Rain had been pouring since late afternoon when Vera stood in front of an old house she hadn't visited in years. The house stood at the end of a narrow road few people ever used. The paint on its walls was beginning to peel, the front yard was overgrown with weeds, and the sound of wind moving through the trees made the area around the house feel even more desolate.
Vera gripped her small bag tightly as she stared at the frail-looking wooden door.
"So this really is the house..." Vera murmured.
It had been almost ten years since she'd last returned to that place. So many bad memories were buried there. But a mysterious message she'd received that morning had left her no choice but to come.
The message contained only one sentence.
"You have to come back before it's too late."
There was no sender's name. No number she could call. Just a brief message that filled her mind with questions.
Hesitantly, Vera knocked on the door.
Knock... knock... knock...
There was no answer.
She knocked again, harder.
Knock... knock... knock...
Suddenly, the door swung open on its own with a long creak.
Vera fell silent.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" she called.
No voice answered.
She should have left. She shouldn't have entered a house that had been empty for years. But curiosity pushed her feet forward.
"Excuse me..." Vera said as she slowly stepped inside.
The inside of the house still looked the way she remembered it. The old sofa in the living room, the family photos hanging on the walls, and the small table where she'd often played as a child.
But one thing made her stop.
There was a new photograph on the table.
A photograph of her.
Vera picked it up with trembling hands.
"How is this possible...?" she whispered.
The photo showed her standing in front of the house. But what frightened her was the date written on the back.
The photo had been taken yesterday.
Yet yesterday, Vera had still been in another city.
"That's strange... who took this?"
Suddenly, she heard footsteps coming from the second floor.
Vera whipped around.
"Who's there?"
There was no answer.
She wanted to leave, but the front door suddenly slammed shut.
Bang!
Vera jumped and tried to open it.
"It won't open..."
The lock seemed to have been locked from the outside.
Vera's heart began to race.
Then a woman's voice came from behind her.
"You finally came."
Vera froze.
Slowly, she turned around.
An old woman stood near the stairs. Her hair was white, her face pale, but the look in her eyes was strangely familiar.
Vera stared at the woman in confusion.
"Grandma?"
The old woman offered a faint smile.
"Do you still remember me?"
Vera's tears nearly fell.
"But Grandma died five years ago..."
The old woman didn't answer. She simply walked closer.
"There are so many things you still don't know, Vera."
Vera backed away several steps.
"What do you mean? Why is there a picture of me here? Who sent that message?"
The old woman looked toward the dark hallway.
"Because this house has been waiting for you."
Vera felt her body growing colder.
"Grandma, I don't understand."
"You didn't come here as a guest, Vera."
The old woman paused.
"You came as someone connected to this house's secret."
Vera shook her head.
"I don't know anything about this house."
"That's what you've thought all this time."
Suddenly, the house lights flickered.
A moment later, the sound of something falling came from the second floor.
The old woman looked toward the stairs.
"She knows you're back."
"Who is she?" Vera asked in panic.
But before the old woman could answer, someone called Vera's name.
"Vera..."
The voice came from the second floor.
A voice she knew all too well.
Her own voice.
Vera stared at the stairs, her face pale.
"Grandma... how can my voice be coming from up there?"
The old woman only said softly,
"Because another Vera has been living in this house since long before you came."
Vera felt her head spinning.
"What do you mean?"
The old woman took a small key from her pocket and handed it to her.
"Open the room at the very end of the second floor. There, you'll find the reason your life has always felt like it didn't belong to you."
Vera stared at the key.
"I'm scared."
The old woman smiled sadly.
"I know. But you need to know the truth."
With slow steps, Vera began climbing the stairs.
Every step creaked beneath her feet.
When she reached the second floor, she saw a long hallway lined with several doors.
But only one door was different.
The door at the very end.
Her name was carved into it.
VERA.
Her hand trembled as she inserted the key.
Click.
The door opened.
Inside the room were dozens of photos of her, from childhood to adulthood.
Every photo showed Vera doing different things.
But something about them frightened her even more.
In every photo, someone was always standing behind her.
Someone whose face was hidden in shadow.
Vera approached the small table in the middle of the room.
An old book lay there.
She opened to the first page.
The handwriting inside made her breath catch.
"If Vera finds this book, it means the time has come."
Vera read the next page.
"The Vera living now isn't the first Vera to come to this house."
Her hands began to shake.
"What is this...?"
Suddenly, the bedroom door slammed shut on its own.
Bang!
Vera turned around.
A woman stood in front of the door.
Her face was exactly the same as Vera's.
The woman smiled.
"I can finally go home."
Vera couldn't say a word.
The woman stepped closer.
"Thanks for coming to take my place."
Vera backed away.
"Who are you?"
The woman stared at her with eyes identical to Vera's.
"I'm the Vera who was supposed to live in this house."
"Then who am I?"
The woman's smile grew wider.
"That's the secret your family has been hiding all this time."
Outside the room, Grandma's voice could be heard faintly.
"Forgive me, Vera..."
The lights flickered again.
And for the first time, Vera realized there was something far more terrifying than an empty house.
Maybe it wasn't the house that had been waiting for her all this time.
Maybe the house only wanted to return something that had once been lost.
Her.