Chapter 411

Mara never noticed him at first. It started like all bad things do—quietly, when she wasn't looking. She was a girl with simple needs, a shy smile, a soft laugh, and a life like everyone else. She met people, went out, laughed with friends. Then there was him.

He was always there, watching from the corner. At the store. At the park. In the dim-lit corners of her neighborhood. His face, too blurry, too empty, barely noticeable until it was.

At first, it didn't matter. She had never thought twice about it, just the occasional flicker of someone on the edges of her vision. She'd been walking to her car one evening when she saw him standing under a streetlamp. He stood there, not moving, not doing anything. Just watching.

She shrugged it off. People were strange sometimes.

But the next day, there he was again. At the market. In the aisle where she shopped for eggs. His eyes never left her, but she didn't meet his gaze. She was busy with her list, making sure the carrots were fresh, that the milk wasn't expired.

When she glanced at him from the corner of her eye, she felt a strange sensation, like something was wrong. She chalked it up to her overactive imagination and left.

After that, it happened more often.

He was there in her neighborhood, standing at the end of her block. Watching. Waiting. Every time she stepped outside, his eyes were there.

"Who is that?" she asked her friend Amy one evening.

Amy looked up from her phone. "Who?"

"The guy, across the street. By the streetlamp."

Amy turned her head, but no one was there.

"What guy?" Amy asked. She shrugged. "Are you sure you saw someone?"

Mara's face flushed. "I don't know. I thought I did."

But that night, she could've sworn he was watching from her window. His face was hidden by the darkness, but she knew it was him. She could feel his presence, like cold fingers creeping under her skin.

Days passed. The feeling didn't go away. He didn't approach her, didn't say a word. He just watched. Wherever she went, he was there.

Once, when she'd walked to her car, she'd seen him standing behind the parked cars, half-hidden in the shadows. His eyes gleamed in the dark. Mara rushed into her car, locking the door. She could feel his stare even after she started the engine. She sped off, not daring to look back.

It only got worse. Soon, his face was everywhere. She couldn't go out without seeing him, whether in a crowd or on an empty street. Always just far enough to avoid a confrontation. Just close enough to make her heart race.

She tried to ignore it. She kept her head down, tried not to see him. But he was there. Every time she looked over her shoulder, he was waiting. And he never moved.

"Why don't you say something?" she asked him one day, when she caught him standing near a bench outside her apartment. Her voice shook, but she wasn't sure why. His gaze was so intense, so suffocating. His eyes were dark, and they never left hers.

But he didn't speak. Just stood there.

She didn't go out for a while after that. She stayed in, eyes locked to the windows, watching, waiting for something to happen.

She thought she could hide from it, but the feeling of his gaze never left. Every time she left her apartment, every time she went out in public, he was there, like a shadow she couldn't escape. A ghost who lived in the corners of her life.

Eventually, Mara started seeing him in places she didn't expect. At work, his face reflected in the window. At the coffee shop, his silhouette in the crowd. It was like he knew where she would be, when she would be there.

Her phone buzzed one night. A message from an unknown number.

I see you.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She didn't respond. She never did.

It happened again. And again. His messages were simple, cold, and always unsettling.

I see you.

She blocked the number. But that didn't stop it. It didn't stop him from finding new ways to reach her. A call, an email. Sometimes, a letter slid under her door. Always the same message.

I see you.

Her life became a cycle of fear. She avoided mirrors, windows, any place where she might see him watching. But she knew he was always there. Somewhere, lurking.

She tried to meet people, tried to be normal. She dated once or twice. A brief smile, a handshake, a laugh. But whenever she was with someone, there was always the feeling that he was there too. His eyes on her, even when she couldn't see him.

Her last chance at a real relationship came with a man named David. He was kind, easygoing, and he cared about her. They met at a party. He didn't know about the stalker. She didn't tell him. Maybe it was stupid, but for once, she wanted something real.

They spent a few weeks together. Late-night dinners, walks by the water, long conversations on the couch. He made her feel safe, and that scared her.

One evening, she came home late. The apartment was quiet, too quiet. She felt it in her bones, the feeling that something was wrong. The blinds were closed, but she could hear the sound of footsteps outside. Heavy footsteps. She knew. She knew it was him.

She locked the door. But it didn't stop the knocking. Soft at first, then louder. Desperate. A steady, rhythmic pounding on the wood. She didn't answer it. She couldn't.

Through the peephole, she saw him standing there. Not moving. Not breathing. His face still as stone. He held a letter in his hand, pressed against the door.

Mara felt a chill run down her spine.

David called her that night. "Mara? You there?"

She didn't answer right away. She didn't want him to know. She didn't want him to see how far it had gone. How deep it had wormed its way into her life.

Finally, she picked up the phone.

"Mara? What's wrong?"

She couldn't say anything. The words wouldn't come.

"I—I'm sorry. I can't... I can't do this anymore."

"Do what? Mara, talk to me. What's going on?"

She looked back at the door, the constant, methodical knocking that never stopped. He was still there, waiting. Watching.

"I can't. I can't let you be a part of this. I can't drag you into my life."

David's voice went soft, distant. "You're not dragging me anywhere. We can handle it together."

But she knew better. She knew she couldn't. She knew he'd never leave.

The knocking stopped.

That night, she sat in her apartment, staring at the door, waiting for the inevitable.

The next morning, David was gone.

His car was parked outside, but there was no sign of him. No note. Nothing. The world went silent.

She never saw him again.

After that, it was just Mara and the man who watched her, the one who refused to leave. She couldn't escape. No matter where she went, no matter how far she ran, he was there. She was stuck, locked in a life she couldn't get out of. He was always waiting. Watching.

She was never allowed to love. Not really. No matter how hard she tried, it wasn't possible. He made sure of that. He was always there, in the corners of her life, stealing what little she had left. He took it all, and in the end, Mara never got anything she wanted.

And he never said a word.