Day 1 - WHO IS AT THE DOOR?

Title: WHO IS AT THE DOOR? - Day 1 In a deserted area of Sahiwal, there was a very big and old house. This house was at the very end of the street. Around this house, there were very tall and dry trees whose branches kept swaying in the wind. The walls of this house were very high and its windows always had heavy curtains on them. In this house lived a girl named Nora. Nora was twenty-two years old. She was a very innocent, beautiful and soft-hearted girl. She studied in a college in Sahiwal. In this house, she lived with her Mother and Father. Her Mother's name was Mrs. Rosemary and her Father's name was Mr. David. Today was a very strange day. Since morning, it had been raining very heavily in Sahiwal. Dark clouds were covering the sky. The wind was blowing very fast. Nora's Mother and Father had to go to a wedding in Lahore today. It was a wedding of a very close relative of theirs. "Daughter, we are going to the wedding," Mrs. Rosemary had said to Nora in the morning. "We will be back by night. But it is raining very heavily, maybe we will have to stay there. You take care of yourself. Do not open the door for anyone. Understood?" "Yes, Mother, don't worry. I will stay at home," Nora had said. Mr. David had also explained to Nora. "Daughter, everything in the house is inside. Even if the light goes off, there is an inverter. Just remember one thing, in this area, people often knock on the door at night and ask for help. But you should not open the door for any stranger. We have told Aunty Margaret, she is in the next house, call her if you need anything." Nora had nodded. Her Mother and Father sat in the car and left. Nora was standing at the door of the house watching them go. The car slowly disappeared in the deserted street. Now Nora was alone in this big house. Outside, the rain became even heavier. The raindrops were hitting the windows with the wind. Inside the house, there was a lot of silence. So much silence that Nora could even hear her own breathing. The old wooden walls of the house were making even more noises because of the rain. The sound of rain on the roof was sounding very scary. Nora closed all the doors and windows of the house from inside. She turned on the TV but the light was going on and off again and again. She went to her room and took out her books and tried to study. But her heart was not in her studies. She was feeling a strange fear. Around five in the evening, the rain became even heavier. Lightning was flashing in the sky. Nora went to the kitchen to make tea. The kitchen was very big and a little dark too. She made tea and holding the cup in her hand, she came to the living room and sat down. From the big window of the living room, the garden outside was visible. Due to the rain, the garden was filled with water. At that very moment, Nora felt as if she had seen someone near the gate outside. She looked carefully. There was a shadow near the gate of the garden. Someone was standing in the rain. Nora's heart started beating very fast. She got up and went near the window and looked. But there was no one there. "Maybe it was my imagination," Nora said to herself. She sat back on the sofa. She took out her mobile and tried to call her Mother but due to the rain, there were no signals. The phone was showing No Signal. Around seven o'clock, the light of the whole area went off. Darkness spread in the house. Nora quickly lit candles. The inverter was also not working due to the rain. Now there was only a dim light of candles in the house. In this light, the house looked even more scary. Her own shadow on the walls looked very big. Nora went to her bedroom. She closed the door from inside. She sat on the bed and started praying. She was remembering her Mother's words. Do not open the door for anyone. Exactly at eight o'clock, when there was a stormy rain outside, suddenly there was a loud knock on the main door of the house. Knock. Knock. Knock. Nora jumped up. The cup of tea fell from her hand. This knock was very loud. As if someone was hitting the door with full force. "Who is it?" Nora shouted fearfully. But her voice did not go outside her own room. Then there was a knock again. Even louder this time. Knock. Knock. Knock. Nora's legs were shaking. She got off the bed and went to her room's door. She put her ear to hear. The sound of the door being knocked was coming continuously from below. Outside, along with the rain, there was now also a sound of someone walking. As if someone was walking in the wet mud. Nora gathered courage and opened her room's door and went to the stairs. From upstairs, she looked down towards the living room. Downstairs was dark. Only a candle was burning. There was another knock on the main door. "Who is there?" Nora shouted from upstairs. No one answered. Only the sound of rain. Then a woman's voice came. A very soft voice. "Sister, please open the door, it is raining heavily. I need help." It was the voice of a young girl. Nora felt a little courage that maybe it is some neighbor girl. But she remembered her Father's words not to open the door for any stranger. "Who are you?" Nora asked. "I... I am Aunty Margaret's daughter, my name is Emma," came the voice from outside. "Mother sent me. Your house has no light, so she came to call you." Nora remembered that Aunty Margaret really lived in the next house. She had a daughter named Emma. But Nora had never seen Emma. Aunty Margaret had said that Emma studies in Lahore. Nora slowly came downstairs. Her heart was beating very fast. She went near the main door. Rainwater was coming inside from under the door. She tried to look outside from the small window of the door. It was very dark outside and due to the rain, nothing was visible. Only a shadow was visible. "Please open the door," the girl outside said again, this time there was crying in her voice. "I am very scared." Nora put her hand on the door handle. Her hand was shaking. As soon as she tried to open the door, she heard a loud sound of something falling from behind, from the kitchen. Nora turned back in fear. She ran to the kitchen. There was a broken glass lying on the floor. But there was no wind, how did it fall? When she came back towards the main door, the knocking from outside had stopped. There was complete silence outside. There was no sound in the rain, no shadow. As if there was never anyone there. Nora looked outside again from the window of the door. The street was empty. The gate was drenched in the rain. There was no one. So does that mean that girl has left? Nora thought. Or was it my imagination? She started going back to her room. While climbing the stairs, she felt as if someone was walking behind her. She turned and looked, there was no one. But on the stairs, there were marks of wet footsteps. Fresh wet footsteps, coming from bottom to top. Nora screamed. Whose footsteps were these? She had not even opened the door, so how did these wet steps come inside? She ran to her room and closed the door from inside. She sat on the bed and started crying loudly. She took the blanket over herself. Outside, the rain had become even heavier. Lightning was thundering. After some time, there was a knock on her own bedroom door. Knock. Knock. Knock. The same sound. The same three knocks. But this time this knock was not on the main gate outside, it was on her own bedroom door. Nora's blood ran cold. Who is standing outside her room? She is alone in this house. "Who is it?" Nora said crying. From outside, the same girl's voice came. "Open the door Nora, I am Emma. Let me come inside, I am very scared outside." Nora did not open the door. She shrank into the corner of the bed. Then another sound came from outside, a small piece of paper was thrown inside from under the door. Nora picked up that piece of paper with trembling hands. On it, in crooked handwriting, it was written: "DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR - IT'S YOU" Nora looked at the paper and was about to faint. What did it mean? What does "It's You" mean? She closed the paper in her fist and kept looking at the door. There was no sound outside now. But she knew, someone is standing there. Someone is standing right outside her door and waiting for her to open the door. This was only Day One. Her Mother and Father had gone to a wedding. She was alone at home. There was a stormy rain outside. And now someone was at her door. If today, the first day is so scary, then what will happen tomorrow? To Be Continued...