Areeba gripped her phone’s flashlight tightly and placed her foot on the first step.
There was darkness below the staircase…
and darkness above it too.
With every step, the wooden stairs creaked softly beneath her feet.
Creeeak…
Areeba stepped onto the second stair.
Then the third.
When she had climbed halfway up the staircase, her phone suddenly switched off.
The screen went completely black.
“Oh Allah…” She pressed the power button.
Nothing happened.
She pressed it again.
Still nothing.
Now she had no source of light at all.
She stood there for a few seconds, frozen in place.
The hall below was dark.
And so was the space above her.
Then, suddenly, a soft voice whispered right behind her: “You finally came…” Areeba’s entire body went numb.
She immediately turned around.
There was no one there.
But a cold gust of air passed close to her shoulder.
Areeba gripped the staircase railing tightly.
“Who’s there?” This time, her voice was trembling.
There was no answer.
Then, suddenly, her phone switched on by itself.
The screen lit up.
Areeba let out a relieved breath.
But that relief didn’t last even a moment.
There was a notification on the screen.
New Photo Received.
Areeba opened it in confusion.
The moment she saw the picture, her breath caught.
It was a photograph of the same mansion.
But the picture had not been taken from outside.
This photograph…
The photograph had been taken from the very same staircase where Areeba was standing at that moment.
Areeba herself could be seen in the picture.
She was climbing the stairs.
Areeba’s hands began to tremble.
She zoomed in on the photograph.
A timestamp appeared at the bottom.
2:13 AM Areeba immediately looked at her watch.
Her eyes widened.
It was…
2:13 AM.
Her mind went completely blank.
“This…
is impossible…” She pulled the phone away from herself.
Then her eyes fell on the very edge of the photograph.
Standing behind her, in the corner of the staircase…
was a girl.
Long hair.
White clothes.
And her face…
was exactly like Areeba’s.
Areeba slowly raised her head.
She looked toward the top of the staircase.
There was no one there.
Then another message appeared on her phone.
“Don’t look for the girl standing behind you in the photograph.” Areeba read the message.
And at that very moment…
the sound of someone running came from upstairs.
Thud…
thud…
thud…
Someone was running toward the other end of the staircase.