Mukesh didn't move.
The cold hand on his shoulder tightened .
" Don't turn around," the voice whispered .
This time - it was clearer than ever before.
Not from the mirror .
Not from the walls.
Right behind him.
Mukesh shit his eyes for a second, gathering courage. His mind raced through the everything that had happened - the whisper in the dark, the locked room , the shadow , the voice....
It was all leading here.
Slowly....he spoke, his voice trembling.
" Who are you?"
Silence.
Then-
" You already know."
The grip loosened.
Mukesh turned around quickly .
No one .
But the door of the room- once locked - was now slightly open.
A thin beam of light cut through the darkness.
And something else.
A sound.
Drip.....drip...drip...
Like water falling somewhere far away.
Mukesh hesitated....then stepped towards the door.
Each step felt heavier than the last.
As he pushed the door open, it creaked loudly - echoing through a hallway he had never seen before.
The school...had changed.
The walls were older. The paint peeled off.
The air smelled damp.
" This isn't my school..." He whispered.
Then he saw it .
At the end of the corridor -
A classroom.
Number 19.
The door was half broken.
And on it, scratched deeply into the wood:
"Don't open".
Mukesh's heartbeat pounded .
" This is it..."
His hand slowly reached for the handle.
The moment he touched it -
A flood of memories hit him.
A scream.
A locked door.
Someone crying.
And his own voice saying -
"Leave him there..."
Mukesh stumbled back.
" No.... I didn't....."
The whisper returned, now filled with anger:
" You did."
The classroom door creaked open on its own.
Inside -
Darkness.
And a figure sitting at the last bench.
Head down.
Still.
Waiting.
Mukesh stepped inside, his legs shaking.
" Who...are you?"
The figure slowly raised its head.
And in that moment -
Mukesh's blood ran cold.
Because the face staring back at him.....
Was his own.
But bruised.
Broken.
And smiling.
" You forgot me, " it said softly.
Mukesh whispered.
..."how is this possible?"
The figure stood up.
" You locked me here."
The door behind Mukesh slammed shut.
And the lights flickered once-
Before going completely out.