The Knocking Answered Back

Every night at exactly 2:17 AM, I hear it. Three slow knocks… Not on my door.

Not on my window. From inside my wall. I tell myself it’s just pipes. Old houses make

noise. But pipes don’t knock back. One night, I tap the wall.

The knocking stops. For a week. Then it comes back. Slower. Closer.

I press my ear to the wall and whisper, “Hello?” Something whispers my name.

The name only my mother used. The name I haven’t heard since she died.

My phone buzzes. 2:18 AM. A message from an unknown number. “You shouldn’t have

answered.” The knocking starts again. But not from the wall.