CHAPTER 2

A few years ago, a man who lived in a small town near here saw a similar monster lurking outside his bedroom window late at night. He said he heard the creature walking across the roof, and he watched it jump down into the garden below.

But when he went downstairs to investigate, there was nothing to see. Then, just as he turned around to go back upstairs, he felt something grab him by the ankle.

As soon as he tried to pull free, the hand let go, and the man ran back into the house. After that, he never slept alone in his bed again.

***

SHE WENT TO SEE HER BROTHER IN THE HOSPITAL.

HE WASN'T THERE.

She went to visit her brother in the hospital. But when she got there, the nurse told her that her brother had died during the night. The woman asked if her brother's body had been taken somewhere, but the nurse shook her head and replied that there was no need to worry about that.

Her brother had been cremated immediately, and his ashes scattered over the sea. The woman thanked the nurse, paid her bill, and went home. That evening, however, she couldn't sleep. So she decided to drive to the beach where her brother had always liked to swim.

She parked her car beside the road, climbed down the embankment, and walked along the shoreline until she reached a spot where the waves crashed against the rocks. She stood there quietly, watching the moonlight reflecting on the water, while the wind blew strands of her long blonde hair across her face. Suddenly, she realized that the breeze blowing past her was coming from nowhere, and that the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks was actually coming from within her own mind.

This made the woman feel uncomfortable, and she started to walk back toward the road. But then she stopped suddenly, realizing that she hadn't yet visited her brother's grave. So, instead of returning to the car, she continued on foot, heading inland toward the cemetery.

As soon as she stepped into the graveyard, the woman noticed that it was unusually quiet.