Once we finish, I break down the cardboard boxes, and we carry them down to the basement.

“Watch your step,” I warn Caitlyn as we navigate the stairs down into almost total darkness.

I make my way to the center of the room and pull the chain, snapping on the old lightbulb. It illuminates the immediate area but can’t reach into the corners of the basement. We walk over to the heavy wooden shelves. I take my armful of collapsed boxes and set them down on one of the shelves. I reach out and Caitlyn hands me the two collapsed boxes that she was struggling to carry.

“Thank you.”

I put her boxes on top of mine and start to walk back towards the stairs.

“Since we’re coming back down, I’ll leave the light on,” I say, mounting the stairs.

“Hi …”

I stop and look back.

Caitlyn isn’t following me.

She’s standing in the middle of the room, under the hanging lightbulb, staring into the shadows in the far corner.

“Caitlyn?”

She turns to me, smiling.

“Pumpkin, what are you d—?”

Pop.

The bulb flashes, illuminating Caitlyn and the thing that’s standing in the corner, before plunging the basement into darkness.

“Caitlyn?” I frantically try to get my phone out and turn on the flashlight app.

“I’m okay,” she calmly replies.

I’m finally able to get the app up and find Caitlyn with the beam of light. She’s still there, looking into the corner. I shine the light in the direction she’s looking, but it’s empty.

“You sure you’re okay?” I ask.

“Yeah,” she says, not turning around.

I point the beam at the lightbulb, half of which is now gone.

“You didn’t get any glass on you?”

“No.”

I swing the light around the room. It’s just us.

“Come on, pumpkin. Let’s go upstairs. I’ll get another bulb.”

She doesn’t move. She’s still fixated on that corner.

“Caitlyn, come on.”

Reluctantly, she turns and I light her way back to the stairs.

She climbs the stairs up to the kitchen.

I swing the light back to the corner.

It has to be lack of sleep, but when that bulb flashed, I thought I saw someone in that corner where Caitlyn was looking—someone Caitlyn said ‘hi’ to.

*

Caitlyn’s waiting for me at the top of the stairs in the kitchen.

The spare bulbs are in the kitchen. I grab one and return to the stairs where Caitlyn is staring down into the darkness.

I hand her the phone with the flashlight app still on. “Here. Light the stairs for me, okay?”

We head back down. I’m holding the bulb. She’s holding the phone.

We reach the bottom and I walk across the floorboards to the hanging, spent, ancient lightbulb. Caitlyn stays by the bottom of the stairs.