"Anybody home?"
That was the greeting I used to hear all the time when lots of visitors came to see my grandparents.
The front door would slide open with a rattle, echoing through the house.
My grandmother would answer, ushering them in with a "Come in, come in," and the guests would sit in the living room chatting with my grandparents.
After my grandparents passed away, the visitors stopped coming as often.
Then came a day when I was sick and lying in bed at home, all alone.
My wife and kids were away at work and school. I was feeling completely better by then and planned to go back to work the next day.
I was lying in bed on the second floor, scrolling on my phone and drifting off to sleep.
That was when—
"Anybody home?"
I heard a voice call out. At first, I thought maybe it was a visitor for the neighbors, but it turned out to be for our house.
"Who could that be? I feel bad, but I'll just pretend I'm not here."
The front door was locked, so I figured they'd assume no one was home and leave, and I decided to go back to sleep.
The voice stopped, and I drifted off.
I was woken up by a voice saying, "Anybody home?"
*Again?* I thought, but I pretended to be out once more.
Right after that, my drowsiness vanished in an instant.
I heard a raspy "Clang-dong."
We had a doorbell chime installed, but it had broken down over ten years ago and stopped working completely.
It used to ring with a clear "Ding-dong," but as it degraded, its final days produced only a faint "Clang-dong."
Hearing that sound for the first time in decades sent a chill through my entire body, freezing me in place.
While I was thinking, *Is it my imagination...? Did it just go off on its own?*
the voice kept calling out, "Anybody home?"
Maybe this person pressed the doorbell and it just happened to go off? I tried to go downstairs to answer it, but my body wouldn't move.
Then I heard the front door slide open with a *rattle...* followed by, "Anybody home?"
Stunned by this impossible situation, I thought, *I locked the door, didn't I?*
What followed was one impossible thing after another.
Heavy footsteps thudded down the hallway as the person walked around, calling out, "Anybody home?"
"Maybe it's a cousin or a relative? That's the only thing that makes sense. It has to be."
That's what I kept telling myself.
Then they shouted up toward the second floor, "Anybody home?"
Unable to speak or move, all I could do was listen to that voice.
*Thump, thump,* came the footsteps coming up the stairs.
"Anybody home?"
Right when they must have reached the room at the far end of the second floor where I was lying, the voice stopped.
I was completely panicked.
The broken doorbell had rung, someone had broken in and come up to the second floor, and on top of that, I couldn't speak or move.
Still under my blanket, I kept my eyes glued to the corner of the room, when—
"Oh, look. You *are* here."
A low voice spoke, and at the same time, an unfamiliar man peeked in at me.
Overcome by sheer terror, I must have passed out. I woke up as my wife and kids were shaking me.
"Dad, are you okay?" my kids asked, while my wife said, "You're dripping with sweat."
"Y-yeah, I'm fine," I replied.
Realizing it must have been a dream, I exhaled deeply in relief.
My family went back downstairs, and as I sat alone on the edge of the bed wiping off sweat—
I heard a voice say, "Anybody home?"
*Huh?* My heart began to pound heavily.
I figured my family downstairs would answer it, but—
"Anybody home?"
Nobody downstairs answered. Heavy footsteps thudding down the hallway, the voice calling up to the second floor, *thump, thump* coming up the stairs... with everything playing out exactly as in the dream, my eyes went wide, I clutched my head, and my breathing grew ragged.
And just like in the dream, the voice fell silent near my room. After a brief moment of quiet—
"I knew it. You *are* here."
He popped his head out from around the corner and peeked into the room.
I passed out again.
I woke up to noises from the first floor, staring up at the ceiling.
Was this another dream? Reality? Is someone going to come again?
My mind was completely scrambled.
My body could move now. My voice worked. I sat up and stood, intending to go downstairs.
"Anybody home?"
The voice called out, and instantly fear seized me, goosebumps erupted on my skin, and I froze.
"No way. Again? What the hell is going on?"
I thought, but then I thought I heard my wife's voice coming from the front door.
"Thank goodness... it's not a dream."
Relieved, I started heading down the stairs.
Just as I was about to reach the bottom step—
"Clang-dong."
"Anybody home?"
*No way...* I thought as I looked toward the front door and saw someone standing on the other side.
Is this another dream, or reality?
On the other side of the door, it looked like someone was smiling.
