The clock struck 12:07 a.m.
Astha stared at the notebook lying open on her desk. The strange symbol inside it seemed darker tonight - almost as if the ink was still wet.
She was sure she had locked her bedroom door.
Yet...
She heard it again.
A soft whisper.
Not outside.
Inside.
"Astha"...
Her breath caught in her throat. She slowly
Turned around. Her room looked normal - curtains still, cupboard closed, chair in place.
But the mirror.
The mirror was not normal.
For a second - just a second - she thought she saw someone standing behind her.
She spun around.
No one.
Her heartbeat thudded loudly in her ears.
"This is just my imagination," she whispered to herself.
But then the notebook pages began to flip.
On their own.
The wind wasn't strong enough. The windows were shut.
The pages stopped at a blank one .
And slowly...
Letters began to appear.
As if an invisible hand was writing.
" The door will open again"
The locked room at school .
The door that had opened by itself.
Her mind raced.
"Why me ?" She murmured.
Suddenly her phone buzzed loudly on the table, making her jump.
A message from an unknown number.
No profile picture.
No name .
Just one sentence:
" You weren't supposed to find it".
Her fingers trembled as she typed:
" Who is this?"
Three dots appeared instantly.
Then disappeared.
Then appeared again.
Finally, the reply came.
"Return what you took".
Her blood ran cold.
She hadn't taken anything.
Had she?
Her eyes slowly moved to the notebook.
The one she had found in the locked room.
The one that didn't belong to her.
A loud knock echoed from the downstairs.
At midnight.
Her parents were asleep.
She was sure of it.
Another knock.
Slower this time.
Deliberate.
She walked quietly towards her bedroom door. Every step felt heavier than the last.
The whisper came again.
Closer now.
"Don't open it."
Her hand froze on the handle.
The knocking stopped.
Silence filled the house.
Too much silence.
She gathered courage and opened her bedroom door slightly.
The hallway was empty.
But at the end of the corridor....
She saw something.
A faint light.
Coming from under the main door downstairs.
Someone was standing outside.
A shadow moved.
And then-
Her phone vibrated again.
Another message.
"Last warning"
Suddenly, the power went out.
Everything turned black.
Astha screamed.
And in the darkness, she felt something cold brush past her hand.
Not air.
Not imagination.
Something real.
And then....
A whisper right next to her ears:
"You opened the door"
To be continued..