When Ahaan hadn't spoken since he returned home from the woods.
He still felt the cold hands of the reflection trying to pull him into the mirror.
The sound of it screaming stayed in his ears even when everything was quiet.
But the book was quiet now.
No flipping pages.
No glowing ink.
Just… silence.
And somehow, that silence was worse.
The next morning, Ahaan woke up to a strange sound.
Plink... plink...
It was soft, like piano keys being tapped one by one.
But there was no piano in the house.
Plink... plink… plonnng.
He followed the sound to his living room.
The old radio on the shelf had turned itself on.
It was playing soft classical music—except the melody was wrong.
Every now and then, in between the notes…
a scream.
Faint, like someone screaming underwater.
Suddenly, the journal on the table flipped open again.
A new page began to glow:
CASE TWENTY-THREE: The Screaming Piano
"They say the music school was closed after all the teachers disappeared.
They say each classroom echoes with sounds of crying.
They say one piano plays a song no one dares to finish.
Because the last note... kills."
Ahaan swallowed hard.
Another line appeared:
"The tune found you.
Now you must find it back."
He packed his flashlight, the mirror shard, and the book.
The map in the back of the journal now showed a red circle—"St. Helena's Music School"—only a few miles from his house.
The building stood behind dead trees and an old broken gate.
It looked like it hadn't been touched in years.
The windows were dusty.
The glass cracked.
A broken violin lay outside on the steps.
When Ahaan entered, the smell hit him first.
Old wood. Mold. And something burnt.
Inside, the halls were long and dark.
Doors lined both sides, each marked with a name:
Piano Room. Violin Room. Choir Hall. Drum Lab.
But the sound came from just one room—
The one at the end of the hallway.
"Piano Room."
He opened the door slowly.
Inside was a grand black piano.
Covered in dust, but one key was clean.
The middle C.
The one he heard at home.
He walked in.
And as soon as he stepped onto the floor, the door slammed shut behind him.
The lights flickered.
The piano played by itself.
Ding... ding… ding…
Then, a loud bang.
The lid of the piano flew open—
Inside was not strings—
But a screaming face.
Ahaan jumped back.
The piano screamed again.
Not music.
Real screams.
Of someone in pain.
The journal flipped open in his hand.
"Every note is a soul trapped inside.
To free them, play the right song.
But finish it... and you take their place."
Another line appeared:
"Only the cursed can hear the real melody."
Ahaan looked around.
On the wall, there was a dusty chalkboard with faded notes written on it.
Underneath: "Final exam: Play this to unlock Room 7."
He grabbed the sheet and went to the piano.
His hands shook.
He touched the first key.
Nothing happened.
The second note.
Still quiet.
The third…
The piano SCREAMED.
A deep, painful scream, like it came from inside a burning building.
He backed away.
"No… no, I can't do this."
But then—
A voice from behind him whispered:
"Help us."
He turned.
The room was filled with ghosts.
Children. Adults.
Some had missing mouths.
Some had burned hands.
All of them were transparent and broken.
They didn't attack.
They just looked at him, eyes full of pain.
Ahaan swallowed and turned back to the piano.
"If I play this song… will you be free?"
The voice whispered again.
"Only if you stop before the last note."
He sat down and began to play.
Each note was harder than the last.
The keys were hot, almost burning.
The room started to shake.
The ghost children reached toward the ceiling, toward some light above.
He kept playing.
Halfway through, the music turned chaotic.
Each key screamed louder.
The lights burst one by one.
His hands bled, but he didn't stop.
Until—
Only one note was left.
The final key.
The cursed one.
He raised his finger.
But then—
The reflection of himself appeared inside the piano lid again.
It smiled and mouthed:
"Do it. Set us free. Let me in again."
Ahaan froze.
He remembered the mirror.
The scream.
The lie.
"No," he whispered.
He slammed the lid shut without playing the last note.
The room exploded in light.
All the ghosts vanished into golden dust.
The floor cracked.
The piano split in two.
On the ground was a single silver key.
The book glowed:
"You stopped the scream.
You broke the pattern.
Room 7 now opens."
Ahaan picked up the silver key.
A strange symbol was carved into it.
One he had seen before… on his father's old compass.
He realized something now—
All these cases, all these spirits…
They were connected to his father.
And to the orphanage.
And maybe… to the final curse behind the Hollow Door.
And then.....