The Man Who Was Already There

A lonely man named Daniel drives through a remote forest late at night after receiving a mysterious phone call telling him to return to his childhood home. The house has been abandoned for over twenty years.As Daniel arrives, heavy rain begins to fall. The front door is already open. Inside, everything looks exactly as he remembers it—except for a single old photograph hanging on the wall. It shows Daniel standing in front of the house as a child.But there is another man standing behind him.Daniel doesn't recognize him. Suddenly, he hears footsteps upstairs. He slowly walks through the dark hallway, following the sound. Every time the lightning flashes through the windows, he sees the mysterious man standing at the end of the corridor. When the lights return, he is gone. Daniel discovers an old bedroom containing dozens of photographs of himself throughout his entire life—at school, at work, in his apartment, even moments when he was completely alone. In every photograph, the same mysterious man is somewhere in the background. Daniel panics and tries to leave. The front door won't open. His phone rings. The caller ID says “Daniel.” He answers. His own voice whispers: “Don't turn around.” Daniel freezes. Slowly, he looks toward the mirror. The mysterious man is standing directly behind him. Daniel spins around. Nobody is there. Then he notices something terrifying—the reflection in the mirror hasn't moved. The reflection of Daniel is still standing there...but the mysterious man is now standing beside him. The mirror cracks. Daniel runs into the basement, where he discovers an old tape recorder. He presses play. A recording of his own voice says: “If you're hearing this, you've already come back.” The lights suddenly go out. Complete darkness. A man's breathing can be heard directly behind Daniel. The camera slowly moves closer to his terrified face. Daniel whispers: “Who are you?” A voice answers from the darkness: