The Glass Haven

The fire crackled gently in the stone pit, casting flickering shadows across the manicured lawn. Elias sank into the oversized floor cushion on the patio, watching the flames dance as the city lights twinkled in the distance. His new home, a sleek, two-story container house with floor-to-ceiling windows, was everything he had envisioned—modern, minimalist, and isolated enough to keep the past at bay.

Or so he thought.

It had started with small things. A light flickering in the middle of the night, a whisper-soft creak of the upstairs floorboards when no one else was home. Elias, a man of logic and reason, had ignored it all. But when he returned from work to find the glass sliding door open—though he was certain he had locked it that morning—unease crept in like an uninvited guest.

One evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon, Elias settled into his upstairs balcony, a glass of wine in hand. The soft hum of the wind rustling the trees was usually comforting, but tonight, an unnatural silence lingered. Then, from the downstairs living area, he heard it—a soft, deliberate tap… tap… tap against the window.

His breath hitched. Slowly, he rose, setting his glass down, and stepped toward the staircase. The open-concept design of the house allowed him to see almost everything from above. He scanned the living room—nothing out of place. The fire pit still glowed outside. And yet… the sound had been so distinct.

Then, movement.

A shadow darted past the large glass panels, just beyond the fire pit.

Elias’s pulse pounded. He wasn’t one to scare easily, but something about the way the shadow had moved—too fast, too fluid—unsettled him. He grabbed the flashlight from the kitchen drawer and stepped outside.

The firewood cracked as a breeze passed through. He swung the flashlight across the yard. Nothing.

Then he saw them—footprints in the grass, leading from the patio to the treeline. Bare footprints. And they weren’t his.

Was someone watching him? Had they been inside?

A shiver crawled down his spine as the thought settled in.

That night, he locked every door, checked every window. As he lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, sleep eluded him. And then…

Tap. Tap. Tap.

This time, the sound came from the upstairs balcony door.