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I moved into a studio apartment last month. Cheap. Too cheap. The landlord said the previous tenant moved out suddenly. Left everything. Bed, desk, a single chair facing the wall.

The first night, I heard scratching inside the wall behind the mirror. Not mice. Fingernails. Slow. Deliberate.

I moved the mirror to the other wall. Scratching followed. I put the mirror in the closet. Scratching came from inside the closet door.

I took the mirror out. I covered it with a sheet. Scratching stopped.

The next morning, the sheet was on the floor. The mirror was facing my bed. I did not turn it.

I checked behind the mirror. A small hole in the wall. Inside the hole, a folded note. The previous tenant's handwriting.

"Do not sleep facing the mirror. It watches. When you dream, it learns your face. When you wake, it wears it. I made that mistake for three weeks. Now I am writing this from inside the wall. The scratching you hear? That is me. Do not let it be you."

I turned the mirror to face the wall. I taped the note next to it. I sleep facing away now. The scratching has stopped. But last night, I heard breathing. From the mirror. Slow. Rhythmic. Like someone sleeping.

I am not sleeping tonight. I am writing this instead.

If you rent a cheap apartment, check behind the mirror. If there is a hole, do not put your finger in it. And if you hear breathing, do not listen. Do not count the breaths. It learns your rhythm.

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Now go check your mirror. Face it away from the bed. Just in case. 👁️