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The House Remembers Its Tenants

horror◐ Mature
5 contributors · 4 paragraphs deep

Daniel opened the nearest door. An empty bedroom, bare floor, one window. But the floorboards in the center were worn smooth in a long oval, exactly the shape of someone walking the same path for years. The wood was warm. He stepped onto it without meaning to.

The second his feet touched the worn path, Daniel started walking. He couldn't stop. Back and forth, back and forth, the same oval. Mara screamed his name and grabbed his arm, and only then did he break free, gasping. "I felt them," he said. "All the ones who walked here. They're still walking."

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They ran for the front door and threw it open. Outside wasn't their street. It was the same hallway, the same worn oval, and Daniel was already pacing it again. Every exit fed back into the house. Mara understood then: the house didn't have an outside anymore. They were tenants now, and the house always kept its tenants.

ED
Elif Demir
7 votes · future 1 of 2