THE LOCKED ROOM
Chapter 1: The Last Message
At exactly 11:47 PM, Aarav's phone buzzed.
Unknown Number:
"Don't open the door."
Aarav frowned. He was home alone. His parents were out of town, and the rain outside hammered the windows like warning knocks.
Then came a second message.
"He is inside the house."
His heart thudded so hard it hurt.
Aarav slowly locked his bedroom door and grabbed a cricket bat.
Every sound felt louder now—
The ticking clock.
The drip of water from the bathroom.
And then…
A soft creak from downstairs.
Chapter 2: Footsteps
Aarav tiptoed to the staircase.
"Hello?" he whispered.
No answer.
But the front door was still locked.
Windows closed.
Lights off.
So how could someone be inside?
His phone buzzed again.
"He moves when you don't look."
A chill crawled up his spine.
From the corner of his eye…
The shadow near the sofa shifted.
Aarav froze.
The shadow was not attached to anything.
Chapter 3: The Diary
He ran into the study and slammed the door.
On the desk was an old diary—his father's.
It was open to a marked page.
Entry:
"The thing in the mirror is not me.
If you read this, do not trust reflections."
Aarav looked up.
The mirror across the room showed him standing still…
But the reflection was smiling.
He was not.
Chapter 4: The Truth
The phone rang.
A video call.
Unknown Number.
He answered with shaking hands.
A man appeared on screen—his father.
"Listen carefully," his father said urgently.
"That thing copies you. It lives in reflections. It waits for you to notice it."
Behind Aarav, in the mirror…
The reflection raised its hand.
Aarav did not.
His father shouted,
"Break the mirror NOW!"
Aarav grabbed the bat and smashed it.
Glass exploded across the floor.
Silence.
The smiling reflection vanished.
Chapter 5: The Ending… Or Is It?
Police found nothing.
No intruder.
No signs of entry.
Weeks passed.
Life returned to normal.
One night, Aarav opened his phone camera by mistake.
The front camera turned on.
He stared at the screen.
His face appeared…
One second late.
And it smiled.