The House on Lumi Mountain

The first thing I noticed after we settled into the house was the silence.

It wasn't ordinary silence.

At home, silence meant there was nothing happening. In Lumi Mountain, the silence felt like something was listening.

I tried not to think about it.

We had been on the road for hours, and everyone was exhausted. Bags were scattered across the sitting room, shoes were left near the entrance, and people had already begun claiming rooms.

"Aliyah, come and see this room!" Lateefah shouted from upstairs.

I climbed the stairs and found her standing inside a large bedroom with Adeife.

The room had two beds, a wardrobe and a wide window overlooking the mountain.

Adeife was already opening the curtains.

"Look at this view!"

I walked toward the window.

Mist covered most of the mountain. Far below, I could see the narrow road we had used to climb up. It looked much smaller from there.

"Imagine waking up here every day," Adeife said.

"Imagine having to climb that road every day," I replied.

Lateefah laughed.

"You're always looking for the negative side."

"I prefer survival."

She threw a pillow at me.

I caught it.

For the next few minutes, the three of us joked about the trip and took pictures.

It felt normal.

That was what made everything that happened afterward so disturbing.

By evening, the coordinators gathered everyone in the sitting room.

We were reminded why we were there. The following morning, we were supposed to begin our fieldwork. We would document the environment, speak with residents and gather information for our final-year project.

Mosun sat near the front.

"My father said we should be careful around the mountain," she told us.

Charles immediately raised his hand.

"Define careful."

Mosun frowned.

"I'm serious."

Charles lowered his hand.

"So am I."

Everyone laughed.

Mosun didn't.

"My father doesn't like people wandering around alone. Especially after sunset."

"Why?" Sarah asked.

Mosun hesitated.

"He just said the mountain can be dangerous."

I looked toward the windows.

Outside, the mist had become thicker.

"What kind of danger?" Emmanuel asked.

"Rocks. Wild animals. Getting lost."

Her answer sounded reasonable.

But the way she said it wasn't.

Before I could ask anything else, one of the coordinators interrupted.

"We'll discuss the details tomorrow. Tonight, everyone should rest."

People gradually began leaving the sitting room.

Mosun and some of the coordinators then started preparing to go back down the mountain through the main entrance.

"We need to get a few things from the town," Mosun explained.

"Now?" I asked.

She nodded.

"It won't take long."

I glanced toward the windows.

The sky was already getting dark.

"Are you sure?"

She smiled.

"Aliyah, I've been here before."

I wasn't convinced.

Lateefah came beside me.

"Let her go. She knows the place."

Mosun pointed at her.

"Exactly."

Then she looked at me.

"Take care of Adeife."

Adeife frowned.

"Why me?"

"Because you're the one most likely to get everyone into trouble."

"Excuse me?"

We laughed.

Mosun and the coordinators left.

I watched the main door close behind them.

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Then Charles stretched himself across one of the couches.

"I'm hungry."

"You've been eating since morning," Patience said.

"That's because I'm alive."

"Unfortunately," Emmanuel added.

Charles threw a pillow at him.

The house came alive with laughter again.

I went into the kitchen with Adeife.

"We need to start cooking," I said.

She looked at me.

"You mean you need to start cooking."

"You're helping."

"I don't remember agreeing."

"You don't have to remember."

Lateefah joined us.

The kitchen was larger than I expected. There were several cupboards, an old refrigerator and shelves filled with cooking supplies.

Some of the food had been brought by us, while the rest had apparently been left there by Mosun's father.

I began arranging the ingredients.

Then I noticed the sachets.

There were several packets of different food products on the counter.

I picked one up.

"Is this ours?"

Adeife looked over.

"Probably."

I examined the package.

The brand name was unfamiliar.

"Have you seen this before?"

She came closer.

"No."

I turned it around.

Then something caught my attention.

The letters on the package appeared to move.

I blinked.

The brand name was different.

I froze.

"Adeife."

"What?"

"Look."

She took the sachet from me.

Her expression changed.

"What is that?"

"I don't know."

She turned it around.

The name changed again.

We stared at each other.

"Did you do that?" she asked.

"How?"

"I don't know!"

Lateefah rushed over.

"What happened?"

I handed her the sachet.

She looked at it.

"What am I supposed to see?"

"The name."

She frowned.

"It's just a brand."

"No. Look at it again."

Lateefah stared.

Nothing happened.

I took it back.

The name changed.

My stomach tightened.

Adeife noticed.

"Aliyah."

"I saw it."

"Again?"

I nodded.

Lateefah took another sachet from the counter.

She looked at it.

Then she placed it down.

"Nothing."

She picked it up again.

The name was different.

Her smile disappeared.

Nobody spoke.

Then a noise came from the corridor.

Tap.

We turned.

Nothing.

Another sound.

Tap.

This time it sounded closer.

Adeife lowered her voice.

"Did someone come back?"

I shook my head.

"No."

The three of us stepped out of the kitchen.

The corridor was empty.

But at the far end, the door of the unused apartment stood exactly as we'd left it.

Closed.

Locked.

I looked at it.

Then I heard something from behind the door.

A faint sound.

Someone whispering.

I couldn't make out the words.

Lateefah grabbed my arm.

"Let's go."

We hurried back into the kitchen.

For several minutes, none of us mentioned what we'd heard.

Then the lights went off.

Adeife screamed.

"Calm down!" I shouted.

"It's dark!"

"I know!"

Someone in the sitting room shouted for a flashlight.

We found one and turned it on.

The electricity returned after a few seconds.

Everyone laughed nervously.

"Mountain problems," Emmanuel said.

I wanted to laugh too.

Then I looked at the clock on the wall.

It was 3:17.

I frowned.

That was strange.

It was nowhere near that time.

I checked my phone.

7:42 p.m.

I looked at the wall clock again.

3:17.

I walked closer.

The second hand was moving.

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

But the hour and minute hands remained frozen.

I called the others.

They gathered around it.

"Maybe it's faulty," Amos said.

He reached for it.

The moment his fingers touched the clock, it stopped ticking.

Then, from upstairs, we heard footsteps.

Everyone went silent.

One step.

Then another.

Slow.

Deliberate.

Someone was walking across the upper floor.

Lateefah squeezed my hand.

The footsteps stopped.

Then came three knocks from somewhere above us.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

Nobody moved.

The clock began ticking again.

And its hands remained fixed at 3:17.

I looked at Lateefah.

She was staring toward the staircase.

"Aliyah," she whispered.

"What?"

"Tell me we're not the only ones in this house."

Before I could answer, something moved upstairs.

And this time, we heard a door slowly open.

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