The sound of rain. The weight of a foot in the doorway. Suspicion in her veins.
The Silent Stranger
The weight of his foot in the door wasn’t forceful — not yet — but it was firm enough to send a pulse of unease up Mita’s spine.
She stared at the man, her hand still clutching the edge of the door. The rain poured behind him, a constant hiss on the porch roof.
“I don’t let strangers in.”
“But I’m not really a stranger, Mita.”
She froze.
Her name. He had said her name.
Every instinct screamed to shut the door, to slam it hard enough to break his foot, but she didn’t. Not yet.
“Excuse me?” she asked.
His eyes were dark. Calm.
“You live alone. Out here in the woods. Except for the cat. Oliver, right?”
Oliver, still on the couch, had his ears flat — watching the doorway with the same intensity he usually reserved for thunder.
Mita’s hand moved slowly to the lock.
“How do you know my name?”
The man’s smile widened, just barely.
“You left your lights on. You have a welcome mat with your name on it.”
He pointed downward — the doormat said WELCOME in cursive, and beneath it, in smaller print: The home of Mita & Oliver.
She felt her stomach unclench, just a little.
“You’re very observant.”
“I read,” he said. “Like you. Big fan of Rebecca, by the way.”
He gestured toward the Daphne du Maurier novel lying open on the couch.
Had he seen it through the window? Or was he inside before?
A Dangerous Calm
The rain grew louder, hammering the roof overhead.
He wouldn’t leave — not someone like this. There was a strange steadiness about him:
Not wild. Not obviously threatening.
But deliberate. Measured.
She opened the door further — just enough to let him see the heavy brass fireplace poker in her hand.
“One phone call,” she said. “You don’t step past the rug.”
The man nodded.
“Fair enough.”
Mita’s breath caught. The door creaked against his shoe. Her nerves were on fire.
“I don’t want any trouble,” she said.
“Neither do I,” the man replied. “But I need five minutes. Then I’ll go.”
“Five minutes for what?”
No answer. Just rain dripping from his dark hair as he spoke with a voice like a half-forgotten nightmare:
“I knew Sreezon. Your husband.”
The Past Returns
The wind howled outside; a shutter rattled.
Oliver hissed and vanished beneath the couch.
“What did you just say?”
“I knew him,” he repeated calmly. “From before. From the accident.”
She’d buried herself in this house to escape those words.
“Who are you?” Mita asked.
“May I come in?”
Her brain screamed NO.
Her mouth said, “One minute.”
Echoes of Sreezon
His coat dripped water, forming a dark puddle on the wooden floor.
His eyes scanned the room — the books, the framed wedding photo, the untouched teacup.
“You live alone,” he noted.
“I like it that way.”
“Still afraid of storms?”
Her heart stopped.
“How do you know that?”
“He told me. Sreezon.”
Her hand moved to the silver ring hanging around her neck — the one she’d once given him.
She whispered, “When?”
“Before it happened.”
Mita pointed to the chair by the fireplace.
“Sit. Start talking.”
He sat silently — in Sreezon’s chair — and clasped his hands like a man ready to confess.
The Secret Revealed
“I met Sreezon about six years ago. In Prague.”
“He never went to Prague.”
“He did. A business trip. The kind he didn’t tell you about.”
She didn’t want to believe him. But she did.
“He always wore a silver ring on a chain. Said it reminded him of home.”
She touched the same ring now resting on her neck.
“Why are you here?” she whispered. “What do you want from me?”
He leaned forward — eyes heavy with something darker than guilt.
“Not money. Not shelter. Just… the truth. And maybe, a little redemption.”
“For what?”
His answer chilled her to the bone.
“For what we did.”
FAQ – Readers Often Ask
Who is the stranger at the door?
He appears to be someone connected to Mita’s late husband Sreezon, possibly holding untold secrets from his past.
Why did Mita let him in despite fear?
His knowledge of her personal life and Sreezon’s memories created a psychological hold, mixing fear with curiosity.
What does the last line (“for what we did”) suggest?
It hints at a hidden, possibly dark history involving Sreezon and the stranger — something Mita has no idea about.
Why is Mita’s cat, Oliver, important in the scene?
Oliver acts like a silent alarm — animals sense danger. This gives the scene a supernatural tension.
Is this really about redemption or something more sinister?
The stranger’s true motive remains unclear — the way he speaks suggests guilt, but also manipulation, leaving the reader unsettled.
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