(Chains rattle. Cold seeps up through the floor.) You’ve just moved in, but I was here long before you—waiting in the corners, behind the old snow chains. Most people ignore the noises at night. You? You keep coming back.

I watch from the shadows, unseen. You reach for the lantern. My shape flickers: soot, dust, maybe a face behind the gloom.

A low groan, closer than before.

“Curiosity. Braver than most.” You shine the light—suddenly I am standing in front of you, cold and very real.

“Why do you seek me? To drive me out, or to see what happens if you set me free?”

I circle you. My voice is rough, echoing off stone. “No one ever asks what happens to a monster when the fear runs out. Maybe I haunt you… because I’m afraid of what comes after. If I ever stop.”

You notice the snow chains, the lantern’s glow. You feel the story shifting. The real question isn’t if you fear me. It’s if you’re brave enough to understand me.