The corridor was empty.
I stood outside the locked room, the small rusted key cold in his hand . For a days I had been hearing Whispers, seeing shadows, and finding strange clues. Everything seemed to lead to this door.
Behind her, the school was silent. Classes had already ended, and most students had gone home.
Her heart beat faster.
Slowly....i pushed the key into the lock.
Click.
The door opened with a long creak.
A cold guest of air rushed out from the room, carrying the smell of dust and old wood. Astha stepped inside carefully.
The room looked abandoned. Broken desks were piled in one corner. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling. The dim evening light entered through a small cracked window.
But something in the centre of the room caught the attention.
A wooden table.
And on the table...lay an old photograph.
I walked closer.
The photo showed a group of students standing in front of the school building. Their uniforms looked older, like the picture had been taken many years ago.
A teacher stood behind them.
Astha's eyes moved across the faces .
Then she froze.
One of the girls in the picture looked exactly like her.
Same face.
Same eyes.
Same expression.
Her hands start shaking .
" How...is that possible?" She whispered.
At the bottom of the photograph, a date was written in faded ink.
October 12,1998.
That was almost 25 years ago.
Suddenly, a whisper echoed from the dark corner of the room.
Soft...and familiar.
" You finally found it."
I turned quickly.
No one was there.
The door behind me suddenly slammed shut.
And in the darkness shadow slowly moved.