My name is Garrett, and this took place when I was a sophomore in college.

When I didn't get a dorm after freshman year, I scrambled for off-campus housing.

Long story short, I ended up in a co-op, part of a

three-house community that was sort of near campus, but not really. It wasn't ideal, but it was

cheap and I didn't have many options. Plus, I had a bike, so I didn't really mind the extra

travel time. Most of the residents were young students like me, but there

were a few exceptions. There were a handful of alumni, one or two TAs, and a few older people

getting their degrees later on in life. But the person who immediately stood out to me was an older

woman who lived in one of the other houses. From what I could tell, she was maybe in her

late 50s, even though she looked a little older than that. She had graying hair and walked

with a sort of limp, like she had some kind of back injury. She was really quiet and mostly

kept to herself, and she always had this blank expression on her face. I assumed she had some kind of connection

to the university, maybe faculty, or maybe an alumni, but no one explained and I didn't ask.

The first time I saw her do something strange was in her common kitchen, which was a little

weird to begin with because the two other houses had their own kitchen, so I wasn't sure

why she'd be hanging out in hours. She wasn't cooking, or eating, or even talking to anyone.

She was just standing there while the rest of us were talking and running around, making dinner,

and listening to music. She didn't try and join in. She just watched us blankly. I caught

eyes with her a few times, and part of me

got the feeling that she was watching me specifically, even though I knew that was unlikely.

No one acknowledged her, which I thought was a little weird too. Maybe they knew something I didn't.

Later that week, I was doing some homework in my room when I saw her again.

...