Behind me, something breathed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It wasn\u2019t an adult\u2019s breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was tiny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like when a child has cried so much that they run out of air, and their chest just hitches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I wanted to turn around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I swear on my mother\u2019s grave I wanted to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Rebecca\u2019s voice was still scraping against the inside of my head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDon\u2019t turn around.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n So I kept staring at the water tank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Staring at the black lid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Watching the rusted wire move slowly, as if something inside were untangling it with absolute patience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEthan?\u201d the name slipped out of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The breathing behind me stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The entire rooftop went dead silent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No dogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not even the buzz of the lightbulb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then I felt something cold touch my calf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I lowered my gaze without moving my neck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A tiny hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Small.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Purplish-blue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With peeling, torn fingernails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was gripping my sweatpants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I didn\u2019t scream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not because I was brave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because fear clamped my throat shut, as if someone had shoved a wet rag deep down my windpipe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The little hand squeezed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And a voice, pressed right against my back, whispered:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s not me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I felt my knees buckle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWho are you?\u201d I barely managed to ask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The voice returned, but now it sounded like many voices speaking all at the same time underwater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe ones who are missing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then the cell phone vibrated in my hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another audio message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This time it didn\u2019t say \u201cBecky 2A.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n My mother had been dead for nine years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I dropped the phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It fell face up on the concrete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The screen lit up on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The audio began to play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First came a song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A lullaby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The very same one my mom used to sing to me when I was a kid and was afraid to sleep alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, her voice:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy boy\u2026 don\u2019t turn on the water.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The water tank slammed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n THUD!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The lid jumped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The wire snapped taut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The tiny hand let go of my sweatpants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that\u2019s when I ran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I don\u2019t know how I reached the stairs without turning around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I flew down them two at a time, slipping, hitting the walls, feeling something behind me dragging its wet feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Slosh.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Slosh.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Slosh.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Like barefoot soles on concrete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I hit the second floor, I banged on the first door I saw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Apartment 2B.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Old Man Arthur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An old guy who sold bootleg DVDs and slept with a machete under his bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cArthur! Open up! Open up, please!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nobody answered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I pounded harder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOpen the damn door!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n From inside, his voice came out muffled:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWho is it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s Matthew! From 4C!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Silence. Then slow footsteps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The peephole went dark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI can\u2019t open it for you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRebecca told me not to open the door for anyone coming down wet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I looked down at myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My legs were soaked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not from rain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not from the blanket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From black water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My sweatpants were dripping as if I had waded up to my waist in a cistern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cArthur, please\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n His voice trembled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe sent me an audio message, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The blood drained completely from my face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt 2:17.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every single door down the hallway began to crack open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A sliver of light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An eye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A chain lock holding fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The building was awake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everyone had heard it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everyone had received something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mrs. Gable, from 3A, was weeping behind her door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy son called me,\u201d she said. \u201cMy son is out in California, Matthew\u2026 but he spoke to me with a little boy\u2019s voice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mrs. Miller was praying with a rosary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Darnell, who never believed in anything, was sitting on his doorstep with a handgun, white as a sheet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy dad talked to me,\u201d he murmured. \u201cHe told me the water tank wasn\u2019t filled with water.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n From upstairs came a loud slam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n THUD!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Then another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n THUD!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n And then, a sound I will never forget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Laughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Children\u2019s laughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tiny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joyful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But muffled and choked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As if they were laughing with mouths full of mud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mrs. Gable shrieked and slammed her door shut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I bolted down to the central courtyard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The building smelled even worse down there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The stench was rolling down the pipes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rotten water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sweet, decaying flesh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And something else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Something ancient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the middle of the courtyard stood Rebecca\u2019s sister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The one who had cried out of obligation at the funeral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her name was Nancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She was wearing a pink bathrobe, slippers, and her hair was a mess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In her hand, she held Rebecca\u2019s cell phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not a call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not a text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The physical phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The one that was supposed to be turned off, lost, packed away with her things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhere did you get that?\u201d I asked her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nancy raised her face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her eyes were swollen, but not from crying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From not sleeping for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was on my nightstand,\u201d she said. \u201cIt rang all by itself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The phone vibrated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everyone standing in the courtyard backed away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nancy looked at the screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDon\u2019t answer it,\u201d Old Man Arthur called down from the stairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nancy answered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She put it on speaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At first, all we heard was water dripping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then Rebecca.