Horror Short Story | The Footsteps Upstairs

As soon as Shen Li moved into her new apartment, she heard regular footsteps from upstairs. Thump, thump, thump. From one end of the room to the other, and back again. It started precisely at 5 AM every morning and ended at 11 PM every night. She went upstairs to complain, only to find that the unit was completely unoccupied. The landlord said it had been empty since the previous tenant moved out. Shen Li didn't believe it and used her own key to open the door and look inside. It was empty, with only circles of scuff marks worn white on the floor. That night, the footsteps returned. Unable to stand it any longer, she banged on the ceiling with her broom. The footsteps stopped. Three seconds later, a loud thud came from directly above her, like someone stomping down heavily from a height. Then a second, a third, getting closer and closer. She suddenly realized – the footsteps weren't coming from upstairs. They were coming from inside the ceiling. She looked up and saw a ceiling tile slowly being pushed aside. A pair of pale feet dangled from the gap above her head, swaying gently. The owner of the feet didn't come down, but merely tapped her shoulder with their toes. "You knocked on me," a muffled voice came from inside the ceiling. "Now it's your turn to come up." Shen Li wanted to run, but her legs wouldn't obey. Step by step, she walked towards the ladder by the wall. She climbed up, lifted the tile, and crawled into the ceiling. The next morning, a new tenant moved in and heard the regular footsteps coming from the ceiling. Thump, thump, thump. The landlord said, "That's from upstairs. You'll get used to it." The new tenant nodded and began unpacking. Above the ceiling, Shen Li knelt in the darkness, patting the tiles with her palms, her mouth