Three remained.
Aryan, Vishal, and Kabir.
They didn't speak much anymore — words had lost meaning. Fear had settled inside them like an illness. Every breath they took felt borrowed. Every sound could be death knocking.
Aryan spent most of his time staring at the red ribbon. It had turned darker — almost black now — and felt warm to the touch. As if it was alive.
That evening, while looking for food in the storeroom, Kabir found something behind a stack of old chairs.
A small, dust-covered diary.
The name on it was barely readable.
"Meera."
He took it to Aryan without opening it. "I think she wants us to know."
The three boys sat on the floor and opened it together. The pages were yellow, some torn, some stuck together with old blood.
> "They say this hostel is for boys. But they allowed me in because I was 'quiet and obedient.' I think they regretted it soon."
> "They teased me at first. Then touched me. Then locked me away. The warden knew. Everyone knew. No one stopped them."
> "One night, they dared each other to leave me in the basement. They laughed when they shut the door. I screamed. They didn't open it."
> "I stopped screaming after two days. I couldn't scream anymore."
> "I died in silence. But now, they will all listen."
The final page had a list.
Ten names.
All of them… the boys living now.
Kabir looked up, trembling. "But… we didn't do this. We weren't even born then."
"She doesn't see us as us," Aryan whispered. "She sees us as them — the ones who did this to her. Maybe this hostel is cursed to repeat the same story again and again."
Vishal stood suddenly. "Then let's burn it down."
"What?" Kabir said.
"We end it. The building. The basement. Everything."
"No," Aryan said quietly. "She doesn't want fire. She wants someone to stay. Forever."
As he spoke, the walls groaned — the floor cracked.
And Kabir screamed.
From the mirror behind him, hands reached out — dozens — pulling him in.
Vishal ran to help, but it was like quicksand. The glass swallowed Kabir, and in seconds, he was gone.
The mirror shattered.
Now… only two remained.
Aryan and Vishal.
They sat in silence for a long time.
"She'll come for us too," Vishal whispered.
"I know," Aryan replied, holding the ribbon close. "But maybe… we can choose how it ends."