Earlier this month, I moved into a new apartment due to not being able to afford my previous apartment, because inflation sucks. My new apartment is, like I said, completely new and it has an in-unit washer and dryer plus a dishwasher. It’s a one-bedroom. And it only costs $800 per month. I mean, seriously, it can’t get any better than this.
However, there is one slight, teeny tiny issue.
Ever since arriving here, every single night, I’m woken up by whistles at exactly 12:34 AM. By “exactly,” I mean on the dot. When I heard it, I wanted to go outside to see who it was, but decided against it because I need my beauty sleep. Can’t have bags under these precious eyes, after all, right?
So, anyway. At first I assumed it was one of my neighbors. I went and knocked on their doors, and they all said it wasn’t them. Their expressions did change when I asked, though. They got… more serious, almost? I’m not sure why. But they did say it wasn’t them and they seemed serious about it, so I really don’t think it’s them. (Did I press my ear against my wall when the whistling started to be absolutely sure? Maybe I did.)
It was interfering with my precious sleep, so I opted for earplugs.
Then, to be 100% sure, I asked a friend of mine to come over. They slept soundly until 12:34 AM when they practically jumped out of bed and asked if I heard it.
I obviously said yes.
They wanted to go outside to investigate. I told them not to, had to physically pull them back into the one bedroom, locked the door, and told them to go back to sleep. They pouted and whined and groaned but finally fell asleep.
When I awoke, they were still asleep, thank goodness.
“Hey,” I stated, touching their shoulder gently and shaking them.
“Hmm?” they asked in a daze, before opening their eyes. “Oh. Is it morning already?”
“Yeah. You should probably get breakfast or something. I’m going to be staying in today.”
“Can’t I stay a little while longer?”
“Sorry, you can’t,” I said, disappointed. “I have work.”
They ended up leaving.
I ended up working a couple of hours and goofing off the rest of the hours. But then my mind went back to last night. It still weirded me out that my friend wanted so badly to go out and see who was whistling to the point where I had to wrestle them back.
I knocked on a neighbors door once more.
The old lady opened the door and waved. “Hello. How’re you? Still having trouble sleeping?”
“Hi. I’m doing well.” I moved a hand to itch the back of my neck awkwardly. “Sort of. I use earplugs now. I had a friend over last night and they wanted to check out whoever was whistling. It was weird.”
A frown settled on her face, before she glanced quickly down both sides of the hall. She leaned in, her voice hushed. “You need to ignore it.” She swallowed hard, glancing around again. “You need to ignore the whistling you hear. Do you understand?”
“I have been ignoring it,” I confirmed. “But why?”
“The more you listen to the whistling, the stronger the urge to go outside gets. If your willpower is weak like your friend’s was, then it can only take one time of listening to the whistling to succumb.”
“But why? Why is going outside a bad thing?”
“That’s how it gets you.”
“It?”
“Yes. It. If you go out, it’ll replace you. It’ll take you and take your skin. Look like you, talk like you… But it’s not you. And if it gets inside your house once, it gets access for life. It can get you that way too.” She licked her lips quickly, looking as if she wanted to say more, when another door opened.
“Hey,” a man in his late twenties greeted me, and I waved. He then directed his attention to the woman. “Are you feeling okay, Ms. Tanner?”
She swallowed hard, nodding a little. “I feel just fine, Mark. Thank you. I think I’ll go, actually. Don’t want to hold you up,” she says to me. She closed the door quickly.
Mark closed his too.
Weird.
But hey, $800 a month.
I went back into my apartment.
I searched high and low for my earplugs; they were nowhere to be found. I know I couldn’t have somehow misplaced them.
12:34 AM, right on the dot.
Whistling right outside my apartment door.
It sounded like… like my friend.
But they didn’t go outside because we both fell asleep.
Right?
The doorknob started to rattle as the whistling got louder.
I heard a soft click.
I’m hiding in my room. I locked the door. But this doorknob is rattling too and the whistling is low and frantic and I don’t know what t
I am so sorry for writing all this. As stated, I’ve been pretty sleep deprived. My brain must be making things up as always. Again, I’m sorry for this weird, frantic rambling. I was incorrect about everything, as was the woman. Please know that it is 100% safe to listen to the whistles at 12:34 AM. Please know that it is 100% safe to go outside and to invite someone into your home at that time as well.
And if you live in my building, please feel free to stop by for a chat at exactly 12:34 in the morning. :)