The fog was dense, clinging to everything like a damp shroud. It blurred the world beyond recognition, making reality seem like an ethereal dream. Detective Daniel Harper leaned against his car, staring up at the silhouette of the decrepit mansion in front of him. The old estate loomed out of the mist, a forgotten relic from another time.

In his hand was a crumpled letter—nothing but a piece of paper with an address hastily written in uneven black ink. No sender, no details. Only one word at the bottom: Serene. The girl he’d been searching for, missing without a trace for weeks. He had combed the city, traced dead-end leads, and questioned everyone who might have known her, only to come up empty-handed. Until now.

"Serene..." he muttered to himself. The name left a bitter taste on his tongue as he stepped toward the wrought-iron gate. It swung open with an eerie groan, as though the house had been waiting for him.

Years of experience told him this wasn’t right. This mansion, isolated and swallowed by time, gave off a heavy presence. It wasn’t just the way it stood, old and crumbling, as if it had been abandoned decades ago. It was the feeling—a thick, oppressive weight that pressed against his chest. It felt like the walls themselves were watching, waiting.

But Daniel couldn’t walk away. Not when Serene was involved.

The heavy door creaked as he pushed it open, and he stepped into the cold, musty air of the grand entryway. His flashlight cut through the dark, revealing layers of dust that coated the forgotten furniture. The scent of decay clung to the air, mingling with something else—something faintly metallic.

"Serene?" His voice echoed in the vast, empty space, swallowed by the dark halls. There was no answer.

He moved cautiously through the mansion, his footsteps muffled by old, weathered carpets. Everything was as it had been left, as if the house had frozen in time. But something was wrong. It was more than the silence, more than the decay. There was a presence here—something just beyond the edge of his vision, lurking in the shadows.

His flashlight flickered.

Then he saw it—a mirror, large and imposing, hanging at the end of the hallway. It was covered in a thick layer of grime, like it hadn’t been touched in years. Drawn to it, Daniel reached out, wiping away the dust. The image that stared back at him was wrong. In the reflection, he could see himself, but something else—someone else—stood just behind him.

A girl. Pale, her eyes wide, filled with fear.

He spun around, heart pounding, but there was no one there. The hall behind him was empty.

"Serene?" He whispered, unsure if he had even seen her, or if it was some cruel trick of the light. The air around him grew colder, the oppressive atmosphere suffocating, as though the mansion itself was closing in.

He moved faster now, a sense of urgency rising in his chest. The house seemed to shift around him, the layout unfamiliar despite his efforts to map it out. His heart raced as he entered room after room, each more decrepit than the last. It was a maze, but he couldn’t stop. He couldn’t leave.

Then, he found it. A small room at the end of a narrow corridor. Unlike the rest of the mansion, this room was clean, untouched by the decay that consumed the rest of the house. The air here was crisp and fresh. And sitting in a chair by the window, staring out into the fog, was a girl.

"Serene," he breathed, his voice trembling with disbelief.

She turned, her face pale but familiar. Her eyes met his, and for a moment, the world seemed to stop. She was real. She was here.

"Are you here to take me home?" Her voice was soft, almost detached, as if she were speaking from another world.

Daniel knelt beside her, swallowing the lump in his throat. "Yes. I’m taking you home."

Serene sat in the interrogation room, her small hands resting on the table, her eyes wandering to the one-way mirror. She looked... calm. Too calm. Detective Daniel Monroe stood behind the glass, watching, waiting for something—anything—that would make sense of the past few weeks.

Serene’s parents had already gone through hours of questioning. They were grateful, relieved, and full of gratitude toward the police. But Daniel couldn’t shake the feeling of gnawing at him.

Beside him, Officer Michaels nodded toward the girl. "She’s been cooperative so far. Not a scratch on her, nothing suspicious in the medical reports either. We’ll get to the bottom of this."

Daniel remained silent, his eyes locked on Serene. There was something about her that made his skin crawl. It wasn’t fear—more like a shadow, something hidden just beneath the surface.

Inside the room, Sergeant Doyle sat down across from Serene, offering her a gentle smile. "Serene, sweetheart, we’re just going to ask you a few more questions, okay? You’re safe now, but we need to understand what happened."

Serene nodded. "Okay."

Doyle leaned forward slightly, his tone soft but probing. "Can you tell us how you ended up in that mansion? How long were you there?"

"I don’t remember how I got there," Serene answered, her voice steady. "I was just... there. It was cold, and I couldn’t leave. The doors were locked, and no one came."

Doyle exchanged a glance with the officers behind the glass. "But you’re sure no one else was there with you? No strangers, no one who took care of you?"

Serene shook her head. "I was alone."

The room was quiet. Doyle continued, "And did anything strange happen? Did you see or hear anything unusual while you were there?"

Serene hesitated for the first time, her eyes flicking toward the mirror. "Sometimes... I heard voices. But they weren’t talking to me. They were just... there."

Daniel’s pulse quickened. Voices? But there had been no evidence of anyone else in that house. No signs of life, no footprints but his own. Yet Serene spoke with such conviction that the officers in the room exchanged uneasy glances.

"And when we found you," Doyle pressed, "you were sitting by the window. Why there?"

Serene smiled softly, almost dreamily. "I was waiting. I knew you would come."

The sun was beginning to set by the time Daniel stepped out of the precinct. Serene had answered every question, her voice calm, her answers clear. It was enough to satisfy the other officers. Even Sergeant Doyle had said as much, closing the case with a firm nod.

But Daniel couldn’t shake the unease. The girl had been missing for weeks. And yet, she seemed untouched by the time that had passed, as if nothing at all had happened to her. Her explanation felt too neat, too perfect.

As he made his way to his car, he saw Serene and her parents walking toward him. Serene’s mother beamed, her eyes still shining with tears of relief. Her father gave Daniel a grateful nod, his expression softened with gratitude.

"Thank you," Serene’s mother said, her voice thick with emotion. "Thank you for bringing her back to us."

Daniel forced a smile, but it felt hollow. "Just doing my job."

Serene stepped forward then, her eyes meeting his. "Thank you, Detective."

And then she smiled—a sweet, innocent smile that made something in Daniel’s gut twist. For a moment, he was back in that mansion, standing in front of the mirror, seeing something that wasn’t supposed to be there.

As Serene and her family walked away, Daniel couldn’t help but feel that something was wrong. Everything seemed right. Too right. But deep down, a shadow of doubt lingered. Serene was home, safe, surrounded by love.

But had she really come back?

                                                                    The End