Ahaan sat on the floor, staring at the journal.
His hands were shaking.
There were two of him now.
One real.
One fake.
But they were sharing the same body.
And slowly… the other one was taking over.
That morning, when Ahaan went to brush his teeth, something strange happened.
He looked in the mirror.
At first, he looked normal.
But then—his reflection blinked without him blinking.
A small, crooked smile appeared on the reflection's face.
Ahaan touched his cheek.
The reflection didn't move.
It just whispered back:
"You blinked… I didn't."
Ahaan dropped the toothbrush and backed away.
"No. No. You're not real."
The mirror started to fog up by itself.
And words appeared in the steam:
"I'm as real as your thoughts."
All day at school, Ahaan felt wrong.
His hands moved before he told them to.
He heard two voices inside his head.
One was his.
The other was deeper.
Colder.
Sometimes, when he looked down at his notebook, he didn't remember what he had written.
Black ink.
Strange symbols.
Drawings of faces with no eyes.
At lunch, his friend Samir asked, "Are you okay?"
Ahaan opened his mouth to say yes.
But instead, he smiled and whispered:
"He's watching you too."
Samir blinked, confused.
"What?"
Ahaan snapped back.
"What—what did I just say?"
Samir looked scared.
"You said something weird… really weird."
Ahaan ran to the bathroom.
Locked himself in a stall.
And cried.
He opened the journal again.
This time, a message was already waiting:
"The more fear you feel, the stronger he becomes."
"The Other One was born inside the Hollow Mind… but now it's growing in you."
Ahaan whispered, "How do I stop it?"
But no answer came.
Only a drawing.
This time it showed a brain—his brain—cracking open.
And a black hand crawling out.
That night, Ahaan refused to sleep.
He sat on his bed with the lights on.
But the darkness still found him.
His shadow started moving on its own.
It twisted. Grew taller.
Then the shadow stepped out of the wall.
It looked like Ahaan.
Same face.
Same voice.
But it was laughing.
"You gave me your fear," it said.
"And now I'm not just a part of you… I am you."
Ahaan backed away.
"You're just a nightmare."
The Other One tilted its head.
"Then why am I standing here?"
It stepped closer.
Ahaan felt cold.
So cold his fingers went numb.
"You're not real," Ahaan whispered.
The Other One reached for him.
And said:
"Then close your eyes and try to wake up."
Ahaan ran.
Out of his room.
Down the stairs.
But every mirror, every shadow, every dark corner—
Showed the Other One's face.
It was everywhere now.
Laughing.
Repeating the same sentence:
"You are me. I am free."
Ahaan fell to the floor in the kitchen.
His head ached.
His eyes burned.
He screamed, "GET OUT OF ME!"
And then… silence.
No voice.
No shadow.
Just stillness.
But when he looked up—
He was standing in front of a mirror.
Not in the kitchen anymore.
Back in the orphanage hallway.
The Other One was smiling behind the glass.
"The only way to stop me… is to go back in."
Ahaan shook his head.
"No. I broke the box. I ended it."
The Other One leaned close.
"The box was never the door."
"You are."
Then...