The entire dorm plunged into a chilling silence. We all, without exception, thought of Stella. After a long moment, I whispered, my voice shaking… “It… it couldn’t be Stella, could it? She said she locked her door and blocked everything.” Ryder’s voice was cold. “But I’ve seen in movies that sleepwalkers can open doors, even ride bikes!” Silence descended again. Finally, Lily, her face pale, spoke up. “Alright, let’s not scare ourselves. It’s the police’s job to find the killer. Let’s not overthink it.” Ryder and I nodded silently. We got up to get ready, dropping the subject. All day, the entire campus buzzed with talk of the murder in our dorm building. The victim was a freshman girl from the English Lit Department. They said her head was split in half, and her roommates, waking up to the sight, had gone completely insane. Dozens of police cars were parked outside the girls’ dorm, and the victim’s room was sealed off. The rumors grew wilder and wilder—from a clean split to talk of a missing brain. Panic rippled through the student body. That evening, Ryder, Lily, and I were eating dinner in the dining hall when— Clunk. A tray was set down on our table. I looked up to see Stella’s bright, beaming smile. “Lily, Ryder, Chloe! Long time no see!” The three of us froze. Stella, however, seemed oblivious to our stunned reactions. She dug into her food, chattering away. “It’s such a hassle being in the Languages Department, so far from you guys. I haven’t seen you since I moved out. How have you all been?” Stella spoke with effervescent cheer, but none of us responded. Finally, I couldn’t help but cut her off. “Stella, have you had any dreams about cutting watermelons these past few days?” Stella paused, puzzled. “No, why? I’ve been dreaming about eating long strands of pasta. Why do you ask?” I was at a loss for how to answer. Just then, a conversation from the next table drifted over to us: “Hey, have you guys heard about the murder in the girls’ dorm? They say the killer had incredible strength, managed to slice the girl’s head so cleanly! Like cutting a watermelon!” Stella overheard their conversation. It clicked. Her face went white as she looked at us. “You… you think I killed that English Lit girl?” None of us spoke, but Stella began to cry. “Is that what you really think of me? I told you! My dorm has no sharp objects, I lock the door every night, and I check it in the morning. Don’t you believe me?!” Lily, unable to bear it, said, “Stella, that’s not what we meant…” But Stella didn’t want to hear it. She got up and ran off, crying. Our appetites vanished. As soon as we got back to our dorm, a girl from the room next door approached us, whispering mysteriously. “Did you hear? There’s a new development in the upstairs murder case! The police checked all the surveillance footage in our dorm hallway, but they didn’t see anyone entering or leaving the victim’s room. So now, the victim’s three roommates are the prime suspects. They’ve already been taken to the police station for questioning!” The three of us froze. If no one entered or left, the killer must be one of the victim’s roommates. This meant it likely had nothing to do with Stella. Lily’s face was filled with remorse. “Should we apologize to Stella? I mean, being wrongly accused of murder… I’d be furious too.” “Apologize for what?” Ryder retorted gruffly. “We never said it was her. We just asked about her dreams. She’s too sensitive. Apologizing would just make it more awkward.” Ryder wasn’t wrong. So, we dropped the subject, washed up, and got into bed. I drifted into a hazy sleep for what felt like ages. Then, suddenly— Thump-thump-thump. I was jolted awake by a knocking sound. I grabbed my phone from the nightstand. 2 AM. A cold sweat broke out. Who would be knocking on our dorm door in the middle of the night? At the same instant, Lily’s nightlight on the top bunk flickered on. I saw Ryder on the opposite bunk also sit up. Lily’s trembling voice cut through the dimness. “Who… who is it…?” The next second, a familiar voice drifted from outside the door— “It’s me. Stella.” In the dim light, I saw Ryder’s face drain of color. I knew we all had the same thought— Was Stella sleepwalking, or was she awake? I instinctively pulled my blanket tighter, the words spilling out. “What do you want?” A brief silence from outside the door. Then, I heard a soft chuckle. “I just cut a perfectly ripe, huge watermelon. Do you guys want a slice?” 4 Silence. A suffocating silence descended on the entire dorm. In the dimness, I watched the last bit of color drain from Ryder’s face. Lily practically tumbled from her top bunk, scrambling into my arms, trembling uncontrollably. I forced myself to cling to the last threads of my sanity, to stay calm. “Don’t… don’t be scared. The police already found out, right? The murder has nothing to do with Stella. She’s probably just sleepwalking…” I wasn’t sure if I was comforting Lily or myself. “And our door is locked…” But no sooner had I spoken than Lily suddenly convulsed in my arms. I looked down at her. “What’s wrong?” Lily’s face was utterly bloodless, her voice choked with tears. “I… I just remembered. I was the last one to bed tonight. I forgot to lock the door…” My hands and feet instantly went icy cold. At the same moment, I heard Stella’s cheerful voice from outside. “Oh, you guys didn’t lock the door. I’m coming in, then!” Click. The door slowly, deliberately, swung open from the outside. 5 “Ahhhhhh!” Lily couldn’t take it. She threw herself into my arms. Ryder lunged, intending to tackle Stella, but in the next second, she froze. By then, in the dim glow of the nightlight, I saw Stella clearly as she stepped through the door. She was holding a half-cut watermelon, her eyes bright and clear, smiling at us. My taut nerves instantly slackened. Ryder reacted, smacking Stella hard. “Stella! You’re messing with us!” “Ow!” Stella rubbed her arm, wincing, but still smiling. “Well, you guys misunderstood me earlier today, so I had to scare you as punishment! Besides, I wasn’t lying. I really did bring watermelon for you to eat.” The tension in the room dissipated. Lily, now calm, walked over and took Stella’s hand. “Stella, I’m so sorry about earlier. We really didn’t mean to misunderstand you, it’s just…” “I know.” Stella smiled, cutting her off. “When I’m sleepwalking, I can’t control myself, so you worry I might do something awful.” “But don’t worry, I’ve taken so many precautions. My parents said they’d take me to see a doctor next week. I won’t hurt anyone. Alright, let’s not talk about that anymore, let’s eat this watermelon!” Stella put the melon down, a look of exasperation on her face. “You have no idea how much trouble this melon was. I didn’t dare keep a knife in my room, so I had to smash it open with my bare hands. It splattered all over me!” We finally looked down at the watermelon. It was indeed unevenly split, and Stella was covered in watermelon juice.
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