Night had already fallen by the time Susan climbed the stairs to the boarding house.
The long line at the supermarket and the crowded restaurant where she picked up her dinner had slowed her down, and now it was almost 7:30 p.m.
Above her, the flickering neon light cast an eerie glow over the stairwell. The dim yellow hue made the entire space look gloomy, and the trembling bulb created strange, shifting shadows along the walls.
Halfway up, she paused.
A voice.
Soft… calm… almost hypnotic.
A woman was singing—slowly, beautifully.
Why do stars… fall down from the sky…
Every time… you walk by…
Her steps slowed.
Close to You.
The Carpenters.
The voice was smooth and steady, even better than the original—hauntingly beautiful.
Wow… she sings so well, Susan thought.
When she reached the top of the stairs, she saw a figure standing near the terrace railing.
A girl in a long white dress.
Long, dark hair flowed down her back. She stood perfectly still, facing the street below, her hair gently swaying with the night breeze.
Susan glanced at her.
Ah… Lucy?
Cynthia had mentioned Lucy was a church singer. Susan had never heard her sing before, but the figure in white looked like her. And church singers always had beautiful voices—at least in Susan's imagination.
A small smile appeared on her lips. She took one step toward the terrace—then stopped.
I should put all this in my room first.
She looked at the plastic bags in her hands—groceries in one, dinner in the other.
It wouldn't take long. She could just drop them off quickly and come right back.
The thought of sitting on the terrace, having dinner while listening to Lucy sing, felt… nice.
So she turned away, walking into the hallway toward her room.
She didn't notice two things:
The singing had stopped.
And the girl in white… hadn't moved at all.
Inside her room, Susan dropped the bags onto the floor and grabbed her dinner package.
When she stepped out into the hallway again, the house was unusually quiet. It seemed no one else was home—just her… and Lucy.
She walked toward the communal kitchen and opened the drawer under the counter, choosing a purple melamine plate and a matching spoon. The system was simple: use melamine or glass, and pick a color no one else had. Susan chose purple—not because she liked it, but because it was the only color left.
As soon as everything was ready, she walked back to the terrace, hoping Lucy was still there.
But the terrace was empty.
Susan frowned. She must've gone back to her room.
"Well, I guess I'm eating alone," she muttered.
She grabbed a plastic chair, dragged it toward the railing, and sat down. She unwrapped her fried rice and started eating. The night was quiet—too quiet for this hour.
A cool breeze brushed past her legs, making her shiver. She blamed it on the weather.
But as she ate, a strange feeling crept over her. A weight. A chill.
Someone was here.
Watching.
She looked around—the left side of the terrace, the right, behind her.
Nothing. Empty.
She shook her head. Overthinking, she told herself, taking another bite.
She was almost done when the sound of footsteps and laughter came from behind her. She turned to look.
Cynthia. Suzi. And… Lucy.
Susan blinked. Lucy? When did she leave?
Hadn't she just seen her here earlier… singing?
Before she could think too much, Cynthia rushed toward her, overflowing with excitement.
"Hey, Susan! Do you know what Suzi did earlier?" Cynthia asked, practically bouncing.
Susan quickly shoveled the last bite into her mouth. "What happened?"
Cynthia grinned.
"So earlier at campus, when we were passing the motorcycle parking lot, Suzi saw her ex with his friends. And instead of acting normal, she panicked."
Susan smirked. "And then?"
"Oh, she did the most logical thing ever," Cynthia said with dramatic sarcasm. "She grabbed the hand of the person next to her—thinking it was me—and ran!"
Susan stared at Suzi, waiting.
"It wasn't until she heard someone say—"
Lucy cut in, perfectly imitating the confused tone:
"Excuse me… who are you?"
Cynthia and Lucy burst out laughing. Their laughter was contagious, and Susan couldn't help but join in.
Suzi groaned. "I swear, I'm never living that down."
"Suzi dragged along a random nerdy girl with the most confused expression!" Cynthia said between laughs.
"I blame you!" Suzi pointed at Cynthia. "You always disappear when we're walking!"
It was true. Walking with Cynthia meant stopping every two minutes so she could greet someone she knew.
"You should've seen that girl's face!" Lucy laughed. "She just let Suzi pull her like a lost puppy."
The three laughed again.
But a sudden thought nagged at Susan.
She turned to Lucy.
"Hey, Lus… when did you leave the house? I didn't see you go out. Where did you even meet them?"
Lucy frowned. "Leave? Susan, I left this morning with Cynthia. I just got back."
Susan froze.
Her fingers tightened around her plate.
A slow, icy sensation crawled up her spine.
Her voice came out dry, barely a whisper.
"Well… then who was the one singing here earlier?"
The laughter stopped.
All three girls stared at her.
Silence fell instantly, heavy and suffocating.
Susan could hear her own heartbeat pounding in her ears.
And for the first time that night…
She wished she had never walked up those stairs at all.