Dani and Raka didn't go straight home after leaving the old house.
They stopped by the side of the road near a large tree. Their motorbikes were parked beside them while the two of them stood silently, thinking about what they had just experienced.
The night wind blew softly.
Dani was still holding the old book they'd found in the upstairs bedroom.
"Dan."
Dani turned.
"What?"
"You sure you wanna open that book right now?"
Dani looked at the book's battered cover.
"I need to know."
"But what if there's something inside that drags us even deeper into trouble?"
Dani gave a small smile.
"I think we're already in trouble."
Raka couldn't argue with that.
Dani opened the first page again.
The writing they'd seen earlier was still the same.
If Dani found this book, it meant the figure had returned.
Dani touched the words.
"Who wrote this?"
"I don't know."
"How did they know my name?"
Raka fell silent.
That question wasn't easy to answer.
Dani turned to the next page.
Handwriting covered almost the entire page.
Dani wasn't a name that had appeared by chance. Everything had been prepared from the beginning.
Dani furrowed his brow.
"Prepared?"
He read on.
There was something that had to be finished. But until the time came, Dani wasn't allowed to know anything.
Raka looked at Dani's face.
"Looks like your family knows about this."
Dani immediately fell silent.
Raka's words reminded him of his mother's behavior.
She knew.
Mr. Warto knew.
Maybe a lot of people knew.
But they had all chosen to stay silent.
"I need to ask Mom."
Raka looked at him right away.
"At this hour?"
"Yeah."
"Dan, what if your mom really is hiding something?"
Dani put the book in his bag.
"Then I need to hear it from her directly."
They finally headed back home.
The whole way there, Dani kept thinking about one thing.
Why was everyone afraid of him finding out about the past?
When he arrived home, the living room light was still on.
His mother hadn't gone to sleep yet.
As soon as Dani walked in, she stood up.
"Where have you been?"
Dani didn't answer.
He walked over to the table.
Then he took the old book out of his bag.
His mother's face changed immediately.
It wasn't ordinary surprise.
She looked like someone who had just seen something she'd been afraid of all this time.
"Where did you get that?"
Dani watched his mother's expression.
"So you know this book?"
His mother fell silent.
"Dani..."
"Answer me, Mom."
Dani's voice began to rise.
"Why does everyone know something about me, but nobody wants to tell me?"
His mother slowly sat down.
"It's not time for you to know yet."
"That line again."
"Dani, listen to me."
"No, Mom. I'm tired."
Dani held up the book.
"My name's in here."
His mother stared at it.
"You went into that house?"
Dani said nothing.
The answer was obvious.
His mother covered her face with both hands.
"Oh, my God..."
"You know that house?"
"Yes."
"Who lived there?"
His mother didn't answer right away.
Dani sat down in front of her.
"Mom, please."
Several seconds passed.
Finally, his mother spoke.
"Before that house was abandoned, a family lived there."
"Who?"
"The Arman family."
Dani tried to remember.
The name felt unfamiliar.
"What do they have to do with me?"
His mother looked toward the window.
"They used to be close to our family."
"How close?"
"They helped me when you were little."
Dani grew even more confused.
"Then why is the house empty now?"
His mother drew a breath.
"Because something happened that no one could ever forget."
"What?"
His mother was silent for a long time.
"Someone disappeared."
"Who?"
"Their child."
Dani felt his chest tighten.
"A little kid?"
His mother nodded.
"And after that happened, people started seeing a shadowy figure."
Dani immediately remembered.
"That figure..."
"Yes."
"Have you ever seen it?"
His mother didn't answer.
But her face had already given him the answer.
Dani stood up.
"Why have you never told me?"
"Because I was afraid."
"Afraid of what?"
"Afraid you'd get involved."
The room fell silent.
Dani stared at his mother.
"How could I get involved?"
His mother looked at Dani with tears in her eyes.
"Because on the night that child disappeared..."
She stopped.
Dani waited.
"Because you were there that night too."
Dani froze.
"What?"
"You were still little then. You might not remember."
Dani took a step back.
"Mom, don't joke around."
"I'm not joking."
"There has to be some mistake."
"No."
His mother began to cry softly.
"Dani, ever since you were born, I've tried to keep you away from everything connected to that house."
Dani held his head.
His childhood memories felt empty.
He didn't remember ever going to the old house.
"But why did the shadowy figure appear now?"
His mother shook her head.
"I don't know either."
Suddenly, a sound came from outside.
Something seemed to fall in the yard.
Dani and his mother immediately looked toward the door.
Thud!
The sound came again.
Dani walked closer.
"Don't."
His mother's voice made Dani stop.
"Mom?"
"Don't open the door."
"Why?"
His mother whispered.
"Because it might have come."
Dani stared at the door.
His heart began beating faster.
Then came the sound of knocking.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Three times.
Just like the night before.
Dani and his mother didn't move.
Then a soft voice came from outside.
"Dani..."
His mother's face went pale.
Dani stared at the door.
The voice was calling his name.
Not in a threatening tone.
But like someone who had been waiting for a long time.
"Dani..."
The knocking came again.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Dani slowly walked closer.
His mother grabbed his hand.
"Don't."
"But what if it really wants to explain?"
"Dani, you don't know what's outside."
Dani looked at his mother's trembling hand.
For the first time, he realized it.
He wasn't the only one who was afraid.
His mother had been carrying a fear that had lasted for years.
Dani slowly pulled back the curtain.
It was dark outside the house.
There was no one there.
And yet, beneath the tree in front of the house, the shadowy figure stood.
Silent.
Staring at Dani.
But this time, something was different.
The figure didn't look angry.
It looked sad.
Then, slowly, the figure raised its hand.
It pointed toward the house.
Then it pointed toward Dani.
As if it wanted to say one thing.
That the real answer wasn't outside.
It was inside Dani's own house.
Dani slowly closed the curtain.
That night, he realized something.
All this time, he'd been looking for answers in the wrong place.
Because maybe the biggest secret wasn't in the old house.
Maybe it was being kept by his own family.