Chapter 4

The third knock came again. Knock. Mara stood frozen in the middle of the hallway. She stared at the old photograph still clutched in her hand. The little girl in the picture seemed to be looking directly at her. Mara swallowed hard. “Who are you?” she whispered. There was no answer. Only silence. Then— Knock. Mara's eyes widened. The sound wasn't coming from the front door. It was coming from the closet. The same closet where she had found the photograph. She slowly turned toward it. The words she had discovered earlier echoed in her mind. DON'T LET HER IN. Mara stepped backward. “Who's there?” Nothing. She took another step. The old wooden closet door suddenly moved. Just a little. Creeeeak. Mara's breath caught. “No…” She wanted to run, but her feet wouldn't move. The door opened another inch. A cold breeze escaped from inside. Then she heard a child's voice. “Mara…” Her heart pounded. The voice sounded frightened. “Please…” Mara stared at the darkness inside the closet. “Who are you?” A small hand slowly appeared between the door and the frame. Mara covered her mouth to keep herself from screaming. The hand was pale. Very pale. Then the child whispered: “Don't let her hear the third knock.” Mara looked toward the photograph. The little girl was no longer standing beside her grandmother. She was standing alone. And behind her was a tall, dark figure. Mara dropped the photograph. Knock. The entire house went silent. The clock on the wall stopped. 11:59 PM. Mara looked at the closet. The child's hand disappeared. Then a woman's voice came from inside. “Mara…” She recognized that voice. Her mother's voice. A voice she hadn't heard in years. “Mara, sweetheart…” Tears filled her eyes. “Mom?” The closet door slowly opened. “Mara… open the door.” She took a step forward. Then she remembered the warning. DON'T LET HER IN. Mara stopped. The voice changed. It became deeper. Colder. “You remember me, don't you?” Mara backed away. The clock suddenly started ticking again. Tick. Tick. Tick. 11:59. Then the minute hand moved. 12:00. The third knock came. KNOCK. The lights went out. And in the darkness, Mara heard someone whisper right beside her ear— “You should have left the photograph where you found it.” Mara turned around. Nothing was there. But when she looked down at the floor… the old photograph was gone. In its place was a single handwritten note. Mara picked it up with trembling hands. There were only five words: “She knows you are here.” From upstairs came the sound of footsteps. Slow. Heavy. Coming closer. Mara looked toward the staircase. And at the top of the stairs stood the little girl from the photograph. She smiled. Then she raised one finger to her lips. “Shhh…”