Kingston doesn’t sleep. It just gets quieter. That’s what Alana told herself when she and Marlon moved into 6B off Half-Way-Tree Road. The rent was too cheap for a building that clean. Fresh paint, polished tiles, cameras in every hallway.
“Previous tenant relocate suddenly,”
And refused to meet their eyes. The first night was fine. The second night, at exactly 2:17 a.m., three soft knocks tapped on their door. Alana sat up.
“Marlon… you hear that?”
“Somebody drunk press wrong door,”
He muttered, already annoyed. Then a voice drifted through the wood. Soft. Familiar.
“Mi deh yah…”
Marlon checked the peephole. Empty hallway. He opened the door. Nothing. The security camera footage showed no one standing there. They laughed it off. The next night at 2:17 a.m., the knocks came again. Louder.
“Mi deh yah…”
This time it didn’t sound outside the door. It sounded pressed against it. On the third night, the knocking came from inside the apartment. Three slow taps from the bedroom closet. Marlon yanked it open. Clothes. Shoes. Nothing else. But the air inside felt damp. Like river water.
The next morning, the manager finally told them the truth. The last tenant had been found sitting upright in his bed. Eyes open. Smiling. The time of death: 2:17 a.m.
That night, they stayed awake and recorded. At 2:16 a.m. Silence. By 2:17 a.m., the lights flickered. The doorknob turned slowly on its own.
“Mi deh yah…”
This time the voice came from behind them. On the recording later, you can see Alana and Marlon frozen in the living room. You can see the dark hallway to the bedroom. You can see something step out. Tall. Too thin. Head tilted. Smiling. When they turned around, nothing was there. The knocking stopped after that.
The next morning, 6B was open. Empty. No sign of struggle. Just their phone on the table, still recording. At 2:17 a.m., the footage glitches to static. Then a whisper right into the microphone:
“Mi deh yah.”
The apartment has been vacant ever since. But if you stand outside 6B at exactly 2:17 a.m., you’ll hear knocking. From inside.
