00:00Every morning there are wet paw prints from the trunk to my pillow.
00:02I live alone in a small apartment, third floor, no pets allowed.
00:04I don't even like animals much, so waking up last week to a wet paw print on my bedroom floor
00:07was confusing.
00:09One print, small, feeling, as if a cat had stepped out of a puddle and touched my hardwood floor.
00:13I cleaned it, shrugged it off, and went to work.
00:15The next morning there were three, forming a tiny trail from the hallway toward my room.
00:18Same size, same shape, still wet.
00:20By the fourth morning, the trail began at my front door.
00:22By the fifth, it started inside my trunk.
00:24I thought I was being pranked.
00:25I checked the locks, the windows, even installed a cheap camera above the entrance.
00:28But the prints kept showing up, damp, cold, perfectly formed, leading straight to my room,
00:33always ending beside my pillow.
00:35I never heard anything, never woke up when they appeared.
00:37Never saw movement in the footage, just hours of empty hallways and a still, untouched front door.
00:41Yesterday, I decided to pull my car apart.
00:42Maybe a stray was sneaking in somehow.
00:44The trunk smelled faintly of mildew, even though it hadn't rained in days.
00:47When I pulled the floor panel up, I nearly gacked.
00:49The carpet underneath was soaked, soaked, and warm.
00:51As I touched it, something shifted the carpet from below.
00:53A subtle rise, a breath.
00:55I slammed it shut and locked the car, heart racing.
00:57This morning, the trail was different.
00:59The wet paw prints didn't walk to my pillow.
01:00They circled the bed, over and over.
01:02A perfect ring around where I slept.
01:04The last print was pressed against the edge of the mattress,
01:06as if something had been standing there, watching me sleep.
01:08And now there's moisture on my pillow.
01:09Not from paws.
01:10From breath.
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