Chapter 1 ~ The Knock
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Maya wasn’t the kind of person people worried about.
She had a life that moved. Not perfect, but full. Mornings were always rushed, hair half done, coffee in one hand, phone in the other as she tried not to miss her ride. Evenings were louder.
Music was playing while she cooked. Random calls with her best friend that stretched for hours. Sometimes she laughed so hard she had to sit on the floor just to breathe.
Her neighbors knew her as “that cheerful girl in 3B.” Always greeting. Always smiling. The kind that never stops, even when she was tired.
And she was tired, most days. Work drained her, life pressed on her a little, but she still showed up. Still kept the light on.
That was before the knock started.
The first night, she didn’t think much of it.
It came softly, like someone was playing with the doorbell.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Maya was in bed, scrolling through her phone, half asleep. She frowned, glanced at the time.
2:13 am.
“Who’s knocking by this time…” she muttered, dragging herself up.
She opened the door.
Nothing, no one was there.
The hallway was empty. Quiet. Just that flickering light at the far end, doing its usual thing.
She stood there for a few seconds, arms folded.
“Maybe they got the wrong door,” she said to herself and went back inside.
Second night, same thing.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
2:13 am.
This time, she didn’t rush. She just sat up slowly, listening.
“Seriously?” she whispered, annoyed now.
She opened the door again.
Nothing.
But this time… something had changed; the air felt different.
Colder.
As if someone had been standing there, she rubbed her arms and shut the door quickly.
“Okay… not funny,” she said, though nobody was there to hear it.
By the third night, it got under her skin.
She stayed awake on purpose. Lights on. TV running low in the background just so the silence wouldn’t swallow her whole.
She kept checking the time.
2:11… 2:12…
Then— Tap. Tap. Tap.
Her body went still.
She didn’t move immediately, but just stared at the door as if it might move on its own.
“Who is it?” she called out, her voice not as steady as she wanted.
No answer.
She walked closer this time. Hand on the handle.
She opened it.
Nothing again.
… she knew something was wrong now. Because this time, she heard it.
A breath. Not from outside.
From right behind her. Maya turned so fast her heart nearly stopped.
But no one was there. The room was empty. Same as always.
But her chest was rising too fast now. Her hands were slightly shaking.
She shut the door and locked it. When the fourth night came, Maya didn’t open it. She couldn’t.
She just sat on her bed, knees pulled close, staring at the door like it was watching her back.
Waiting.
2:13 am came. Right on time
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Her throat went dry.
The sound felt closer now. Not like someone knocking from outside… but like it was right there, inside the wood.
She swallowed hard.
“Go away…” she whispered and closed her eyes shut.
Silence.
For a moment, she thought maybe it was over.
Then... A voice.
“Let me in…”
Maya froze.
Her eyes slowly lifted to the mirror across the room. And her blood ran cold.
Because the lips in the mirror… had just moved.
Again, the voice came.
Clearer now.
“It’s cold out here…”
Maya held her breath.
That voice…
It sounded just like hers.
