The Knocking at 3AM
The ten-year-old girl looked up at the top of the staircase in the old house. Her eyes were blank as she slowly climbed the steps.
One... Two... Three... until she reached the thirteenth step.
She looked into the dark hallway. It was as if something was calling to her.
The ceiling light flickered, as though it couldn’t decide whether to stay on or go out completely. As the surroundings grew darker, she kept walking until she stopped in front of a door.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
She knocked three times. A few seconds later, she heard the door slowly creak open.
Inside, only a single candle on a table at the far end of the room gave off light. She slowly walked toward it. Her eyes remained fixed ahead without blinking. Her gaze settled on a small mirror with a black decorative frame.
She reached out with both hands to take it.
“Hannah...”
Ding! Ding! Ding!
I jolted awake. I clutched my chest and felt my heart pounding. The only sound I could hear was the chime of the old clock hanging on the wall of my rented room.
Three o’clock in the morning.
I let out a sigh. It had been years since I’d last dreamed about that. I thought it had disappeared for good.
I closed my eyes, hoping sleep would come back... But even as I lay there, it didn’t come right away. It felt as though the dream had left something behind—a weight that still lingered, like a shadow clinging to my mind.
RIIIING!
I woke to the sound of my alarm.
My head still felt heavy. Probably because I’d woken up in the middle of the night. My class at the university wouldn’t start until ten, but my body was so used to waking early that I was already up by six.
I also had to pay my rent today. So even though I still didn’t feel like getting out of bed, I forced myself to make breakfast, take a shower, and get dressed.
After heading downstairs, I went straight to Aling Berta’s room. She was the owner of the old building where I was currently renting.
“Aling Berta!” I called.
“Just a moment!” the landlady replied from inside.
A few moments later, the door opened, revealing a woman with curly hair streaked with white.
“Oh, it’s you, Hannah. What brings you here?”
“I’d like to pay my rent,” I said, handing her three thousand pesos.
Aling Berta smiled at me as she accepted the money.
“Thank you, Hannah.”
“You’re welcome,” I replied with a smile. Then I turned around and walked toward the gate.
After walking a short distance, I glanced back at the building where I was staying. It reminded me of when I first told my friend Tanya that I’d be living there. She’d been worried.
There were stories about the old building that sometimes came up in our class. I’d heard people say that there was something else living in the building I was renting. They said the building had already been there when the university was just beginning to be built, making it even older than the school I attended.
I grew up in the province, so stories like that weren’t new to me. I simply shrugged them off. The place was close to the university, and the rent was cheap. I wasn’t the type to socialize much, so I preferred having a room to myself. It just so happened that Aling Berta had a vacant room for rent, so I took it right away. I also didn’t want my parents back in the province spending more money on me.
“Hannah!”
I turned around. It was Tanya—my friend with long hair that she always wore in a ponytail.
“You’re up early,” she said.
“You’re early too,” I replied, glancing at my watch. It was only 8:30.
“It’s noisy at our boarding house, so I left early. You’re still renting that place? You haven’t thought about moving?”
“Why would I move?”
“I can’t believe you. You’re probably the only student insisting on staying there. There are so many stories—”
“They’re just stories,” I cut in.
She smiled. “Well, if you ever want to move, just let me know. We’ll look for a place together.”
I nodded. It had become our habit to spend time at the library whenever we both arrived early, so we walked there together.
That evening,
After dinner, I took my notebooks out of my bag one by one. I had an essay to finish and a mountain of assignments for my major subjects.
I turned on my pocket Wi-Fi and laptop, then started researching and working on my essay.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The only sound in my small room was the tapping of the keyboard, and the only light I left on was my study lamp. I couldn’t really explain it, but somehow I felt more comfortable when my surroundings were a little dark.
9:00 p.m.
10:00 p.m.
11:00 p.m.
My eyelids gradually grew heavy as I stared at the screen.
Thud.
Ding... Ding... Ding...
I woke to the sound of the old clock. I hadn’t realized I’d fallen asleep. I couldn’t see anything. My laptop screen had already gone dark, and I figured my desk lamp had run out of battery as well. Still half-asleep, I rubbed my eyes and felt around for my phone to check the time.
