The House That Waited

1. The Forgotten Lane

When Aisha moved back to her hometown of Abbottabad after ten long years, she only wanted peace — a small house, a quiet street, and a new start. She’d lost her husband in an accident, and the city memories haunted her more than any ghost could.

While looking for a place to rent, she came across an old property at the very end of Murree Lane. It was oddly cheap — too cheap for a house that big. The landlord, a quiet old man with cloudy eyes, told her,

“People don’t stay here for long. The house… doesn’t like new people.”

Aisha thought it was just superstition. She smiled politely, signed the papers, and moved in the next morning.

2. Whispers in the Dark

The first night was peaceful — too peaceful. No traffic, no neighbors, no noise except the ticking of the old wall clock. But around midnight, Aisha heard something faint… like a whisper.

It came from the walls.

At first, she thought it was the wind, but the sound was too deliberate — like words trying to form through cracks in the plaster. She leaned closer and froze.

Someone was whispering her name.

“Aisha… Aisha…”

Her breath caught. She switched on the light — the whispers stopped. The house went completely silent again.

She didn’t sleep that night.

3. The Locked Room

On the second day, Aisha explored the house in daylight. The air was stale, filled with the smell of dust and old wood. While walking upstairs, she noticed one door that was locked — rusted, with deep scratches around the handle, as if someone had tried to claw their way in.

She asked the landlord about it when he came by to check on the electricity.

He looked startled.

“You didn’t open that door, did you?”

“No,” she said. “It was already locked.”

“Good,” he muttered. “Keep it that way. The last tenant… didn’t listen.”

When she pressed for more details, he simply said, “Some doors are locked for a reason,” and left.

That night, the whispering came again — louder.

4. The Shadow Under the Door

At 2:47 a.m., Aisha woke to a strange sound — creaking wood. Her bedroom door was open slightly, and she saw a faint shadow moving in the hallway.

Her heart raced. She grabbed her phone, but there was no signal.

Then, she noticed something — the locked door at the end of the hall was shaking.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

The noise echoed through the house, each hit stronger than the last. She wanted to run, but her legs refused to move. The doorknob began to turn slowly, screeching against the rust.

Then — silence.

The door stopped moving, and something whispered from behind it:

“Let me out…”

5. The Hidden Diary

The next morning, Aisha decided to find out the truth. She started searching the house, desperate for answers. Inside a drawer in the study, she found an old, leather-bound diary covered in dust. The first page read:

“This house feeds on fear.”

The diary belonged to a woman named Hina, who had lived there six years ago. The last entry sent chills down Aisha’s spine:

> “The thing in the locked room pretends to be human. It knows your voice. It waits until you trust it. Then it comes for you.”

The date was exactly six years ago — the same month Hina had vanished without a trace.

6. The Voice That Wasn’t Hers

That night, the whispers returned — but this time, they were different.

They came from the locked room, calling softly.

“Aisha… please… help me.”

The voice was her own.

She stood frozen in the hallway, staring at the shaking door. Every whisper, every echo sounded exactly like her — same tone, same pain.

Her trembling hand reached for the doorknob. It was cold — unnaturally cold.

When she twisted it, the lock snapped open on its own.

The door creaked open just an inch — and a dark, slender hand slid out, gripping the edge.

That was when the lights went out.

7. The Last Tenant

The next morning, the landlord returned to check on her. The front door was wide open, and the house was silent again.

No sign of Aisha.

But the locked room was sealed tight once more, the rust fresh around the handle.

He sighed heavily and whispered, “Another one.”

Before leaving, he hung a new For Rent sign outside the gate.

That night, the walls of the old house whispered again — this time, a new name.