Ahaan sat up, confused.
The white hospital bed.
The blinking machines.
The mirror on the wall.
But there were no windows, no door, no one around.
He was still wearing his clothes from the forest.
But the hospital room looked... perfect.
Too clean.
Too quiet.
He rubbed his eyes.
"This can't be real," he whispered.
But when he pinched his arm,
he felt pain.
This wasn't a dream.
The mirror on the wall was foggy.
Something was moving inside it.
Not a reflection.
But a shadow.
It looked like Ahaan…
but its eyes were glowing white.
And it didn't blink.
Then the mirror Ahaan smiled.
A slow, twisted smile.
It raised one hand…
and so did Ahaan's real hand, without him moving it.
"Stop!" Ahaan shouted.
Suddenly, the lights blinked off.
Pitch black.
He heard whispers.
Thousands of them.
Crawling into his ears.
Saying his name over and over.
"Ahaan… Ahaan… He sees you now…"
He covered his ears.
Then—silence.
The lights came back.
A girl was standing beside his bed.
She looked around his age.
Dark hair. Pale skin.
Wearing a dirty hospital gown.
Her eyes were filled with fear.
"Don't scream," she said softly.
Ahaan stared.
"Who are you?"
She looked around nervously.
"My name's Meera. I was trapped here too."
"Where is here?" he asked.
"This room is not real," she whispered.
"It's inside the Watcher's trap. A dream trap. Your body's outside. But your mind is here."
Ahaan sat up, shaking.
"I saw him," he said. "His face… It was broken."
Meera nodded slowly.
"He wasn't always like that. He used to be a doctor in this hospital. Your father came here once. They fought. Your dad sealed him into the mirror world using a ritual. But something went wrong."
"What happened?" Ahaan asked.
"He couldn't destroy the Watcher," Meera said.
"He only locked part of him away."
Ahaan's voice cracked. "Why is he after me?"
She looked at him with sad eyes.
"Because you have your father's blood. And now... the Watcher wants to finish what he started."
Suddenly, the mirror cracked.
Both Ahaan and Meera turned.
The reflection stepped out.
But it wasn't Ahaan anymore.
It had no face.
Only a long grin stretching from cheek to cheek.
Its fingers were sharp.
Its body was glitching, like a broken video.
It whispered in a voice that echoed from all walls:
"One mind in…
One mind out."
Meera grabbed Ahaan's hand.
"We need to find the mirror gate. The real one. Or we'll be stuck here forever."
They ran through the door.
Wait—there wasn't a door before.
Now the hallway was long and dark.
Flashing lights above.
Red alarms blinking.
Screams coming from inside the rooms.
Every door they passed had something behind it—
shadows screaming, people with sewn-up mouths, and someone scratching the walls, whispering "let me out" over and over.
They turned a corner.
There it was.
A large mirror door—shaking like something was trying to break through it.
"This is it!" Meera said.
She placed her hand on the mirror.
It glowed.
"Now you. Hurry!"
Ahaan touched it.
But before he could step through—
The Watcher appeared behind them.
His stitched face.
Those glowing eyes.
He whispered, "You leave… she stays."
Meera screamed.
The Watcher grabbed her.
"No!" Ahaan shouted.
He had a choice:
Run through the mirror alone…
Or try to save Meera and risk being trapped forever.
He looked at her.
She nodded.
"Go! I've been here too long. You still have a chance."
He didn't want to leave her.
But something pushed him.
The mirror pulled him in like water.
He fell through darkness.
Spinning.
Screaming.
Then—
He woke up.
Lying in the real hospital hallway.
Dust everywhere.
Broken glass on the ground.
The mirror behind him was shattered.
He was out.
But Meera was gone.
Ahaan stood up, heart pounding.
In his hand…
Was a music box.
Where did it come from?
He opened it.
A haunting lullaby played.
Slow. Sad.
Then—he heard Meera's voice:
"It's not over yet, Ahaan. He's still inside the mirrors. And he's watching you."
Too be continued