I thought everything was over after making the choice.
But apparently… there is no real ending in this place.
Only transition.
From one keeper to the next.
And now… I am the keeper.
The apartment no longer feels disturbed.
No shadows.
No strange noises.
No doors creaking open on their own.
But I feel something deeper.
Like a fine web connecting me to the walls, the floor, the ceiling. As if… this place is watching me back.
I found something I'd never seen before.
Inside the kitchen drawer, hidden beneath a pile of old newspapers, there was a small metal key.
Attached was a faded yellow paper:
"For the ledger room. Only the keeper may enter."
Ledger?
I spent the whole day inspecting every corner of the apartment, until I finally found a hidden panel beneath the living room carpet.
A small door, just big enough for one person to crawl through.
The key fit.
And as the door opened…
I felt history rush across my face.
The tunnel was narrow and dusty, winding deep into the ground.
At the end: a dimly lit room, glowing from a hanging lantern.
And there, neatly arranged on old wooden shelves…
Notebooks.
Hundreds of them.
Each one labeled with a name on the spine:
"Matthew R., Keeper 1911–1919""Dolores H., Keeper 1920–1937""Samuel L., Keeper 1937–1954"…
"Liana D., Keeper 2006–2023""Rayhan A., Keeper — "
My name was already there.
Even before I realized it.
I opened Liana's book.
Page after page filled with records of supernatural events.
Descriptions of sounds, visions, objects moving on their own. But more than that — there was a pattern.
Every "keeper" witnessed the arrival of the list.
And every list had six to seven tasks. Always different, but with the same purpose:To resolve unfinished business… so that souls could move on.
But never without cost.
Because someone always had to take their place.
I started writing in my own book.
"Day 1 as keeper.The apartment is quiet, but it feels like it's waiting.Like a hungry animal that hasn't been tamed.I don't know how long I'll be here.But I know one thing:The next person will come.And when they do, I must be ready to offer the same choice."
A week passed.
I spent my days in an odd silence.
There were other tenants in the building, but they didn't seem aware of what happened in unit 4B.
They greeted me like normal.
As if… I was invisible.
At night, sometimes I heard footsteps in the hallway.
But no one was there when I opened the door.
One night, I found fresh jasmine flowers outside.
And a small note:
"Thank you. – M."
Day 10, I heard a knock on the door.
Not unusual… except for the fact that I'd never told anyone this address.
A young man stood there, carrying a small suitcase.
"Sorry," he said. "I saw an ad for this apartment… 4B, right?"
I didn't answer right away.
He continued,"The price is way too low for this area. But… for some reason, I felt like I had to come."
I could only nod.
And deep down, I knew: it had begun again.
I let him in.
He introduced himself: Eli.
New in town. Didn't talk much.
As he explored the space, I saw his expression shift.
As if the room recognized him.
And when he looked into the bedroom mirror…
He froze.
"Did… a little girl ever live here?" he asked.
I stared at him.
"Why do you ask?"
Eli didn't answer.
He only said,
"I think I've been here before… but I don't know when."
That night, I wrote a new entry in my notebook:
"Day 11.A new tenant has arrived. His name is Eli.The apartment is beginning to shift again — sounds from under the floor, strange reflections in the mirror.I must wait for the list to appear.And when it does…I have to keep him from running.Because the only way out is to finish everything."
And for the first time since I came here…
I smiled faintly.
Not out of happiness.
But because I finally understood my role.
Not as a victim.
But as the keeper.