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But she didn\u2019t sound dead anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She sounded awake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNancy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her sister covered her mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBecky\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTell them not to open the water tank.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat did you do, Rebecca?\u201d Nancy sobbed. \u201cWhat did you do with Ethan?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The static crackled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And when Rebecca spoke again, her voice wasn\u2019t a plea anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was pure rage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI didn\u2019t leave him there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nancy stopped crying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The courtyard froze solid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nancy lowered the cell phone slowly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We all stared at her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mrs. Miller crossed herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat is she saying?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nancy began to shake her head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo. No. It wasn\u2019t like that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The cell phone spoke again, even though Nancy no longer had it to her ear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEthan saw something he shouldn\u2019t have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The screen flickered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Suddenly, it wasn\u2019t just audio anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You could see the rooftop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But not the rooftop from tonight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The one from four years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was pouring rain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The yellow lightbulb was swinging in the wind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethan appeared in the frame, skinny, wearing a dinosaur t-shirt, standing right next to the black water tank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAuntie?\u201d the boy was saying. \u201cWhy are you pouring that into the water?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The camera shook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We couldn\u2019t see who was filming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But we could hear Nancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Younger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Harsher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGo downstairs, Ethan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m going to tell my mommy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then another shadow appeared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nancy\u2019s husband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The one who had vanished from the building a week after the boy disappeared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The one we all thought had skipped town because of debts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roger grabbed Ethan by the arm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The boy screamed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLet me go!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nancy said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShut him up. He\u2019s going to get us in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The video cut off right as Roger lifted the boy up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nancy fell to her knees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI didn\u2019t mean to\u2026 I didn\u2019t mean to\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Darnell raised his gun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat did you do to him?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nancy wept with her hands flat on the concrete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRoger was stealing gasoline. He was storing it in drums. That night he was mixing chemicals to mask the smell. Ethan saw us. He said he was going to tell Rebecca. Roger panicked. He just wanted to lock him away for a little bit. Just for a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn the water tank?\u201d I asked, a wave of nausea hitting me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nancy looked up at me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And in her face, I saw the truth before she even spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe water tank was empty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Upstairs, something slammed again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n THUD!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Nancy screamed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI told him to take him out! I told him! But the police showed up over some other matter, we all ran, and when we came back\u2026 when we came back, he wasn\u2019t crying anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mrs. Miller covered her ears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLord Jesus, have mercy\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRoger said if we talked, they\u2019d lock us all up. That I\u2019d go to prison too. That Rebecca would never forgive me. That it was better to say his father took him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd Rebecca?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nancy wiped her nose with her sleeve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe knew.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nobody breathed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nancy looked at her sister\u2019s phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSince the first month.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I felt my heart sink into my chest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s why she went up every night.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nancy nodded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe found one of his shoes stuck behind the tank. She showed it to me. She asked if I knew anything. I swore I didn\u2019t. That night she told me she was going to open it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nancy closed her eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRoger had already come back. He threatened her. He told her if she opened that water tank, he would make other kids from the building disappear. Rebecca stopped talking. But she kept going up. Every single night. Like she was waiting for Ethan to answer her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The cell phone vibrated again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rebecca\u2019s voice came out soft, gentle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe did answer me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The back staircase began to drip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First a little bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then in torrents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Black water cascading down from the roof, step by step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it wasn\u2019t falling normally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was crawling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As if it were searching for feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mrs. Gable screamed from upstairs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s backing up through the drains!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doors flew open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Neighbors running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Children crying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n People grabbing bags, religious statues, blankets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the main gate of the complex\u2014that blue iron gate that was always open\u2014slammed shut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CLANG!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The padlock snapped shut on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trapped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The courtyard erupted into screams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nancy crawled toward the stairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRebecca! Forgive me!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The black water pooled up to the first floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then we saw the tracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dozens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tiny wet footprints coming down the walls, down the steps, along the railings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So many children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some from the building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Footprints of different sizes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From different years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As if that water tank hadn\u2019t just kept Ethan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As if it had been a mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As if it had been swallowing for a very long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Darnell fired his gun into the air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The bullet blew out an overhead light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Darkness shattered over us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And in the gloom, standing on the second-floor landing, Ethan appeared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Or what was left of him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He was still six years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The same dinosaur t-shirt stuck to his body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His skin bloated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His eyes pitch black, filled to the brim with water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His mouth open, but not to scream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To let out a dark, thin trickle that leaked down his chin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nancy saw him and soiled herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEthan\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The boy tilted his head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy mommy is tired of waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Behind him, Rebecca appeared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In her gray bathrobe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her hair loose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her face pale with the recent coldness of death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But her eyes\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her eyes were alive with agony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She didn\u2019t look at anyone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Only at Nancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI asked you for one thing, sister,\u201d she said. \u201cJust one. Not to lie to me about my son.