Chapter 2

Chapter 2

(3)

The next morning, the sun was shining brightly, making everything look fresh and new. It felt like the events of last night were just a bad dream or a trick of my mind.

I went to the spot on the wall where I thought I saw the face in my dream, examining it closely, hoping to find something different. But there was nothing. The entire wall was perfectly smooth.

I went to work as usual. However, having barely slept the night before, I felt exhausted and lacked energy. I was so tired that I dozed off at my desk.

In my dream, I saw a girl with wide-open eyes, her mouth covered by someone's hand, being shoved into a huge plastic bag. It looked like she was being hidden inside a wall. She saw me, tears streaming down her face, and shook her head vigorously. I tried to get closer to see more clearly, but everything kept moving backward.

"Wake up, Jaynie!"

I opened my eyes groggily. It was my colleague.

"You fell asleep sitting up. Be careful, you might catch a cold."

Back at my apartment complex, I saw the security guard at the entrance. I wanted to ask him if he had seen anyone suspicious during the night but decided against it. I had just moved in yesterday and felt a bit awkward.

As I went upstairs, the only other person waiting for the elevator was a young man. It was already getting late, and after what had happened the previous night, I was on high alert. I didn't press my floor button immediately, intentionally waiting for him to press his floor first.

To my surprise, after pressing his button, he turned and asked me which floor I was going to. He turned to face me, and I noticed he had a rather pleasant face. I stammered and said, "Twelve."

Only one floor button was lit up—twelve. This realization made me clutch my bag strap tightly. I hadn't seen which floor he had pressed because his body had blocked my view.

Meanwhile, the elevator ascended rapidly. I decided to take things one step at a time. Maybe he lived on the same floor, and I was just overreacting.

I took a deep breath, my heartbeat was so loud it was almost deafening. The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. I bolted out and quickly headed towards my apartment. The man followed me at a leisurely pace, which made me even more panicked. If he caught me, who knew what he might do?

I was almost at my door. The short distance felt like a mile. As soon as I reached the lock, I punched in the code. But it was too late; he was already beside me.

(4)

I had no choice. I clutched my bag tightly and swung it with all my strength at the man beside me.

"Ah!" he yelled.

"Stalker! You creep! Get away from me!" I screamed, hitting him repeatedly.

"Hey! What are you doing?" The security guard, who had been downstairs just moments ago, suddenly appeared and stopped me. Why wasn't he catching the bad guy instead of stopping me?

I was about to question him when he said, "Mr. Todd isn't a stalker. He lives right next door!"

The guard's words left me frozen in place, feeling like I was on pins and needles. My face flushed bright red.

"I'm so... so sorry!" I stammered.

My neighbor, Frank, looked at me with a mix of helplessness and grievance but didn't say much. He waved his hand, indicating it was okay.

"No worries, no worries. I must have accidentally scared you. It's good for a woman living alone to be cautious, really."

Relieved that it was a false alarm, I felt extremely embarrassed. Thankfully, I hadn't hit him too hard, and he only had a minor scratch. After the guard left, we both returned to our apartments.

A while later, I knocked on Frank's door with some freshly washed fruit and iodine. I sincerely apologized again, and he smiled, saying it was fine. He didn't invite me in, which suggested he valued his privacy. We chatted briefly in the hallway, and I learned his name was Frank.

Back in my apartment, I thought about Frank. He didn't seem like a bad person at all. I couldn't understand why I had become so suspicious. Maybe it was the lack of sleep and stress.

After washing up, I went to bed early, telling myself that tomorrow would be a new day.

As I slept, I thought I heard knocking again.

Knock, knock, knock!

What was that sound? I frowned, not fully awake.

Knock, knock, knock!

The sound continued, soft but penetrating. I suddenly opened my eyes and strained to listen in the dark.

"Who's there?" I shouted.

There was no response. This time, I didn't tiptoe. I ran straight to the door, my footsteps loud on the floor, and looked through the peephole. The hallway was empty, just like before.