I was alone in the house watching a thriller on TV. The rain outside was pouring heavily, drumming contently against the glass of my windows and filling the empty rooms with a strange – almost soothing – rhythm. My parents were visiting friends out of the town, and I was glad to have the place to myself. I made some quick popcorn, turned off the lights and settled on the sofa in a blanket as I let the TV consume my thoughts.

Suddenly, the power went out. I contemplated leaving the sofa because with the house so black that the darkness hummed, you do not want to explore. After a while, I sighed and went to fix the issue when I heard it. There was a faint tapping sound coming from the back door which I supposedly tuned out with the rain earlier. I tried to calm myself, but my stomach tightened nonetheless. I told myself it was just a branch knocking against the door in the wind, but the taps were steady, like human. Nothing was making me calm down and the taps got only progressively louder.

I grabbed my phone, turned on the flashlight, and crept toward the kitchen. The tapping stopped. My heart sank as I heard footsteps coming from the hallway – slow and deliberate. It knew that it would find me, sooner or later. I hid behind the nearest counter, barely letting out a sound. The footsteps came closer and closer until I could hear the thing´s breathing inches away from me. When I heard it walking past me, I slowly crawled away to the bathroom. I felt like I was playing hide and seek, except my life was possibly on the line. I almost jumped out of my skin when my phone buzzed. A message formy my dad said: „ Stay where you are. Help is on the way.“

Moments later, a flashing blue light filled the windows as the police and an ambulance arrived. I did not understand what was happening, but soon I was in a hospital room with people crying happy tears that I was okay from it, that I survived it.

When my wrists healed, I went back home, but I could still hear it knocking in my mind when I was alone. It was not done yet, but I was not either.