The mirror was not just reflecting him.
It was studying him.
Sourav's breathing became irregular — shallow, rapid. His chest tightened as if
invisible fingers were pressing against his ribs. A strange ringing filled his ears, the
kind that comes before fainting… or before something breaks inside the mind.
The corridor behind him seemed longer now.
Wider.
Breathing.
The walls pulsed faintly, like living tissue. The light above flickered in slow rhythm
— on… off… on… off…
But the reflection did not flicker.
It stood perfectly still.
Smiling.
The face in the mirror looked exactly like him — same eyes, same hair, same scar
near the eyebrow. But the expression… it was wrong. The smile stretched too far. The
eyes did not blink.
Sourav slowly raised his hand.
The reflection copied him.
He moved closer.
The reflection moved closer too.
Then—
It stopped.
5Sourav's hand was still rising.
But the reflection's hand had already touched the inside of the glass.
Pressing.
Waiting.
His heartbeat slammed against his chest.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
And then the reflection whispered—
"You are not the one watching…
"
The temperature dropped instantly. His breath became visible in the air.
Behind him, the corridor lights went out one by one. Darkness swallowed everything.
Only the mirror remained illuminated.
And inside it—
The other Sourav was no longer smiling.
He was stepping forward.