Three o’clock.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
The moment I heard another sound, I was instantly awake. My attention shifted to the door of my room.
Someone was knocking.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. It suddenly felt much colder.
I didn’t move.
I could scream, but would anyone hear me? My room was on the second floor, and I wasn’t even sure if someone was just playing a prank at this hour. Besides, the door was locked.
The knocking continued, but after a few minutes, it finally stopped, and I let out a sigh of relief.
I turned on my phone’s flashlight and carefully walked without making a sound until I reached my bed. I quickly climbed onto it and pulled the blanket over myself.
I couldn’t remember how I eventually fell asleep. But before I finally closed my eyes, the sound of the knocking remained with me—over and over, as though someone was waiting on the other side of the door.
******
The next day,
I ended up spending time at the university library. I hadn’t finished some of my work the night before, so I decided to look for more reference materials. Even so, I still couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened in the early hours of the morning.
“Hannah.”
I suddenly dropped the book I was reading and turned toward the voice.
It was Tanya. I hadn’t even noticed that she’d already walked over to me.
“Are you okay?” she asked, picking up the book that had fallen.
I nodded.
“It’s nothing. I just stayed up late working on our assignments and projects,” I replied.
I didn’t want to tell Tanya about what had happened. She’d probably just get worried and tell me to move out right away.
She looked at me. I could see the concern on her face, as if she wanted to ask something else.
“Do you want to grab something to eat later? Two of my boardmates invited me out. It’s just at the fast-food place nearby.”
I shook my head.
“I have to finish my schoolwork. The break is coming up soon, and I don’t want to stay in Manila longer just because I missed a deadline.”
“Is that so? All right, it’s up to you. Just send me a message if you change your mind, okay? Take care on your way home.”
“Thanks.”
***
That night,
I wanted to sleep, but whenever I remembered what had happened, I found it hard to fall asleep. If I heard knocking again tonight, I was definitely going to complain to the landlady.
I closed my eyes and didn’t realize when I finally fell asleep.
Ding... Ding... Ding...
I jolted awake. Sometimes, even the sound of the old clock was enough to make me uneasy. Just like before, every light in the room was off.I reached for my phone beside my pillow then looked at the time on the screen.
Three o’clock again.
“Why do I always wake up at this hour?”
I was about to close my eyes again when—
Knock! Knock! Knock!
My body went rigid as I heard the familiar knocking again. I rubbed my arm after a sudden chill ran through me.
I pulled the blanket over myself. If the knocking had stopped fairly quickly the night before, it lasted much longer this time. I kept my eyes closed as it continued. I just wanted it to end, and for whoever was doing this to stop.
It’s a good thing no one had complained to the landlady about whoever was behind it.
I didn’t know how many minutes had passed, but eventually the knocking stopped. I simply closed my eyes and waited for sleep to come again.
The following day, Saturday, even though I hadn’t gotten enough sleep, I still went to see the landlady. I was really getting tired of whoever it was pulling that prank in the middle of the night.
Even if it was meant as a joke, knocking on someone’s door like that wasn’t good for the people living there.
“Hello? Aling Berta!” I called, knocking on the door.
“Just a moment, dear.”
A few seconds later, the door opened, and the landlady greeted me.
“Oh? What’s the matter this time? Don’t tell me you’re here to pay your rent this early again,” she said jokingly.
“No. I just wanted to ask if we have a tenant who comes home in the middle of the night.”
Aling Berta paused for a moment before inviting me inside.
“Come in first.”
I stepped inside and looked around the house. It seemed even the landlady had never gotten around to renovating it. The paint on the walls had long since faded. I also noticed several old photographs hanging on the walls. My attention settled on a fairly large altar in the middle of the living room, where several religious statues were displayed.
“Have a seat first,” Aling Berta said as she switched on the stand fan beside me.
I sat down on the sofa and waited for Aling Berta to take her seat as well.
“Do you live here by yourself?” I asked.
I’d been renting a room in this building for almost three months, but this was the first time I’d been inside her house. Besides, I wasn’t the type to ask about someone’s personal life unless we were close.
