The room went silent.
Astha stood frozen . The whisper she had heard just seconds ago still echoed in her mind.
" You shouldn't have come here..."
She turned around quickly, her flashlight shaking in her hand. The beam of light moved across the dusty classroom walls , the broken desks, and finally stopped at the old cupboard in the corner.
Nothing.
But she knew she wasn't alone.
Her heart pounded louder with every second. Slowly...very slowly.... She stepped towards the cupboard. The floor creaked beneath her shoes.
Then suddenly -
Tap.
A soft sound came from inside the cupboard.
Astha jumped back.
"Who's there?" She asked, her voice barely
steady.
No answer.
For a moment she thought she imagined it. But then the cupboard door moved slightly on its own.
The handle turned.
Creeeeak.
" A Secret passage...."Astha whispered.
Before she could move , the whisper came again - this time louder and clearer.
" If you want the truth .....come inside."
Astha swallowed. Every part of her wanted to run away . But the another part of her - the part that had followed clues- since the first day at school- wanted answers.
She pushed the cupboard aside completely and opened the hidden door.
Cold air rushed out.
A narrow staircase led down into darkness.
She turned on her Phone flashlight and stepped onto the first stair.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Each step echoed like someone else was walking with her.
The staircase seemed endless. Finally, she reached the bottom and found herself standing in a long underground hallway.
Old photographs covered the walls.
Pictures of students.
Teachers.
School events from many years ago.
But one photo made Astha stop.
It was a picture from 20 years ago.
And in the middle of the photo... was a girl.
A girl who looked exactly like the one she saw outside the locked room on her first day.
Astha's breath stopped.
" That's impossible,"she whispered.
Then suddenly -
A shadow moved behind him.
And the whisper spoke again, right next to her ears.
" You finally found me."
Astha slowly turned around....
And her flashlight fell from her hand.
Because standing in front of her....
Was the girl from the photograph.
But her eyes were glowing in the dark.