Chapter 4
The digital clock on the bedside table glowed a harsh 3:14 AM. Clara lay awake, staring up at the pale shadows cast by the streetlamp through the sheer curtains. Beside her, David breathed in deep, heavy rhythms of exhaustion. Her mind refused to quiet down, looping endlessly through the unsettling events of the past twenty-four hours. Finally, suffocated by her own racing thoughts, Clara slipped quietly out of bed, careful not to wake her husband.
She padded softly down the carpeted hallway in her bare feet, intending to grab a glass of water from the kitchen. The house was cold at this hour, the furnace clicking off with a metallic groan. As she passed the guest room, she noticed a thin sliver of warm light spilling out from beneath the closed door.
Clara stopped dead in her tracks. She frowned, glancing at her watch in the dim light. Three-fifteen in the morning. Who was awake?
She crept closer, her footsteps soundless against the floorboards. As she neared the door, a faint, metallic clicking sound drifted out into the hallway. It was rhythmic, deliberate, and entirely foreign. Holding her breath, Clara leaned in slightly, peering through the slight gap where the door had not quite latched shut.
Inside, the room was dimly lit by a single bedside lamp. Eleanor sat upright at the edge of the mattress, perfectly composed despite the hour. She was not sleeping. In her weathered hands, she held the heavy gold locket necklace, turning it over and over again. With a soft click, the clasp popped open. Eleanor leaned closer to the light, squinting down at the tiny photograph nestled inside the gold casing. Her lips moved silently, forming words to a ghost only she could see.
Suddenly, Eleanor stopped. Her thumb traced the edge of the locket with agonizing tenderness before she snapped it shut. Without turning her head, Eleanor spoke clearly into the quiet room.
May you like
“You can come in, Clara. Standing out in the cold draft won’t do your sinuses any favors.”
Clara’s breath caught in her throat. Her blood ran cold. She had made no sound, yet the old woman had known she was there the entire time. Panic and embarrassment warred within her chest. Slowly, pushing against her better judgment, Clara gently pushed the door open wide enough to step into the threshold, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs.
