Chapter 1
Swati's mornings began with the clink of a spoon against ceramic. Tea leaves steeping in boiled water, milk swirling in lazy clouds, and the faint hum of her laptop coming to life. Her rituals were small, silent, and deeply personal. She liked it that way. The solitude suited her.
She lived in a one-bedroom apartment on the top floor of an aging building, the kind that had lived many lives and never quite shed the memory of them. The paint peeled in the corners of the ceiling. The fan made a soft, mechanical whine if it ran too long. But Swati had made peace with these quirks. They gave the place character. Life.
Every day followed a familiar rhythm. She'd water the lone money plant on her window ledge, log in for her 'work from home' job at exactly 9:45 a.m., and spend the day toggling between spreadsheets, emails, and video calls where she was rarely required to speak. Lunch was usually a bowl of rice and leftover curry. By evening, the screen dimmed, and her little world went quiet again.
That night, like most others, Swati brushed her teeth, washed her face, and slid under her blanket with a sigh. The soft whirr of the ceiling fan was oddly comforting, a mechanical lullaby. She closed her eyes, willing herself into the gentle dark of sleep.
Then she heard it.
Drip.
She opened her eyes.
Silence.
She turned on her side, trying again.
Drip.
This time, it was unmistakable. A soft, measured tapping, like a leaky tap somewhere in the flat. Her brow furrowed. She sat up, the room still bathed in the pale orange glow of the streetlight sneaking in through her curtains.
She slipped out of bed, the floor cold against her feet, and padded toward the kitchen. The sink tap gleamed dully under the overhead light. She turned it once... twice.... tightening it with both hands until it couldn’t move. Nothing dripped.
Still unconvinced, she walked into the bathroom. The faucet there was dry too, though she gave it the same treatment. Just to be sure.
She waited a beat. Listened.
Silence.
Swati sighed, rolled her neck, and went back to bed. Maybe it had been her imagination. Maybe a sound from outside, or from the upstairs flat. She closed her eyes again, curling into the warmth of her blanket.
Drip.
Her eyes snapped open.
She lay still for a long time, staring at the ceiling. The fan blades spun in their hypnotic circle, a low hum thrumming in the background. Drip. There it was again. Not constant, just steady enough to keep her senses on edge.
She kicked off the blanket and stood again. This time, she turned on every light in the apartment.
The kitchen tap was dry. Again. She crouched, checked under the sink for leaks. Nothing. She even placed a cup beneath it, if something was dripping, surely it would show. Then she stood in the bathroom for five full minutes, staring at the faucet. No sound.
Maybe it was the neighbor’s flat. The walls were thin. She pressed her ear against the bathroom tile. The silence was thick, almost oppressive. Not a sound.
Back in bed, she felt the tiredness gnawing at her but as soon as she closed her eyes..
Drip.
Now it felt louder. Closer.
She didn’t sleep that night.
