Let me start off by asking you not to judge me. I didn’t know this would happen.
My daughter, Mattea was my everything. I love her and I always will, I would do anything for her. Two weeks ago she turned five years old, she was so excited. We all were.
We live in a nice neighbourhood, we have a nice house and a nice amount of money. We’re comfortable. The only thing that ever worried me was the knocking. A few times a week at around 11pm I’d hear it, three gentle, spaced out knocks. It didn’t concern me at first, I assumed the neighbours wanted to borrow something as the shops would have have closed for the night and I just hadn’t gotten to the door in time. After the first few times I suspected bored teens playing pranks but after the tenth time I was just confused.
Whenever I heard the knocking I’d look through the peep hole or draw the curtains slightly but no one was ever there. By two months I started to question my sanity, I was a single mother and perhaps the stress had gotten to me; this was when Dean, my older brother moved in.
Of course, Dean didn’t believe this was actually happening, he put it down to stress and insisted he stay with me to help look after Mattea until I was better. He was glad to help, I was 19 when I had my daughter and he’d always worried about me having to hold down the fort by myself.
It, of course, carried on, in fact - it had happened every night recently. but with a mix of antidepressants and melatonin, I managed to mostly ignore it and focus on what mattered.
Last night it happened again, the knocks have been part of my daily routine. It had been about an hour after taking my medication and I was ready for bed, exhausted. Dean had passed out watching a horror film a while ago and honestly, I wasn’t really thinking. For the first time, I opened my door to see who was there. I probably stood there staring for over five minutes. Nothing. Nobody. My porch was empty bar an icy breeze from the night air that travelled into my home. Confused and tired, I shut the door and went to bed.
Forgetting the events once I had awoke, I wasn’t worried when Mattea wanted to play in the front garden with her plastic gardening tools, after all - our garden was gated, it was beautiful day so I was more than happy to sunbathe as she played and my brother was in the living room in which he would have a clear view of us both.
All was well.
I must have dozed off at somepoint, i’m not sure when but it couldn’t have been for too long.
“Mommy” Mattea whined, “Mommy wake up, mommy.”
I slowly opened my eyes to see a fuzzy version of Matteas face leaning over me. Rubbing my eyes, I sat up and waited for her to carry on.
“Mommy, did you see him?”
“See who, baby?” I replied, yawning.
“Him, mommy” she repeated “He wants me to go with him!”
That woke me up. I wasn’t sure what she meant, there was no sign of anyone around and our street was mostly the elderly. But still, she was clearly shaken. I took her hand and gently led her back inside where I sat her down with some snacks and her favourite show.
“Dean, did you see Mattea talking to anyone?” I burted out to him.
“Hm? I didn’t see anything, I was in the bathroom” he tilted his head “why? did something happen?”
“No…nothing, everything is fine” I mumbled, locking the door and pouring myself a drink.
That afternoon, we decided to order take out and have a family film night. I hoped it would take my daughters (and my) mind of off the strange occurance.
By 10:45pm both Dean and Mattea had fallen asleep and I was just about to doze off. Come 11pm there was no knocking and I slept that night rather well.
I must have slept the entire night on the sofa because when I woke up from my peaceful sleep at 11am I was still there wrapped in blankets and pillows. It was a saturday morning and both Dean and Mattea weren’t in sight, I assumed Dean had woken up some point through the night before going to his actual room and putting Mattea to bed on the way.
Slow, heavy footsteps approached me “Morning,” Dean said, smiling “Mattea still asleep?” he looked over, almost as if he expected her to be with me.
“I imagine so, could you do me a favour and wake her up for me while I make breakfast,”
He took another step forward, still looking at where she had sat the previous night, shrugging his shoulders he turned around and climbed the stairs to her room.
A few minutes later he came running down “Sam, she’s not in her room!” he panted “She’s gone”
We searched every room, every corner of the house. I swear, she couldn’t have gone far. We tore the place apart, frantically searching. Nothing. The door was still locked, she had to be here somewhere.
I collapsed on the sofa, defeated. Dean sat beside me, resting a comforting hand on my shoulder and assured me he’d call the police as soon as I was calm.
My whole body shaking, I got up in desperate need of a smoke and some fresh air. Deep in thought, I sat on the front step and started to lit my cig. That’s when I noticed.
Mattea.
I think. I screamed and ran over to her, Dean ran out immediately before freezing, eyes wide and mouth open.
There, sprinkled in dirt lay Mattea, her face was twisted and warped - almost unrecognisable. Her limbs lay motionless, bent wildly out of place with bone fragments sticking out of her everywhere, she was caked in dried blood, her eyes were missing and her body was covered in deep, unnatural bite marks.
Ten minutes later the police arrived, forcing us away from her body and throwing questions at us mercilessly, barely giving us time to respond.
It’s been a few days since losing her and Dean has been arrested for her murder. I refuse to believe it. Dean couldn’t hurt a fly, it wasn’t in his nature.
My home feels empty now, when I close my eyes I dream of her, her fragile body and him. Glaring at me with a cruel smile while he devours her. When I open my eyes I see her corpse, riddled with maggots. I can’t escape her.
Tonight I heard the knocking for the first time since the night before Mattea was taken away from me. I wonder if I open the door again, will he take me too? I want to see my baby again.