Summer. For someone living in a tropical country, it means unbearable heat and humidity, even at night.
I was on vacation and staying at my uncle's house. His house is situated in a low hill along the border of the town. They are not really isolated as they got neighbors along the way going to the top of the hill.
It was my fifth day staying there and my usual habit after dinner is to go outside in the front yard and smoke. It is much cooler there, every now and then a small breeze will come relieving me from the irritating heat.
From where I stand, you can see the other side of the hill dotted with white things with crosses. Yes, those are graves and that part of the hill is a cemetery. Other people might get scared or uneasy being outside at night and in a full view of a cemetery a stone's throw away but I'm not. I have gotten used to it and it's not really that unsettling as the first night I was there.
So there I was smoking and halfway through my cigarette, I saw the front door opened!
You might think I got scared by then but I was not. I just stood there calmly, looking at the open door and after a few seconds it closed. I didn't paid much attention to what happened and go on smoking.
A minute passed by and then the door opened again and closed. Still unnerved by that second instance, I finished my cigarette and went inside the house.
On the hallway, I saw my uncle's maid sweeping the floor. I approached her and asked,
"Did you just opened the door a while ago?"
"Yes." she replied.
"Why?", I asked again.
"Someone was knocking, so I opened the door but no one came in. They even knocked twice."
I just stood there, looking puzzled at her then we both heard it as someone's knuckle rapped on the door.
Knock, knock...
