The Decision To Listen

For an hour, the knocking came in uneven pairs. Rowan recorded the rhythm. Aster marked the pauses. Elise compared them with Nora’s notes.

“It’s not a message,” Elise said. “It’s a response.”

Claire placed her palm against the stone. “Then we ask a question.”

Mara spoke first. “Do you want the door opened?”

One knock.

“Do you want us to come through?”

Silence.

“Do you want to come back?” Claire asked.

The wall shook so hard dust fell from the ceiling.

They waited until the movement stopped. No one reached for a tool. No one converted an answer into an order.

At last, the stone softened into a doorway.

On the other side was not the lake, but a room filled with sleeping children.