u/Unlucky_Exchange_385

My husband has been waking me up at 3:17 AM every night.
Not intentionally.
At least, that’s what I told myself.
The first time it happened, I woke up because someone was whispering my name.
“Emma.”
I opened my eyes.
The bedroom was dark.
My husband, Noah, was asleep beside me.
“Emma.”
I sat up.
Nothing.
I checked the time.
3:17 AM.
I figured I’d dreamed it.
The next night, it happened again.
“Emma.”
This time, the voice sounded closer.
I turned toward Noah.
His eyes were closed.
He was breathing normally.
I reached over and touched his shoulder.
He didn’t move.
Then the whisper came again.
“Emma.”
From underneath the bed.
I didn’t sleep for the rest of the night.
The next morning, I told Noah.
He laughed.
“You’re watching too many horror movies.”
“I heard someone.”
“You were dreaming.”
“I heard my name.”
He kissed my forehead.
“You’re cute when you’re scared.”
I wanted to believe him.
So I did.
For three nights, nothing happened.
Then, on the fourth night, I woke up at exactly 3:17.
No whisper.
No sound.
Just silence.
I rolled over.
Noah wasn’t beside me.
I sat up.
“Noah?”
Nothing.
I checked the bathroom.
Empty.
Kitchen.
Empty.
Living room.
Empty.
Then I heard footsteps coming from upstairs.
We don’t have an upstairs.
I froze.
Another step.
Slow.
Heavy.
Coming down the hallway.
I grabbed my phone and stood completely still.
The footsteps stopped outside our bedroom.
Then Noah’s voice came from the other side of the door.
“Emma?”
I nearly cried from relief.
I opened it.
Nobody was there.
I looked down the hallway.
Nothing.
Then my phone buzzed.
A text from Noah.
I’m at work. What’s wrong?
I stared at the screen.
My hands went cold.
I slowly looked toward the bedroom.
The door was still open.
And someone was standing beside my bed.
It was Noah.
Except he was still wearing his work uniform.
The same uniform he’d worn when he left that morning.
He smiled at me.
“Emma.”
I couldn’t move.
He tilted his head.
“Why are you awake?”
I screamed.
The figure disappeared.
Just—
gone.
I called Noah.
He answered immediately.
“Hey, baby. What’s wrong?”
I couldn’t speak.
Then he said something that made my blood run cold.
“Did it happen again?”
I whispered:
“What?”
“The thing under the bed.”
I didn’t tell him about the footsteps.
I didn’t tell him about the man in his uniform.
I just asked:
“How do you know?”
There was silence.
Then Noah whispered:
“Because it happened to me too.”
I sat down on the floor.
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been seeing you.”
My stomach dropped.
“What?”
“Every night.”
He sounded terrified.
“I wake up at 3:17 and you’re standing beside the bed.”
I looked toward our bedroom.
“That’s impossible.”
“I know.”
“Noah, I’m here.”
“I know you’re there now.”
His voice cracked.
“But that’s not the version of you I’m talking about.”
I couldn’t breathe.
“What does she do?”
Noah didn’t answer.
“What does she do, Noah?”
Finally, he whispered:
“She just stands there.”
“Where?”
“Beside the bed.”
“Doing what?”
“Watching me.”
I swallowed.
“Does she look like me?”
“No.”
My heart stopped.
“Then what does she look like?”
He started crying.
“She’s you.”
I didn’t understand.
“That’s what I mean.”
He took a shaky breath.
“She’s exactly you.”
I heard something behind me.
A floorboard creaked.
I turned around.
Nothing.
Then Noah whispered:
“Emma?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t turn around again.”
My blood went cold.
“Why?”
“Because I can hear her breathing.”
I slowly looked down.
There were two shadows beneath the bedroom door.
Mine.
And another one.
Standing directly behind me.
I couldn’t move.
Noah whispered through the phone:
“She’s been getting closer every night.”
I started crying.
“How close?”
He didn’t answer.
Then I felt something touch the back of my neck.
A fingertip.
Cold.
Wet.
And a voice whispered directly into my ear.
My voice.
“He’s lying.”
The phone went dead.
I stood there for what felt like an eternity.
Then I heard Noah’s voice from the hallway.
“Emma?”
I couldn’t move.
“Baby?”
The bedroom door slowly opened.
Noah stood there.
Covered in blood.
He looked at me.
Then smiled.
“Sorry I’m late.”
I stared at him.
“You said you were at work.”
He tilted his head.
“I was.”
“Then why are you bleeding?”
His smile disappeared.
He looked down at his shirt.
Confused.
Then he looked back at me.
“I don’t know.”
Something moved behind him.
A woman stepped into the hallway.
She looked exactly like me.
Same face.
Same hair.
Same pajamas.
She smiled at Noah.
Then she looked at me.
And whispered:
“Finally.”
Noah turned around.
His face went completely white.
The woman grabbed his hand.
He didn’t fight her.
He just stared at me.
Then he said something I’ll never forget.
“Emma…”
His voice was shaking.
“Which one of you is my wife?”
The woman smiled.
I didn’t.
Because suddenly I remembered something.
I remembered waking up at 3:17 AM every night.
I remembered whispering his name.
I remembered standing beside his bed.
I remembered watching him sleep.
And I remembered something else.
Something I had completely forgotten.
I had died three weeks ago.