The door creaked open. Light from the dimly lit hallway trickled into the pitch-black room. The person in the bed rustled around awakened by a sound. 

“Hello?” he called out quietly, trying not to wake anyone else in the house.

There was no sound besides the faint crackling of the fireplace in the living room and the whistling of the wind coming through the window. Suddenly, the door shut. Assuming it was the wind, the man calmed down and settled in to fall asleep. 

A creaking noise could be heard now, getting closer and closer to him. The man started moving around again, rustling in his sheets. He fell back asleep, almost lifeless, maybe in a deep sleep. There was no noise besides a faint dripping and the creaking of the door opening and then quickly closing. But it was probably just the wind.

–WP–

(Published November 2022)