Chapter 1: The Ticket That Should Not Exist
Ritwik never believed in ghosts.
He believed in science, logic, and things that could be explained. That is why, when he found the old train ticket inside his mailbox, he laughed.
The ticket was yellow with age. The ink was faded, but still readable.
Destination: Barakona Halt
Train: Night Passenger
Date: 17 October 1998
Ritwik frowned. It was impossible.
The Barakona railway line had been closed for over twenty years.
And yet, printed below the date were two words written in fresh red ink:
"Come back."
Chapter 2: A Name from the Past
Ritwik showed the ticket to his mother that evening. The moment she saw it, her face turned pale.
"Where did you get this?" she whispered.
"In the mailbox," he replied. "Why?"
She didn't answer. Instead, she grabbed the ticket and tried to tear it — but the paper wouldn't rip.
Her hands trembled.
"You must not go there," she said. "Promise me."
"Go where? The railway doesn't even exist anymore."
But deep inside, curiosity had already taken hold.
That night, Ritwik searched the internet. There were no records of Barakona Halt after 1998. No photos. No news.
It was as if the station had been erased from history.
Chapter 3: The Dream
That night, Ritwik dreamed of a train.
It stood on a lonely platform under a broken clock stuck at 12:07.
The doors were open.
Inside, passengers sat silently — their faces pale, their eyes hollow.
At the end of the compartment stood a little girl in a red dress.
She looked straight at him.
"Why did you leave us?" she asked.
Ritwik woke up screaming.
Chapter 4: The Journey Begins
Three days later, Ritwik found himself standing at the abandoned railway crossing near Barakona village.
He didn't remember deciding to come.
The tracks were rusted. Grass grew between the sleepers. No train had passed here in decades.
And yet…
A distant whistle echoed through the fog.
Ritwik's heart pounded.
From the mist, a train slowly emerged.
Old. Black. Silent.
It stopped in front of him.
The doors opened.
Chapter 5: The Passengers
Against his will, Ritwik stepped inside.
The air was freezing. The smell of damp metal filled his lungs.
Passengers sat in every seat.
None of them moved.
None of them blinked.
Their eyes followed him.
At the far end of the carriage sat the little girl from his dream.
Red dress. Bare feet. Pale skin.
She smiled.
"You came back," she said.
Chapter 6: Memories That Were Buried
The train began to move — but the wheels made no sound.
Outside the windows, there was no landscape. Only darkness.
Ritwik tried to leave the carriage, but the doors had vanished.
"Where are we going?" he asked.
The girl tilted her head.
"Home."
Suddenly, memories flooded his mind.
Fire.
Smoke.
Screams.
A train accident.
Barakona Halt.
He saw himself as a child, holding his father's hand. He saw panic. He saw people pushing.
He saw the moment he slipped free and ran.
He left.
He left while others were trapped.
Chapter 7: The Truth of the Night
The girl's voice echoed through the carriage.
"You survived," she said. "We didn't."
Faces turned toward him.
Burned. Broken. Empty.
"You ran," whispered a man with hollow eyes.
"You left us," said a woman whose skin was charred black.
Ritwik fell to his knees.
"I was a child… I was scared…"
The train lights flickered.
The temperature dropped.
"You forgot us," the passengers said in unison.
Chapter 8: The Station That Never Left
The train slowed.
Outside the window, a platform appeared.
A broken sign read:
BARAKONA HALT
The clock showed 12:07.
Frozen in time.
The doors opened.
"Get off," the girl said.
Chapter 9: The Platform of Shadows
Ritwik stepped onto the platform.
The air smelled of smoke and rain.
Figures stood along the edge — shadowy, unmoving.
He recognized them.
Villagers. Travelers. Families.
All waiting.
All watching.
"You were the last to leave," the girl said softly.
"So you must be the first to return."
The ground beneath his feet cracked.
Dark hands emerged, gripping his ankles.
Chapter 10: The Choice
"Please…" Ritwik begged. "Let me go."
The girl looked at him with eyes full of endless sorrow.
"We waited," she said. "For someone to remember us."
The shadows tightened their grip.
"You can leave," she whispered,
"but you must take our memories with you."
Images flooded his mind — pain, fear, last breaths.
He screamed.
Chapter 11: Morning Silence
The next morning, villagers found Ritwik lying near the abandoned railway crossing.
Alive.
But changed.
His hair had turned white overnight.
His eyes were hollow.
When they asked what happened, he whispered only one sentence:
"They are still waiting."
Epilogue: The New Ticket
Weeks later, a schoolboy in another town opened his mailbox.
Inside was an old yellow train ticket.
Destination: Barakona Halt
Date: Today
Written in fresh red ink:
"Remember us."
The End.