The dusty red journal trembled in Aryan’s hands as though it had a pulse of its own. The room around him was eerily still — too still. No humming of the fan, no creaking floorboards, no whispering walls. Even the ever-present gloom of Room 13 had retreated into silence.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxnRm2htJei
He flipped to the second page.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAiYJYtGvJ4
_"They said she died in the fire. But they never found her body. I saw her... in the mirror. Screaming. I was only ten, but I remember every second. And I did nothing. I just watched." _ Aryan felt a jolt in his stomach. This was his handwriting.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTVFehxdUti
But he had never written it.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaaQZo4klT7
Or had he?
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj52GUBpzEW
He turned the pages faster. Each one bled memories in ink.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn0aDCWoONP
Page 5: "I told them Room 13 didn’t exist. But it does. It just hides. Like guilt. Like trauma. You don’t see it — until it wants to be seen."
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK1tPWCNkhN
Page 9: "She was my sister. Not by blood, but by bond. We were always in that room. Playing. Until that night."
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHepjFBKxyD
Page 13: "There’s another door. Behind the wardrobe. It appears only when the room decides. It leads to the Other Side. To the place where the screams live."
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡakb71gcxSJ
Aryan’s heart pounded. The wardrobe.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7rBmwiSUtV
He turned toward it. Until now, it had been just another old piece of dusty furniture — heavy, quiet, harmless. But now, a faint draft leaked from beneath its base.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2eLzrKS6QV
He stepped forward.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡosOJcZUnnO
With trembling fingers, he opened the creaky wooden doors. Dust poured out like smoke. There were no clothes. Just bare wood.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnPouhgkURl
And then — the back panel shimmered.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaaTlIVJ1fj
He touched it.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVn2XLUUDzU
It was warm.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4PSDXTjhI
The wood dissolved under his palm, like ink dispersing in water. Beyond it, a spiral staircase of black stone twisted downward into a void lit only by red pulses — like a heartbeat.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdIfhbPZy4H
Thump. Thump. Thump.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf5hlqRAghH
A voice whispered from below:
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJz4s9SB5mT
"You finally remember. Now you must descend."
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyRK6wZnXnO
He didn’t want to.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpiJWINHeRz
But his legs moved.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9KIJ2jpiJ8
One step.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMylFjp29Fk
Two.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFcqhQmVWcd
A hundred.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXdjrxGFXdd
Time lost meaning.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0vkkoJpjTR
As he reached the bottom, he entered a massive circular chamber. The walls were mirrors, but none showed his reflection. Instead, they showed memories.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb1Q5MDE6vM
Not his.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXE0vIiAyxX
Others.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeDyqYsA0gc
Screams, regrets, betrayals. Moments where people watched and did nothing.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVot24SDeNT
A hall of silent witnesses.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmRiVkHRuzY
At the center was a well. Its water was black, but it reflected a single face:
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4xyB0bTrxB
The girl. Burned. Still screaming. Still alive in this mirror-prison.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWwvbBwpAYw
And then she spoke.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbLVPWLRdPy
"You have one chance to set things right. Enter the well. And remember the truth. All of it."
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiepHUCXYn8
Aryan reached toward the surface. His reflection didn’t mimic him. It smiled.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLEebUKiLDa
Then pulled him in.
---
To be continued...
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaWeAXcBt6b
