Riya stumbled back, her flashlight flickering. The mirror cracked as the hand retreated. She scrambled up the stairwell, her heart pounding. When she finally emerged into the relative safety of her own room, she found her grandfather's old folklore book on her desk, opened to a page on "Soul-Catchers."
Lata's diary was just about the mirror Ananya found, but this book was different. It spoke of ancient curses, of people trapped in objects to save a community. A handwritten note at the bottom of the page caught Riya's eye, dated June 1976: "They tried to bury the truth, but it isn't just memories in that forest. The hunger is still there."
Suddenly, the lights died. Riya's flashlight gave a final flicker and died too. A low groan came from inside the walls of her room. The amulet felt hot, almost burning her skin.
"Lata..." a raspy voice hissed, not from the corner, but from behind the plaster. "You're late. The heart demands a soul, and you've brought a child to feed it."