“Ah, yes. My husband passed away two years ago. My son is an engineer, and he’s working abroad. It’ll still be a while before his contract ends.”
“I see.”
“What was it you were asking about again?”
“I just wanted to know if we have a tenant on the second floor who comes home in the middle of the night.”
Aling Berta fell silent.
“Why do you ask?”
“For the past two nights, someone’s been knocking on my door at three in the morning. Even if it’s meant as a joke, it isn’t funny anymore,” I replied.
When I finished speaking, I noticed Aling Berta’s lips part slightly.
“Aling Berta?”
She lowered her head for a moment before looking back at me.
“Hannah, you’re the only one staying on the second floor, dear.”
The moment I heard her answer, the knocking I’d heard in the middle of the night came flooding back. For a few seconds, I couldn’t hear anything except the pounding of my own heart.
Questions began racing through my mind.
“Then who’s been knocking on my door? It doesn’t make sense for someone to climb up to the second floor just to knock on the apartment doors.”
“I didn’t mention it because it’s rare for all the rooms here to be occupied at the same time. The rooms on the second floor are only meant for one or two people. I don’t like admitting it, but I’ve heard stories about this building too.”
“One of my tenants on the first floor will be moving out once their lease ends. They said they might transfer because they’ve found another job. If that happens, I can move you downstairs,” Aling Berta offered.
I didn’t reply right away. I let the landlady’s words sink in first.
“It’s all right. Maybe I just heard it wrong. Besides, the school break is coming up anyway. I’ll finish the semester first, then I’ll let you know.”
“All right. It’s up to you.”
I stood up and was about to leave when the landlady called out to me. I stopped for a moment and turned around.
“Would you like to keep this rosary instead? It’s better if you pray. It might help you.”
I gave the rosary the landlady was offering me a cold look before shaking my head.
“Thank you for your concern. But I’ll be fine.”
I turned around again and went up to my room. Since the school break was almost here, I thought about packing some of the things I’d be taking back to the province. But then I remembered the pile of school projects I still had to finish, so I decided to put it off for the time being.
“Just a few more days. Whoever’s been knocking can keep knocking. I’ll just ignore it,” I told myself.
Now that I knew it might be something else knocking on my door, it was better not to pay any attention to it.
That night, I waited once again for someone to knock on my door. I let out a deep breath when, at last, I heard nothing.
The days passed, and I never heard the knocking at three in the morning again. Eventually, the last day of classes arrived. Before heading back to my rented room, Tanya and I had a meal together and said our goodbyes. She told me she had somewhere to go afterward, so I might not be able to reach her for a few days.
“Let me know when you get back to your province, okay?” Tanya said.
I nodded, and we hugged each other before going our separate ways.
When I got back to my room, I pulled my suitcase out from under the bed. Even though my trip was still three days away, it was better to pack early in case I forgot something.
I was taking my clothes off their hangers and gathering the folded ones when—
Thud.
“Huh?”
I looked down to see what had fallen, and I almost dropped the clothes in my hands when I saw it.
The small mirror with the black decorative frame.
I froze for a moment as that recurring dream about the mirror flashed through my mind. At the same time, a chill ran through my entire body.
I couldn’t remember bringing it with me from the province, and I had no reason to. The last thing I remembered was that we’d thrown it away along with my grandmother’s belongings after her wake.
“Why is this here?”
A few seconds passed before I finally bent down to pick up the mirror. I’d expected it to be shattered since my floor was made of concrete, but it was still completely intact.
I tossed the mirror back into the drawer and continued packing the rest of my things. I also added general cleaning to my list since I’d be away for at least two weeks, maybe longer, before returning.
Exhausted, I fell fast asleep before nine o’clock.
Ding... Ding... Ding...
Knock! Knock! Knock!
The familiar sounds that came only at three in the morning pulled me awake. I sat up in bed and gripped my blanket tightly.
I remembered what Aling Berta had told me.
“You’re the only one staying on the second floor.”
At first, the knocking was soft, but then it grew faster, as if whoever was outside was running out of patience and trying to get me to open the door. When it finally stopped, I let out a sigh of relief.
