The digital clock flickered.
12:03 AM.
Aarav had been staring at it for the past ten minutes.
He didn't know why he was awake.
There was no noise. No light. No reason.
And yet… sleep wouldn't come.
The room felt… wrong.
Too quiet.
Too still.
As if the air itself was holding its breath.
Tap.
Aarav's eyes shifted slightly.
He didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Just listened.
Tap… tap…
It came again.
Soft.
Measured.
Deliberate.
Like footsteps.
His throat tightened.
"No…" he whispered under his breath. "That's just in my head."
It had to be.
Everyone hears things at night. Random sounds. Pipes. Wood. Imagination.
Right?
Tap… tap… tap…
Closer this time.
Right behind him.
Aarav's body went stiff.
His back was facing the room.
Facing the darkness.
Facing whatever was making that sound.
Don't move.
The thought appeared suddenly in his mind.
Clear.
Sharp.
Not like his own.
His fingers curled slightly into the bedsheet.
His breathing slowed.
Tap.
Right behind him now.
Close enough that he could almost feel it.
Something was there.
He was sure of it.
Not a sound.
Not imagination.
Something.
Standing.
Watching.
His heart started pounding.
Slow at first.
Then faster.
Then louder.
So loud he was afraid whatever was behind him could hear it.
Turn around.
The thought came again.
Soft.
Inviting.
Aarav swallowed.
"No," he whispered.
"I'm not doing that."
Silence.
Heavy.
Pressing.
Then—
His phone lit up.
The sudden glow made him flinch.
He hadn't touched it.
It was lying beside him.
Face up.
Screen glowing.
A notification.
Unknown number.
His hands trembled slightly as he picked it up.
There was only one message.
"Rule 1: Don't look behind you after midnight."
Aarav stared at the screen.
Confusion.
Fear.
Disbelief.
"What kind of joke is this…?"
He glanced at the time again.
12:03 AM.
The tapping stopped.
Completely.
No sound.
No movement.
Nothing.
The silence was worse.
Much worse.
Aarav slowly lowered the phone.
His breathing became shallow.
"Okay…" he muttered. "Okay… this is just… someone messing with me."
But deep down…
He knew.
No one was here.
No one could be.
The room felt colder.
And then—
"Aarav…"
The voice came from behind him.
His entire body froze.
It was soft.
Familiar.
Too familiar.
His chest tightened.
"No…" he whispered.
It sounded like his mother.
But that wasn't possible.
Her room was downstairs.
And she never came up at night.
Never.
"Aarav…"
The voice came again.
Closer.
Right next to his ear.
"Turn around…"
His eyes widened.
Every instinct in his body screamed at him.
Don't.
His grip tightened on the bedsheet.
"Don't listen…" he whispered to himself.
"Don't listen… don't listen…"
The voice changed.
Just slightly.
Enough to feel wrong.
"Aarav… look at me…"
The warmth in it was gone.
Now it felt…
Empty.
Like something pretending.
His heart pounded harder.
Faster.
Louder.
Then—
The footsteps stopped.
Instantly.
Dead silence.
The air shifted.
Something had changed.
Aarav felt it.
Deep in his chest.
The message.
He looked at his phone again.
The screen flickered.
Another line appeared.
"Rule 2: If the footsteps stop… run."
His breath hitched.
Slowly…
Very slowly…
He began to turn his head.
Just a little.
Just enough to see—
Darkness.
And within it—
A shape.
Standing.
Still.
Smiling.
His smile.