The whispers

Liya stretched her arms as she stepped out of the dorm room, inhaling the crisp morning air. The hallway buzzed with students preparing for the day, some chatting with their roommates, others rushing toward the communal bathrooms.

But Maya?

She barely spoke.

Liya had noticed it the moment Maya got out of bed. There was something off about her, she was too quiet, her movements too careful, as if she was afraid of something lurking around her.

At breakfast, Maya only poked at her food, her eyes distant.

Liya exchanged a glance with Sana, who raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Are you okay?" Liya finally asked, nudging Maya lightly.

Maya hesitated before forcing a small smile. "Yeah. Just didn't sleep well."

Her voice was normal. But her fingers curled tightly around the edge of the table, knuckles turning white.

Liya didn't push. Not yet.

The day unfolded like any other.,lectures, rushed assignments, group projects. Liya threw herself into the routine, but every now and then, she caught Maya zoning out.

At lunch, Maya suddenly flinched when someone dropped a fork.

Liya frowned. "Maya?"

"I..." Maya swallowed. "I thought I heard…" She shook her head. "Never mind."

Liya didn't like this.

By the time evening arrived, exhaustion settled over all three of them. As they walked back to their dorm, a strange heaviness hung in the air, as if the room itself was waiting for them.

Liya was the last to enter, and for a moment, she hesitated at the doorway.

The air inside the dorm felt… wrong.

Colder, maybe. Or thicker.

She shook off the thought and shut the door behind her.

Maya placed her bag down and hesitated before moving to her desk. Liya saw the way her shoulders stiffened, how she quickly grabbed her things and moved away.

Something was definitely bothering her.

"Hey," Liya started, but Maya cut her off.

"I'm sleeping early today."

That was new.

Maya was usually the one up late, reading or watching videos.

Liya wanted to ask more, but something in Maya's expression stopped her.

"…Okay."

Soon, Maya turned off her lamp, pulled her blanket over herself, and disappeared into silence.

Sana did the same a while later.

Liya, however, stayed up.

She always stayed,

Liya frowned. She wanted to ask more, but something in Maya's tone—or maybe in her expression—warned her not to.

So she let it go.

For now.

The day felt unusually long.

Liya spent most of it bouncing between classes, feeling the weight of her never-ending assignments. She usually thrived on the busyness of college life, but today, a strange sense of unease clung to her.

It wasn't just Maya's behavior.

It was something else.

A weird feeling that followed her.

Like she was being watched.

At first, she brushed it off as paranoia. Too much screen time, too little sleep, it had to be that. But every so often, while walking down the corridor, while sitting in the lecture hall, while waiting in line at the cafeteria.

She felt it.

That strange, prickling sensation on the back of her neck.

Once, during her literature lecture, she glanced sideways, convinced someone was staring at her from the next row. But when she turned, there was no one there.

Just an empty seat.

Liya shook her head and forced herself to focus.

The moment Liya stepped inside, a heavy silence settled over the room.

Liya kicked off her shoes and threw herself onto her bed, sighing dramatically. "Finally," she groaned, grabbing her phone.

---

Hours later, the dorm was completely silent.

Maya and Sana had long since drifted off. The only sounds in the room were the occasional rustle of blankets and the faint hum of the ceiling fan.

Liya lay in bed, bathed in the soft glow of her phone screen.

This was her favorite time of the night. When the world was quiet, when she could finally relax, undisturbed.

She propped up her pillows, plugged in her earphones, and got lost in the endless scroll of her social media feed.

And then...

A sound.

Soft.

Faint.

Barely noticeable.

Liya's fingers froze on her screen.

She turned the volume down slightly, listening.

Nothing.

The usual nighttime hum.

She shrugged and continued scrolling.

Then..

"Liya."

A whisper.

Too close.

Like someone had leaned in, just beside her ear.

Liya's breath hitched.

She yanked out her earphones, heart hammering.

Her gaze flickered around the dark room.

Maya and Sana were asleep.

The whisper hadn't come from them.

And yet,

It had sounded so clear.

So deliberate.

A cold shiver ran down her spine.

She swallowed hard, shaking her head. It's nothing. I'm just tired.

Taking a deep breath, she tucked herself deeper into her blanket and turned back to her phone.

But then,

A flicker of movement in the corner of her eye.

Liya stiffened.

Slowly, cautiously, she turned her head toward the wardrobe.

The doors were slightly ajar, a sliver of darkness peeking through the gap.

It was normal. They always left it a little open.

But then,

The crack widened.

An inch.

Then another.

Slow. Deliberate.

As if something inside was pushing it open.

Liya's pulse thundered in her ears.

Her hands clenched around her blanket.

The air in the room felt wrong.

Thicker. Heavier.

Her instincts screamed at her to look away,

But she couldn't.

Because now, in the widening crack of the wardrobe door, she saw something.

A shadow.

Tall. Still.

Watching.

Liya's throat went dry.

She couldn't move.

Couldn't breathe.

And then,

The wardrobe door slammed shut.

The sound shattered the silence.

Liya jolted, her heart nearly stopping.

Maya stirred in her sleep. Sana shifted slightly but didn't wake.

Liya sat frozen, her mind racing.

The wardrobe was closed.

It was over.

Right?

But the feeling in the air said otherwise.

Her skin prickled.

Her instincts screamed at her to do something, wake up Maya, wake up Sana, run.

But another part of her, a deeper, darker instinct, told her not to.

That acknowledging it would only make it worse.

So she did the only thing she could.

She pulled the blanket over her head.

Squeezed her eyes shut.

And forced herself to believe it was her imagination.

But deep down,

She knew.

Something had called her name.

Something had opened that door.

And whatever it was,

It was still in the room.

Watching.

Waiting.

And it wasn't done yet.

---