I didn't sleep. Not properly. My body had rested, but my mind kept circling the same image—the bent neck, the unnatural stillness, and the way it had looked at me, not empty or lost, but aware.
When I finally opened my eyes, pale morning light had already filled the room, soft and ordinary, as if nothing had happened. For a moment, everything felt normal. Too normal.
I sat up slowly, my gaze drifting toward the door. It stood open and empty, exactly as it should be. I exhaled quietly, running a hand through my hair.
"Right… just my brain being dramatic," I muttered, though the words didn't feel as convincing as I wanted them to.
The house was already awake when I stepped out, and the familiar noise greeted me instantly—cups clinking, something faintly burning in the kitchen, and Liz arguing with Alexis over something that clearly didn't matter.
"I'm telling you, it wasn't me!" Liz insisted.
"It was you," Alexis replied flatly. "You said you'd fix it."
"I said I'd try. That's different."
I paused at the doorway for a second, watching them. It was the same chaos as always, the same energy, the same comfort. Nothing had changed.
And yet… something felt different.
"Finally decided to wake up?" Liz noticed me first, grinning. "Birthday girl slept like a queen, huh?"
"More like a rock," Alexis added, placing a plate on the table. "You didn't even move."
"I guess I was just tired," I said, forcing a small smile as I walked in.
"Obviously," Liz said. "You're getting old now."
"I turned eighteen, not eighty."
"Same thing."
Alexis rolled her eyes. "Sit and eat before she finishes everything."
"I don't eat that much," Liz protested.
"You absolutely do."
I sat down, letting their voices settle around me, grounding me in something real. This was normal. This was safe. Last night… wasn't.
"Elara."
I looked up. Alexis was watching me now, her expression sharper than before.
"You okay?" she asked.
"Yeah. Why?"
"You're quiet."
"I'm always quiet."
"Not like this."
For a moment, I didn't respond. Then I shrugged lightly. "Didn't sleep properly."
She held my gaze for a second longer, as if deciding whether to push further, before finally letting it go. "Eat," she said, sliding the plate closer.
I tried to focus on something simple, something ordinary, but the room didn't feel the same. It wasn't obvious, nothing that could be pointed out, just a subtle shift that made everything feel slightly… off.
Without thinking, my eyes moved toward the corner of the room.
Empty.
I exhaled quietly, almost annoyed at myself. "See? Nothing," I murmured under my breath.
"You talking to yourself now?" Liz asked, leaning forward with a grin.
"Always have."
"Wow. That's concerning."
Alexis didn't laugh this time.
It happened again, but not directly. Just a flicker in the reflection of the window, something that shouldn't have been there.
I froze.
It was brief, almost nothing, but I knew I hadn't imagined it. For a split second, there had been a shape standing behind me.
My breath caught as I turned quickly.
Nothing.
Everything was exactly the same—Liz still talking, Alexis still watching me, the room unchanged.
But this time, I wasn't convincing myself it was nothing.
"Elara."
I looked up again.
"What?"
"You didn't hear me, did you?" Alexis asked.
"I did."
"What did I say?"
I hesitated. "…Eat?"
Liz burst out laughing. "That was ten seconds ago!"
Alexis frowned slightly. "You're distracted."
"I said I didn't sleep well."
"This isn't just that."
Her tone wasn't accusing, just certain, and that made it harder to ignore.
"I'm fine," I said, a little too quickly.
For a second, no one spoke. Then Liz broke the tension as usual.
"Anyway," she said dramatically, "now that Elara is officially an adult, does this mean she'll start acting mature?"
"No," Alexis and I answered at the same time.
Liz sighed. "Disappointing."
But even as the conversation moved on, I couldn't shake the feeling. Not the memory. Not the presence. And definitely not what I had seen in the reflection.
Because this time, it didn't feel like something was just watching.
It felt like it was waiting.
I stood up abruptly. "I'll be back," I said, not waiting for a reply.
"Elara—" Alexis started, but I was already walking away.
The hallway felt quieter than it should have, the kind of silence that didn't match a house that was clearly awake. My steps slowed slightly as that same feeling returned, stronger now, pressing in from all sides.
I stopped.
Then I turned.
And for a brief second—
I saw them.
Not one.
Two.
Standing at the far end of the hallway, still and silent, their presence impossible to ignore.
My breath caught, but I didn't move.
Because this time, they didn't disappear.
They didn't step forward either.
They just stood there, watching.
Waiting.
And for the first time, the thought came clearly, without doubt.
This wasn't something that would go away.
This wasn't in my head.
And whatever this was—
It had only just begun.
Why were there more of them… and why did it feel like they were waiting for me to do something?