## The Sound
I started toward the stairs.
Halfway up, I heard something.
A soft sound.
Three knocks.
I stopped.
Then silence.
I waited.
Another three knocks.
This time, I knew they were coming from behind the guest bedroom door.
My heart began beating faster.
"Hello?"
Nothing.
I walked toward the room.
The door was still locked.
I tried the handle.
It didn't move.
Then I heard a voice.
Very quietly, someone said my name.
I stepped backward.
For a moment, I couldn't breathe.
I knew that voice.
But that was impossible.
The person speaking had been dead for eleven years.
## The Photograph
I ran downstairs.
I didn't think.
I simply moved.
In the kitchen, I grabbed my phone and called my brother, Daniel.
He answered immediately.
"What's wrong?"
"Where are you?"
"At work. Why?"
"Is Mom home?"
"No. She went to Aunt Claire's."
I looked toward the staircase.
"Daniel, why is the guest room locked?"
