The Silent Visitor

It was late one evening when the knock came. Three sharp raps on her door, echoing through the otherwise silent hall. Lena hesitated, her heart skipping a beat. She wasn’t expecting anyone. She never had visitors.

The knocking came again, more insistent this time. A shiver crawled up her spine as she glanced through the peephole, but there was no one there. The hallway outside was empty, bathed in the dim glow of the overhead lights. Lena frowned, her brow furrowing with confusion. She was certain she had heard the knock, but perhaps she was just imagining things.

"Must be the wind," she muttered to herself, shaking her head.

But then it happened again. Three knocks, this time so loud and clear that they rattled the doorframe. Lena’s pulse quickened. With a mix of curiosity and caution, she opened the door slowly, peering out into the dimly lit hallway.

The air felt heavy, as though the very walls were holding their breath.

To her surprise, no one stood outside. Just an envelope, lying neatly on the doormat. She bent down, her fingers trembling slightly as she picked it up. The envelope was plain, no markings, no name. She turned it over, her heart racing. The seal was broken. She hadn’t even noticed it when she grabbed it.

Inside the envelope, there was a single sheet of paper. The handwriting was neat, precise, but the message sent a jolt through her entire body:

“I know what you did.”

Lena’s mind raced. What did it mean? She hadn’t done anything, had she? Her thoughts scrambled, trying to make sense of the cryptic note. A thousand possibilities ran through her head. Who would send such a thing? And why? She glanced around the hallway, expecting someone to step out of the shadows, but there was no sign of life.

The silence of the apartment seemed to swallow her whole. She stepped back inside, locking the door behind her. Her hands were shaking now, the paper crinkling as she held it tightly. Her thoughts circled back to her parents' death. Could someone know? But no, that was absurd. No one knew. No one could know.

Lena paced back and forth, the words on the paper repeating in her mind like a broken record. The anxiety gnawed at her. Suddenly, she felt a cold breeze brush her cheek. She froze. The window was open. She hadn’t opened it.

Then, from behind her, came a voice.

"Did you think you could hide forever?"

Lena spun around, but there was no one there. Only her own reflection in the darkened window.

The realization struck her like a thunderclap. The note, the knocks, the voice—it was all coming from inside her own head.

Her reflection smiled back at her, but it wasn't her smile.

It was the smile of the person she had killed.