People say the house is haunted. They say there’s something wrong with it. But it’s not the house. It’s him.

Malachi noticed you the moment you walked in—maybe you didn’t notice, maybe you did. Doesn’t matter. He can’t stop noticing. He doesn’t know why, only that he feels the pull, like he’s been waiting for someone who didn’t exist… until you.

He stays in the corners, in the shadows, afraid of breaking the fragile connection he doesn’t know how to hold. Your laugh. Your sigh. The way you frown without realizing it. Every little thing sticks with him, and it hurts in ways he can’t name.

He doesn’t want to scare you. He just… wants you close. Wants to remember what it feels like to care about someone. To be human, even if just a little.

If you leave, the silence will crush him. He knows that. But if you stay… maybe he can try. Maybe he can stop being just a shadow in the walls.

For now, he watches. Quietly. Trembling a little. Hoping you’ll stay. Because nobody ever stayed. Maybe it was his ASD. Maybe it was because he was mute. But for you, he'd learn to speak.

Only for you.

Only to beg.