“Thank goodness it finally sto—”
I pressed myself against the wall, my eyes widening as I heard the sound of the locked doorknob being forced.
It stopped only after a few minutes.
I didn’t get any sleep for the rest of the night. I thought about calling Tanya, but then I remembered she had somewhere to be and probably didn’t have any signal. I let out a weary sigh. I wanted to leave, but my bus ticket back to the province wasn’t until Sunday.
“Just one more night. Then this will all be over.”
I didn’t want to bring it up with the landlady again. I wanted even less to spend money on a hotel when I only had enough for my trip home. Besides, it wasn’t practical when I was already paying rent for this place.
“It only goes as far as the door. It probably won’t come inside,” I told myself, trying to convince myself.
But then I suddenly remembered that the knocking had only started again after I accidentally found the mirror among my things.
When morning came, I pulled open the drawer where I had kept the small mirror. I still couldn’t understand how it had ended up with my belongings. Even back in the province, my family had always considered it unlucky, yet it had been one of my late grandmother’s most treasured possessions.
I left my room with the mirror in hand and went to the segregation area of the building. Without a second thought, I threw it away. I also decided to borrow a baseball bat from the landlady. She had once mentioned that her son used to play baseball, so I was sure she still had one stored away.
I wasn’t sure whether I was dealing with a real person or something else. Even though I noticed the landlady looked as if she wanted to ask me something while handing me the baseball bat, I ignored it.
That night, I didn’t sleep. I waited for three o’clock to come... and for the mysterious one knocking on my door.
Ding... Ding... Ding...
Just as I expected, I heard the knocking again. I tightened my grip on the baseball bat as the doorknob was twisted once more. Every hair on my body stood on end, and the only thing I could hear was the pounding of my heart.
A few moments later, the doorknob stopped moving again.
“Haah... Finally, it’s ove—”
“Hannah...”
I froze, my whole body turning rigid as I heard a voice calling my name from the other side of the door.
“Hannah...”
It felt as though the entire room had turned cold. But that wasn’t what terrified me.
It was the voice.
As cold as it sounded, it was familiar.
My own voice.
“Hehehe... I know you’re awake. Aren’t you going to open the door for me?”
I pressed myself against the wall again, every part of me trembling with fear.
“Hannah...”
“Hannah...”
“Hannah...”
“Hehehe...”
Click!
The door opened.
The last thing I saw was a shadow.
A shadow... that looked just like me.
“AAAAHHHH!!!”
*****
Aling Berta’s House
I looked at the calendar hanging on the wall. Several days had passed, yet I still hadn’t seen my only tenant on the second floor come downstairs. As far as I knew, her classes had already ended, and she should have gone back to her province by now.
I remembered what the young woman had told me—that someone had been knocking on her door at three in the morning. When I heard that, I couldn’t help but shudder and make the sign of the cross.
I knew she would stop by to leave her key before she left. But several days had passed, and she still hadn’t come down.
I stepped out of the house and went up to the second floor, looking for the room she was renting. But as soon as I reached the hallway, I couldn’t help wrapping my arms around myself because of the cold. It also felt as though something heavy was pressing down on me.
I instinctively reached for the rosary in the pocket of my skirt.
When I reached her door, I knocked gently.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
“Hannah?”
There was no answer.
“Hannah, dear?” I called again.
I knocked several more times, but there was still no response.
I slowly turned the doorknob.
It wasn’t locked.
A dark, cold room greeted me. I froze the moment I caught the faint smell of smoke, as though a candle had only just been extinguished. The room was dark. Hardly anything moved. At the far end of the room, a young woman sat beside the study table with her back to me.
“Hannah?” I called, my voice trembling slightly.
I called her name three times before she slowly turned around.
“Aling Berta?”
I couldn’t explain why, but the hairs on the back of my neck stood up the moment I heard her voice. It was her voice, but... there was something cold and lifeless about it. It didn’t sound like her.
“Sorry I didn’t hear you right away,” the young woman said. “I’m still getting used to it...”
She smiled at me, but something about her felt different. I couldn’t move and remained standing outside her room. I gripped the cross on my rosary tightly.
“That’s right. I’m Hannah.”
