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I remember clearly- it was a cold, dark December. The fire was dying, and its light made ghostly shapes on the floor. I wished for morning to come quickly. I was heartbroken, thinking of my love, Lenore- the beautiful woman now gone forever. -
One late and gloomy night, I sat in my room, tired and sad. I was reading old books to take my mind off my grief. I was almost asleep when I heard a soft tapping-like someone knocking gently at my door. 'It's just a visitor', I whispered to myself. 'Only that, and nothing more.' -
The soft, sad sound of my curtains moving in the wind filled me with a strange kind of fear I had never felt before. To calm myself, I kept saying, 'It's just someone knocking at my door- a late visitor wanting to come in. That's all it is- nothing more.' -
My heart grew a little braver. I said out loud, 'Sir or Madam, please forgive me. I was nearly asleep when I heard you knocking, so softly that I wasn't sure I heard it' I opened the door wide- but there was only darkness -
I stood there, staring into that darkness. I was nervous and full of wild thoughts. The silence felt endless. Then I whispered, 'Lenore?' And from the stillness, I heard an echo softly repeat her name-'Lenore.' Only that, and nothing more.