In the autumn of 2021, Luna house-sat for her aunt in the small town of Harper's Mill, Virginia. The house was old, with a narrow staircase that led to a second-floor window facing east. Every night, she woke at exactly 3:43 AM to find the window open — even though she'd closed it before bed. Outside, the sky was always dark, no stars, no moon, just an absence that seemed to press against the glass. She began to notice a figure standing at the edge of the lawn, a woman in a pale dress, her face hidden by shadow. The figure never moved, but every night it was a little closer. Luna started sleeping in the living room. But the window was at the top of the stairs, and the stairs were the only way to the bathroom. This is a story about thresholds, about the things that wait just out of sight, and about what happens when you finally look directly into the dark.