Apartment 305
1170 Words
The rain had stopped by the time Nadia reached her apartment building, but the uneasy feeling from the café hadn't left her. The image of her reflection standing still while she walked away replayed in her mind like a broken film.
"You're exhausted," she told herself.
It was the only explanation that made sense.
She unlocked the front entrance and stepped into the lobby. The familiar scent of fresh paint and floor polish greeted her. A soft instrumental tune drifted from the reception desk, where the elderly security guard, Mr. Samuel, looked up from his newspaper.
"Morning, Nadia," he said with a warm smile.
"Morning."
"You look tired."
She forced a smile. "Didn't sleep well."
"Get some rest. Young people work too hard these days."
She nodded politely and headed toward the elevator.
The stainless-steel doors slid open almost immediately.
She hesitated.
The reflective walls inside made her stomach tighten.
For a brief second, she considered taking the stairs.
Instead, she stepped inside.
The elevator doors closed.
She pressed 7.
As the elevator climbed, Nadia kept her eyes fixed on the floor, refusing to look at the reflective walls.
Second floor.
Third floor.
The elevator slowed.
Ding.
The doors opened.
No one was there.
She frowned.
No one had pressed the button.
The hallway outside was empty and silent.
Just as the doors were about to close, a woman's voice echoed through the corridor.
"Please..."
Nadia looked up.
At the far end of the hallway stood a young woman, perhaps in her late twenties. She wore a cream-colored sweater, her dark hair falling over her shoulders. Tears streaked her cheeks, and she looked terrified.
Their eyes met.
The woman raised a trembling hand.
"Help me..."
Nadia instinctively stepped out of the elevator.
"Are you okay?"
The woman glanced nervously over her shoulder, as if someone was behind her.
"He found me."
"Who?"
Before the woman could answer, the lights in the hallway flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then everything went dark.
Only for a second.
When the lights returned...
The hallway was empty.
The woman had vanished.
Nadia stared in disbelief.
She hurried to where the woman had been standing.
Nothing.
No footsteps.
No open doors.
No voices.
The hallway was perfectly still.
A cold draft brushed against her neck.
She turned around.
The elevator doors were still open.
Waiting.
Almost inviting her back inside.
She swallowed hard and stepped in.
As the doors closed, she glanced at the floor indicator.
It hadn't stopped on the third floor.
It read:
Floor 3... Apartment 305.
Her heartbeat quickened.
Apartments weren't displayed on the elevator panel.
Only floor numbers.
She blinked.
The display returned to normal.
Had she imagined that too?
That evening, Nadia tried to focus on editing photographs from her latest assignment.
She adjusted brightness.
Contrast.
Exposure.
Anything to distract herself.
Nothing worked.
Her thoughts kept returning to the frightened woman.
The fear in her eyes had felt real.
Too real.
A knock at her apartment door startled her.
She nearly dropped her laptop.
Opening the door, she found her best friend, Amara, balancing two takeaway bags.
"I brought dinner," Amara announced with a grin.
Nadia laughed softly.
"You always know when I forget to eat."
"That's because I know you."
They settled onto the couch with plates of jollof rice and grilled chicken.
For the first time all day, Nadia felt herself relax.
"So..." Amara said between bites. "What's going on with you?"
"What do you mean?"
"You've been staring into space since I got here."
Nadia hesitated.
Then she told her everything.
The bathroom.
The elevator.
The photograph.
The woman.
The reflection.
When she finished, Amara was quiet.
Finally, she smiled.
"You need sleep."
"I knew you'd say that."
"Nadia, you've been working nonstop for weeks."
"I know what I saw."
Amara reached across the table and squeezed her hand.
"I believe that you believe it."
Nadia sighed.
"I just wish I knew what was happening."
Later that night, after Amara left, Nadia couldn't sleep.
She kept thinking about the woman.
Finally, curiosity got the better of her.
She grabbed her phone.
The building had a residents' group chat.
She searched:
Apartment 305
A profile appeared.
Olivia Martins
The display picture matched the woman she'd seen.
Nadia's heart skipped.
She quickly opened the profile.
The last message Olivia had posted was two days ago.
"Has anyone else noticed strange noises in the hallway at night?"
No one had replied.
Nadia stared at the screen.
A sudden urge pushed her out of bed.
She grabbed her hoodie and headed downstairs.
The third floor was silent.
Apartment 305 stood at the end of the hallway.
The lights overhead buzzed faintly.
She knocked gently.
No answer.
She knocked again.
Still nothing.
Just as she turned to leave...
She heard it.
A muffled cry.
Coming from inside.
"Hello?"
Silence.
Then...
Three slow knocks.
From the other side of the door.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Nadia stepped backward.
"Olivia?"
No response.
Her hand trembled as she reached for the doorknob.
It turned.
The door wasn't locked.
Slowly, she pushed it open.
The apartment was dark.
Cold.
The furniture was covered with white sheets, as though no one had lived there for months.
Dust coated every surface.
"Nadia..."
She froze.
Someone had whispered her name.
The voice came from the bedroom.
She took a cautious step forward.
Another.
Then she saw it.
A large mirror leaned against the bedroom wall.
Its surface reflected the empty room.
Except...
The reflection wasn't empty.
The woman from earlier stood inside it.
She looked terrified.
She pressed both hands against the glass as if trying to escape.
"Help me!"
Nadia rushed toward the mirror.
"What do I do?"
The woman shook her head frantically.
"Don't let him—"
A shadow appeared behind her.
Tall.
Featureless.
Its hand reached toward Olivia's shoulder.
She screamed.
The mirror shattered with an explosive c***k.
Nadia threw her arms over her face.
Glass scattered across the floor.
When she looked up...
The bedroom was empty.
The mirror was intact.
Not a single c***k marked its surface.
She stumbled backward, breathing hard.
Then she heard footsteps racing down the hallway outside.
Voices.
Police officers.
Someone had called emergency services.
Confused, Nadia stepped out into the corridor.
Two officers rushed past her into Apartment 305.
Moments later, one of them shouted,
"We've got a body!"
Nadia's blood ran cold.
Another officer blocked her path.
"You need to step back."
She couldn't move.
The officers wheeled out a stretcher covered with a white sheet.
As they lifted one corner to confirm the identity, Nadia caught a glimpse of the victim's face.
It was Olivia.
The same woman who had begged for help.
The same woman Nadia had seen alive only hours before.
Nadia's knees nearly gave way.
She whispered to herself,
"I was too late..."
Unseen by anyone else, the unbroken bedroom mirror reflected the scene.
Everyone in the hallway moved exactly as they should.
Except one figure.
A dark silhouette stood motionless behind Nadia's reflection.
Watching.
Smiling.
- Writer
