"Next Time, Look"

I moved into this apartment because it was cheap. Too cheap. The landlord only

gave me one rule. He said, “If you hear footsteps at night, don’t check the

hallway.” I laughed it off. The first night was quiet. The second night

too. On the third night, I woke up at exactly 2:36 a.m. I didn’t hear footsteps.

I heard breathing. Right outside my bedroom door. I stayed completely still.

Didn’t move. Didn’t breathe. After a minute, the breathing stopped. The next morning,

I found muddy footprints in the hallway. They started at my bedroom door. And led to the bathroom

mirror. There were no footprints leading away. And written on the mirror,