Aarav dropped the phone.
It hit the bed with a dull thud, but he didn't pick it up again. His eyes were locked on the mirror, his body frozen in place.
The reflection… was still smiling.
Not wide. Not exaggerated.
Just enough to feel wrong.
Aarav forced himself to move.
Slowly, he raised his hand.
In the mirror, the reflection didn't follow.
Instead, it stayed still—watching him.
That was enough.
Aarav turned away instantly, his breath becoming sharp and uneven.
"This isn't real… this isn't real…" he repeated under his breath.
His mind searched for logic—anything to explain this.
Hallucination?
Dream?
Stress?
But everything felt too real.
Too detailed.
Too present.
He grabbed the phone again with shaky hands.
The screen was still on.
The chat was still open.
And the message—"Don't look away."—still stared back at him.
"No."
This time, his voice was firmer.
"If this is coming through the phone… I'll shut it down."
He immediately pulled down the control panel and turned off the Wi-Fi.
Then mobile data.
Then Bluetooth.
Everything.
No connection.
"No internet. No messages," he said, trying to convince himself.
For a moment, nothing happened.
The room stayed silent.
Aarav exhaled slowly.
"Okay… okay, it's over."
Then—
Buzz.
The vibration felt louder than before.
His heart sank.
Slowly, he looked down at the phone.
Another message.
Delivered.
Even with no network.
Aarav's fingers felt numb as he opened it.
"Turning it off won't help."
His chest tightened instantly.
"That's not possible," he whispered.
"No signal means no message…"
As if responding to his thoughts—
Buzz.
Another message.
"You're thinking too small."
Aarav stared at the screen, his mind racing.
"This… this can't be happening."
He quickly opened settings again, double-checking everything.
Wi-Fi: Off
Mobile Data: Off
Airplane Mode: On
No way for anything to come through.
Yet the messages kept arriving.
One after another.
Buzz.
"You think this is your phone?"
Aarav's breathing grew heavier.
"What does that even mean?" he said, almost angrily now.
Fear was slowly turning into frustration.
He typed quickly:
Then what is it?
The reply came instantly.
"A window."
Aarav frowned.
"A window… to what?"
No answer came this time.
Instead—
The screen flickered.
Just for a second.
Then again.
Aarav held the phone tighter.
"What now…"
The brightness dimmed on its own.
The chat slowly faded away.
And then—
The screen turned completely black.
Not like before.
This wasn't a lock screen.
There was no time.
No icons.
Nothing.
Just darkness.
Aarav tapped the screen.
No response.
He pressed the power button.
Still nothing.
"Dead?" he muttered.
But the phone was warm.
Alive.
Just… not responding.
Then suddenly—
The black screen changed.
A faint image started forming.
Like something loading.
Aarav leaned closer without realizing.
The image became clearer.
It was his room.
His exact room.
Same angle.
Same lighting.
Same everything.
But something was different.
In the image—
Aarav was still sitting on the bed.
Holding the phone.
Looking at the screen.
His eyes widened.
"That's… me."
It wasn't a photo.
It was moving.
Like a live video.
A live feed.
From inside his room.
But that didn't make sense.
He was already in his room.
So where was this view coming from?
Aarav slowly turned his head, scanning the walls, the ceiling, every corner.
"No cameras… nothing…"
He looked back at the phone.
The version of him on the screen moved exactly as he did.
Perfect sync.
Perfect copy.
Until—
It didn't.
The version on the screen… stopped.
Aarav didn't.
His breath caught.
The "other him" slowly lifted his head.
And looked directly at the screen.
At him.
Then—
It smiled.
Aarav dropped the phone again, panic flooding through his body.
"No… no, no…"
He backed away on the bed, his heart racing uncontrollably.
"This isn't real… this can't be real…"
But deep down—
He knew something had changed.
This wasn't just messages anymore.
This wasn't just his phone.
Something was watching him.
From inside.
And outside.
At the same time.
Then—
Buzz.
The phone lit up again on the bed.
Reluctantly, Aarav looked.
One new message.
Waiting.
He didn't want to open it.
But his eyes moved anyway.
"Now you see it."
Aarav's entire body went still.
Because this time—
He understood.
He wasn't just receiving messages anymore.
He was being observed.
Studied.
Tested.
And whatever this was…
It wasn't limited by the rules of his world.
The fan kept spinning.
The room stayed silent.
And the time—
Still… 2:13 AM.