A woman returns to her hometown to attend a friend’s wake – but ends up confronting an inexplicable evil

First, you need to give it something precious to you. Then, a shelter, a doorway…

Something lives in a rotting house in the town of Santa Clara.

Emilia has not thought of this house for years, until a chance meeting with Alma, an old friend from her hometown.

When Alma suddenly dies, Emilia finds her way back to Santa Clara, to her circle of friends who rekindle memories of a bizarre ritual left unfinished.

Of a dark visitor who sits by their bed at night, of a being who won’t let them sleep.

Must they once again awaken whoever dwells in that lonely house?
Eliza Victoria is an award-winning Filipino author. Her books include Dwellers (winner of the Philippine National Book Award for Best Novel), Wounded Little Gods, the graphic novel After Lambana (a collaboration with artist Mervin Malonzo), the science fiction novel-in-stories Nightfall, the short story collection Seventeen Prayers to the Many-Eyed Mother, and the poetry collection What Comes After. She has had stories and poetry published in various venues since 2007, most recently in The Best Asian Speculative Fiction, The Apex Book of World SF, Future SF, Multispecies Cities, and Asian Literature Project. Visit her at elizavictoria.com.

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