The clock blinked 12:07 a.m.
Not 12:06.
Not 12:08.
Exactly 12:07—again.
I noticed it because every night, at that same time, the power went off for one second… and then came back.
One second is enough for silence to feel loud.
I was alone in my room, scrolling mindlessly, when—
KNOCK. KNOCK.
My phone slipped from my hand.
Nobody ever knocked on our door at night.
Nobody dared to.
The knock wasn't loud.
It wasn't angry.
It was… polite.
I swallowed hard and stood up. The hallway outside my room looked darker than usual, as if the shadows had grown heavier.
"Who is it?" I asked.
No answer.
Just then, the lights flickered.
And I heard something else.
A giggle.
A child's giggle.
But slow.
Too slow.
I moved closer to the door. My heart was beating so loudly I was sure whoever stood outside could hear it.
I looked through the peephole.
No one.
But on the door…
written with something dark and wet…
was my name.
Not my nickname.
Not my surname.
My full name.
Exactly how my mother writes it.
Suddenly—
KNOCK.
This time, right behind me.