Then the third comment. Posted just three days ago. From a brand new account with no avatar. The name was .

And from the speakers of his own laptop, a sound emerged that was not the video. It was closer. A soft, rhythmic scrape from the wall behind his chair.

The first, from 2011, in Russian: “Хорошая музыка. Грустно.” (Good music. Sad.)

The cursor blinked once. The ok.ru page refreshed to a 404 error. And the fairy lights in the 2006 attic went out for good.

But in Léo’s apartment, the lights hadn't worked for three days. He just hadn't noticed until now.

(Behind you.)