A Knock

Ding - dong!

The doorbell rang breaking the pin-drop silence in the morning. While the city was asleep, the noise was loud, clear and crisp. It was 4 am in the morning or more like early morning.

Riya, shifted in her bed, turning to her side making a grumbling noise. She was slightly irritated by the disturbing crystal clear sound of the doorbell. Since she was still deep in her sleep, she didn't pay much attention, and much less did she even bother to wake up.

Ding - doonngg!

The doorbell of her flat rang again. This time a little louder as the one pressing the switch put more pressure into pressing it.

She was a little more awake and conscious this time. Irritated, she opened her eyes, squinting in the dark, her head still hurt a little. She was still really tired after a long day at work.

"Who could it be?! What's the time?", She grumbled.

She turned to her side and picked up her digital clock which sat on the bedside table right next to her bed.

Rubbing her eyes, she squinted at the clock. 4.03 a.m. it read.

"What the hell? Who comes at this hour?!", She cursed, her hands formed into a fist.

Ding - dooonnngg

The bell rang again. Whoever it was, they were persistent and impatient. Riya realised that she really had to go and open the door this time. She could no longer pretend to just ignore it and hope for them to leave.

She shot up, got out of her bed and slipped into her slippers. She rubbed her eyes as she switched on the lights for her living room. Her flat consisted of one bedroom and was tiny, so it didn't take her long before she reached the door.

She unlocked the latches and pulled open the door.

While she was in process of opening the door, the doorbell rang again.

"Wait! I'm opening! Can't you be a little patient? Coming and disturbing other people so late in the night?!" she shouted as her irritation made itself stand out. 

When the main door was completely open, Riya was shocked at the sight in front of her eyes. Whatever sleep that was left in her eyes had evaporated as her eyes widened.

The hallway was empty. She quickly peeked around, glancing to both the sides but not a soul was to be found.

"W-what is this? What kind of joke is this?! Are you playing a prank? It's not funny! At least not at this hour!", She shouted at first and then murmured the rest of the sentence under her breath. Her heart beating loudly inside her chest. She gulped.

"M-maybe I misheard", she stuttered and began shutting the door.

Ding - dong!

The doorbell rang again, arising terror and frustration in Riya, before she could shut the door completely. Riya was slightly annoyed this time.

"I think someone is joking with me. Just you wait! You're not gonna get away with this so easily! Whoever you are I'm gonna get you! This is not funny, okay?!", She huffed and quickly pulled the door open again.

Again. There was silence and not a soul to be found. Riya was bemused, sweat dripping off her neck. She anxiously looked around but found nothing. 

Ding - dong!

This time the doorbell rang again. What was different this time was that the door stood fully open with no one in sight. Riya was shocked and she started to choke. Her eyes widened in sheer terror.

She stepped outside after gulping a big lump, her hands had started to shake out of fear. She wanted to know what the hell was going on.

The plain sight of no one around was not just surprising but horrifying. The doorbell was ringing on its own. It was so weird that her brain had stopped functioning at this point.

Soon a slow and soft knocking sound started.

And then the doorbell rang again. Ding-dong!

And then the knocking resumed.

Subsequently, after the doorbell, the knocking sounds followed. The cycle started to repeat itself, playing a loop of the endless ringing of the doorbell followed by the sound of knocking on the door.

The sounds of both were driving her into the depths of fear and paranoia.

Riya had begun to feel insane as the source causing the sounds was nowhere to be found or in this case SEEN.

The sounds were intimidating her. She covered her ears with her hands wishing it would all stop but she could still hear them. 

At this point, Riya was so terrified and frustrated that she began screaming out of fear just so the sounds would stop.

"Riya! Riya!! Riyaaa!! Hey! Riya!" the voice pulled her out of her paranoia. She opened her eyes to see that she was inside her flat and Raghav, her brother was standing next to her.

Riya blinked rapidly as she tried to take the view in front of her in, digest it in a way. She was dumbfounded. 'What's going on? W-was that all a bad dream? How did I get inside?' she pondered. 

She blinked as she tried to recall but she couldn't recall anything except for the noise of the doorbell and the knocking on the door. She couldn't seem to remember anything at all.

"RIYA!" shouted Raghav. He was so loud that it snapped her out of her trance. 

"What the hell Riya? I'm talking to you and you're just acting like I'm not even here. What's going on with you? Talk to me. If you don't share your troubles how would I be able to help you Riya?" Raghav said with concern showing clearly in his eyes. 

Riya's eyes widened as she shuddered with horror visible evidently in her eyes. 'W-wait, h-how is he here?'

"W-what's wrong Riya? Why are you looking at me like that?" Raghav stuttered and then spoke slowly in a low voice. He was a bit confused but he was even more worried now.

"W-w-who are you?!" Riya stuttered as tears started welling in her eyes.

"What do you mean who I am?! Don't you recognise me?! I'm your brother! Raghav!" he shouted in confusion which turned into slight annoyance.

"Riya this is not a time to joke. Will you tell me seriously what the hell is going on with you?" 

"You can't be Raghav"

"What do you mean I can't be Raghav?! I am RAGHAV! Have you ost it Riya? This is not funny! If you're playing a prank it's going overboard now!" he said in anger. 

"You're not Raghav! This is not real!" Riya cried out. A tear streamed down her face.

"RIYA! Stop it! This is too much" Raghav shouted at Riya. His eyes were filled with anger now.

"Y-You can't be Raghav! Don't come near me! Who are you? You do know impersonating another person is a crime, don't you? You will end up in jail, you know that??!" Riya stepped backwards. Terror filled her black eyes.

"Oh, so you do know a thing or two about crime huh? Fancy coming out of a criminal herself!" Raghav smirked. His face immediately changed into an evil expression as a slight smirk formed on his lips.

"W-what are you talking about? I'm not a criminal! You're the criminal! I don't know what you're talking about" cold sweat dripped off Riya's back.

"Seems like you don't seem to remember what you did last summer, Riya!" smirked Raghav as he spoke in a cocky tone. 

"What do you mean last summer?! I didn't do anything last summer!"

"Haha, it was just a reference you don't have to take it literally," chuckled Raghav.

"Who are you?! I'm asking you one last time!" demanded Riya as she took a few more steps backwards but Raghav kept stepping closer to her. 

"Look! Don't come near me or I'll call the police. Tell me honestly who you are and I'll let you go!"

"I told you who I am already. I'm your brother Raghav"

"You're not him! You can't be him!"

"Why not Riya?!"

"'Cause he's dead!"

"And whose fault is that?" Raghav smirked, his eyes shining evilly.

"N-Not mine! It was just a mistake, an accident!" she stammered.

"Tell that to the devil when you meet him Riya! He'll be the judge" laughed Raghav.

The sound of Raghav's evil laughter was the last thing Riya heard before she went unconscious.