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nancy began to beat her chest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cForgive me, Becky. Forgive me. I was scared.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rebecca took a step down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The water rose to our ankles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was ice-cold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was scared too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She took another step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut I looked for him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI cried for him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI listened to him scratch for four years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nancy shrieked:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was Roger! He put him in there! He killed him!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rebecca smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A sad, hollow smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRoger is already in the water tank.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nancy\u2019s phone illuminated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A photo appeared on the screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Inside the water tank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His mouth wide open, his eyes torn out, his hands pressed flat against the black walls, as if he had tried to claw his way out for days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nancy vomited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rebecca reached the courtyard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The water covered her feet, but her bathrobe didn\u2019t get wet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethan walked beside her, holding her hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For a second, they looked completely normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A mother and her son walking down to get bread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A neighbor and her little boy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A life that had been stolen from them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rebecca looked at me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I felt her gaze pierce right through me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMatthew.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes,\u201d I said, crying without even realizing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou actually listened.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I didn\u2019t know what to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She pointed toward the main gate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The padlock fell to the ground with a heavy thud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGet the children out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nobody moved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rebecca raised her voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNow!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The scream made the windows rattle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We all snapped out of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We scooped up kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pushed open doors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Helped the elderly out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The water followed us, but it didn\u2019t catch us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As if Rebecca were holding it back by pure force of will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I carried Mrs. Gable\u2019s granddaughter and ran out into the street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The cold East Baltimore air hit my face like a blessed slap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n People were coming out crying, praying, barefoot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From the outside, we looked back at the dark apartment building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Only the rooftop had light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The black water tank was silhouetted against the night sky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nancy didn\u2019t make it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nobody helped her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not because we didn\u2019t want to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because when she tried to cross the threshold, the water grabbed her by the ankles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She screamed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She dug her fingernails into the concrete floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMatthew! Help me!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I took a step forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rebecca appeared behind her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She shook her head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not with hatred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With exhaustion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nancy was dragged backward inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her screams echoed up the stairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Third.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The roof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then we heard the lid of the water tank burst open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A heavy splash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A shriek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The police arrived half an hour later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The firefighters went up at dawn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was sitting on the curb, wrapped in a blanket, with my dead phone in my hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When they opened the water tank, they didn\u2019t find Nancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They didn\u2019t find Roger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They didn\u2019t find Ethan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Only clean water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So clean you could see right to the bottom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And at the bottom, arranged in a perfect circle, were children\u2019s shoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Twenty-seven pairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some brand new.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Others rotted away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some from decades ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among them, a tiny blue flip-flop with a dinosaur on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethan\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The apartment complex was condemned and boarded up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They said it was a contaminated water leak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They said mass hysteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They said Nancy had skipped town out of guilt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They said a lot of things, because people need normal words to be able to sleep at night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I never went back to live there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I moved in with an aunt in Queens, New York.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I changed my number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I threw my old phone away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But sometimes, at 2:17 in the morning, any phone near me will vibrate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s turned off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First comes the static.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then Rebecca.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She doesn\u2019t sound scared anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She sounds at peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She always says the exact same thing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThank you for not opening it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And afterward, you can hear Ethan, a little further off, like he\u2019s playing on a rooftop that no longer exists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMommy, can we go now?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first time it happened, I cried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The second time, I prayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The third time, I finally understood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rebecca didn\u2019t want us to open the water tank to find her son.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She wanted us to get the living out before the dead collected what was theirs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because there are places that don\u2019t just keep secrets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They ferment them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And when they finally burst, water doesn\u2019t come out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everything people thought they had buried comes pouring out instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, if early some morning you ever hear scratching inside a water tank, don\u2019t go near it alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t ask who\u2019s in there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t press your ear against it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And for the love of God, whatever you do, don\u2019t open the lid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes the dead aren\u2019t asking for help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes they are just letting you know they are already coming for someone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Behind me, something breathed. It wasn\u2019t an adult\u2019s breath. It was tiny. Wet. Like when a child has cried so much that they run out of air,… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/phap.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/phap.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/phap.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phap.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phap.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=124"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/phap.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":127,"href":"https:\/\/phap.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124\/revisions\/127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/phap.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phap.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phap.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}