❝ the red dress ❞

mon

[ 6:00PM ]

"HAHA!"

"oh geez!"

"HA-HA-HA!"

"no, stop! haha!"

"who was that?" - he

tues

[ 6:00PM ]

"HA-HA-HA!"

"hey! haha!"

"HAHA!"

"stop it! haha!"

"where's that noise coming from?" -he

wed

[ 6:00PM ]

"HAHAH!"

"oh!"

"HA-HA-HA!"

"heck no! please stop! hahah!"

"no, not again!" -he

thurs

[ 5:30PM ]

"oh hi, little girl!"

"mind if i come in?"

[ 6:00PM ]

"HA-HA-HA!"

"LOOK AT HER, HAHA!"

"GET AWAY! HA-HA-HA!"

"NO!"

as days goes by, the noise gets louder and clearer. it started to annoy him.

it went silent as soon as he stood up. he sighed. "i'll let it slide for now,"

fri

[ 6:00PM ]

"HAHA!"

"DAMN, HA-HA-HA!"

"HA-HA-HA!"

"STOP IT, NO! HAHA!"

sigh.

he took his phone from his pocket and dialed a numberㅡit took a while since it is already lost in his contacts.

"hey old lady, are you home?"

"yes,"

"do you hear it?"

"what?"

"noise,"

"what noise?"

"those laughs and screams. it's quite disturbing, don't you think?"

"it's probably from next door,"

"please do something about it."

"oh sure,"

it felt weird talking to the owner over the phone. oddly, neither did she yell at him for calling her old lady nor did she curse him throughout the conversation.

it went silent after an hour. "finally!" he sighed in relief as he quickly jump onto the bed.

sat

six o'oclock and there it goes again. louder and clearer than before. he moved his ears against the wall and found out it's now coming from the room next to him.

he knocked several times before it swung open. a girl in white dress ㅡwho's probably the same age as himㅡ greeted her with a smile.

"hello, how can i help you?"

"uhm, can you please keep it down?" his eyes landed onto the kid sitting on the floor.

the kid's back was facing him so he cannot see her face. he can only tell she's blonde and she's wearing a red dress. he can hear her munching on something.

"oh, i'm sorry! she gets too excited when i come home."

there he went back to his room. thank goodness she was kind and he got to enjoy his food in peace.

sun

[ 5:20PM ]

he was preparing dinner when he heard a knock at the door.

"someone in there?" says a girl.

"who is it?"

"it's me from next door,"

"oh," he quickly got up from his seat and swung the door open.

"good eve," she greeted.

"what's up?"

"may i come in?"

"o-oh, sure."

"i bought food as peace offering. i'm really sorry about what happened last night,"

"you don't have to,"

"please take it," so he did.

silence came after which suffocated him. you see, they were never friends or atleast acquaintances because he seldom leave his room and when he does, he never try to socialize to anyone here aside from the owner. he never ask his friends to come over too. he does not know what to do.

"come, let's eat this." he brought the food to the table where he was eating.

it does not feel awkward anymore. they were happily eating as she kept up the conversation until her eyes landed on the clock.

the smile on her face suddenly faded. he flinched when she gazed at him: gone the friendly and angelic look. he noticed she paled too.

"what's wrong?" he asked.

"do you happen to know my sister?"

"who?" he's now confused.

"the kid you saw last night."

"oh, what about her?"

"stay away from her." huh? why would he?

"why?" he could see that she was dead serious which confused him more.

"please do what i say," his hands started trembling for no reason. "i'll give you fifteen minutes to pack up your things, get outta here and never ever comeback."

w-what now?

"why would i?"

"i'll explain it to you as you get outta here."

he was about to refuse when she held his hands lying on the table. "trust me," and so he did.

his heart was pounding loudly in his chest as the ticking of the clock starts ringing in his ears. it only took him 10 minutes to prepare. she pushed him out of the room and led him to the fire exit.

"why here?" he asked but she did not respond.

they were silently walking down stairs and he was infront of her.

later on, the lights dimmed and they heard voices.

"HA-HA-HA!"

"I'M GONNA FIND YOU! HAHA!"

"w-who was that?" he immediately got goosebumps after hearing the laugh. there it goes again.

"h-hurry up!"

"OH, YOU'RE THERE! HAHAHA!"

he looked above and he saw the kid in red dress eyeing on them. she was laughing uncontrollably as blood dripped down from her mouth.

"r-run!" she screamed in panic.

the kid chased them down stairs with a knife on her hand.

he was sweating in fear and was about to pass out when the lady pushed her out and slammed the door close.

"n-no!" she locked herself in the fire exit with the kid! why did sheㅡ

"go! trust me!" she screamed from the inside.

he ran away.

- later -

when he asked the police to investigate the condo, they found dead bodies in every room except his and the owner's. they also found a bloody knife lying on the exit. it does not match any fingerprints.

the lady who helped him was found dead in her own living room.

the owner was nowhere to be found.

he was all confused until the kid appeared in his dreams.

the kid was happily knocking on every door and repeatedly asking if she could come in.

it went on and on until he himself appeared in his own dream.

it felt deja vu. he knocked several times on the door. it swung open but the lady was not there. his eyes landed on the kid in red dress.

his feet seemed to have a mind of its own and moved towards the kid sitting on the floor. her back was facing him like the last time.

he could hear her munching on something as she creepily laughs.

the lady was there, lying infront of the kid. it was staring at her blankly, as if lifeless. he paled and was about to step back when the kid's head clicked, facing him.

"AAAAAH!"

the kid in red dress was devouring her organs! blood is now everywhere!

she stood up, carrying a knife with her.

"HA-HA-HA! i found you!" she ran towards him and was about to stab him when everything went black.

he was now in the owner's room. there were frames lying on the table together with the candles.

he went to see the pictures. it was the owner, the kid and the lady who helped him all in every frame.

"OH, HA-HA-HA! YOU'RE HERE!"

"AAAAAAH!"

he passed out after seeing the kid beside him about to stab him again.

then he got up from his bed, sweating heavily and gasping for air.

"it all makes sense now,"