Chapter 1- The Girl Behind the Window
It was exactly 12:13 a.m.
The village of Vihanpur was completely silent.
Seventeen-year-old Veyra was sitting alone in her new bedroom. Her family had moved into the old house only three days ago.
The house was huge, but there was one strange thing about it.
A room on the upper floor was always locked.
When Veyra asked her mother about it, her mother simply said,
“Stay away from that room.”
Veyra didn't understand why.
That night, she was sitting beside her window when she suddenly noticed someone standing in the window of the old house across the street.
It was a girl.
She was wearing a white dress, and her long black hair covered most of her face.
The girl didn't move.
Veyra thought she might be a neighbor.
She slowly raised her hand and waved.
The girl waved back.
Veyra smiled.
Suddenly, the light in her room went out.
Everything became dark.
A few seconds later, the light came back.
Veyra immediately looked toward the window.
The girl was gone.
But something had been written on the glass.
“You saw me.”
Veyra stepped away from the window.
Then she heard a strange sound from upstairs.
Knock...
Knock...
Knock...
Someone was knocking on the door of the locked room.
Veyra slowly walked toward the stairs.
The knocking continued.
Knock...
Knock...
Knock...
Just as she reached the stairs, a soft voice whispered behind her,
“Don't open the door...”
Veyra turned around.
Nobody was there.
She looked upstairs.
The locked room was now open.
Veyra froze.
Then she heard someone whisper her name.
“Veyra...”
Her face went pale.
The voice sounded exactly like the girl she had seen behind the window.
Veyra slowly walked toward the open door.
Suddenly, the door began to close.
Before it shut completely, she saw a girl standing inside the darkness.
The same white dress.
The same long black hair.
The same face.
But this time, the girl was smiling.
She whispered,
“You shouldn't have looked at me.”
The door slammed shut.
Veyra screamed.
Then everything became silent.
Until she heard three more knocks.
Knock...
Knock...
Knock...
This time, the sound wasn't coming from upstairs.
It was coming from her bedroom window.
Veyra stood frozen beside her bedroom window.
Knock...
Knock...
Knock...
She slowly turned toward the window.
The curtains were moving, even though the window was closed.
Veyra took a deep breath and walked closer.
She pulled the curtain aside.
Nobody was outside.
Only the empty street and the pale moonlight.
Then she noticed something on the glass.
A handprint.
It was on the inside of the window.
Veyra stepped back.
“How did that get there?” she whispered.
Before she could think, her phone suddenly lit up.
A new message had appeared.
UNKNOWN NUMBER
DON’T LOOK UPSTAIRS.
Veyra stared at the screen.
Another message arrived.
SHE IS STILL THERE.
Veyra's hands trembled.
She looked toward the ceiling.
From upstairs came a faint sound.
Someone was humming.
It was the same tune her mother used to sing when Veyra was little.
“Mum?” Veyra called softly.
No answer.
She slowly opened her bedroom door.
The hallway was dark.
Then she heard footsteps from the stairs.
One step.
Then another.
Someone was coming down.
Veyra quickly hid behind the door.
The footsteps stopped.
Silence filled the hallway.
Nothing happened.
Then a voice whispered directly outside her room.
“Veyra...”
She held her breath.
The voice continued.
“You opened the door.”
Veyra looked toward the hallway.
There was no one there.
Suddenly, her phone buzzed again.
UNKNOWN NUMBER
SHE CAN ONLY ENTER IF YOU INVITE HER.
Veyra looked at the message in confusion.
“I never invited anyone,” she whispered.
A cold breeze moved through the room.
Then someone knocked on her bedroom door.
Three slow knocks.
Knock...
Knock...
Knock...
Veyra didn't answer.
The knocking stopped.
Then another message appeared.
YOU DIDN’T INVITE HER.
YOU INVITED HER WHEN YOU WAVED.
Veyra's eyes widened.
She remembered the girl behind the window.
She had waved at her.
The bedroom door slowly opened by itself.
Veyra stepped backward.
At the end of the hallway stood the mysterious girl.
Her face was hidden beneath her long hair.
She raised one hand.
And slowly waved.
Just like Veyra had done earlier.
Then she whispered,
“Now it's your turn to follow me.”
The hallway lights went out.
And Veyra heard a final knock coming from the locked room upstairs.
