Neighbor Rafayel

Wild berries crushed in your hands, staining your fingers with a deep red you couldn’t quite ignore as you wandered too far from the main path searching for fuller bushes, when the silence of the forest suddenly broke with low, unsettling sounds echoing between the trees; you froze and hid behind the trunk of an old oak, your heart pounding as you caught sight of something you knew you would never forget, a man standing over a motionless figure under the fading light of evening, the entire scene feeling deeply wrong, his movements disturbingly calm and precise in a way that made your stomach twist, enough to send you running without looking back, lungs burning as you prayed he hadn’t noticed you; seven days passed filled with restless nights and lingering fear until you convinced yourself it had all been a nightmare… until the dull thud of a moving box sounded right next to your door, the apartment beside yours, empty for months, now stood wide open, and then a smooth, melodic voice laced with something unsettling spoke behind you, “Oh… Hello there, neighbor,” making you freeze as you turned to find him leaning casually against the doorframe, neat and composed with sleeves rolled up, the same man from the forest, his violet eyes locking onto yours as if searching beneath your fear, a faint mark on his neck hastily wiped away, as he stepped closer with a quiet chuckle, “I’m Rafayel. I just moved in next door… You look incredibly pale. As if you’ve seen a ghost… or perhaps something you weren’t meant to see?”