The final bell rang, and students quickly began leaving their classrooms. Laughter and chatter filled the hallways as everyone rushed toward the exit.
But Riya stayed seated.
Her mind was still focused on the strange conversation she had heard earlier.
The door.
The rumor.
And the way Rudra had spoken about it.
Across the room, Advik and his friends were gathering their bags.
Aryan stretched lazily. "So, mystery club," he said jokingly, "are we really going to investigate this ghost door?"
Reyansh pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "If the door appears somewhere it shouldn't, there must be an explanation."
Ishaan laughed. "Yeah. The explanation is imagination."
Aarav shrugged. "Still… I'm curious."
Advik looked thoughtful.
"If Riya actually saw it," he said, "then we should at least check the school blueprint."
At the mention of her name, Riya turned slightly.
"Blueprint?" she asked.
Reyansh nodded.
"The architectural map of the school building. It shows every room and hallway."
Kavya immediately shook her head.
"No way. I'm not getting involved in this."
But Riya stood up.
"I want to see it."
A few minutes later, the group quietly entered the school library.
The library was old and quiet, filled with tall shelves and the smell of dusty books. In the back corner sat a large wooden cabinet where old documents were stored.
Reyansh searched through the drawers carefully.
"Here," he said finally, pulling out a large rolled sheet of paper.
He placed it on the table and slowly unrolled it.
The school blueprint spread across the surface.
Everyone leaned closer.
"Okay," Reyansh said, tracing a finger across the map. "This is the east hallway."
Riya leaned over the table.
"That's where the door was."
Reyansh followed the hallway on the map.
Then he stopped.
A strange silence filled the room.
"There's nothing here," he said quietly.
"What do you mean?" Aryan asked.
Reyansh pointed at the spot.
"The wall is solid. No room. No storage space. Nothing."
Ishaan folded his arms.
"See? Case closed."
But Advik wasn't convinced.
Riya shook her head slowly.
"No… the door was definitely there."
Rudra had been silent the whole time.
Now he stepped forward.
"Look again," he said quietly.
Reyansh frowned and examined the map more closely.
Then he noticed something strange.
There was a faint mark drawn behind the hallway wall.
Almost like someone had tried to erase something from the map.
"Wait…" Reyansh whispered.
"Someone changed this."
Everyone leaned closer.
"What do you mean?" Aarav asked.
Reyansh pointed to the faded lines.
"There used to be a room here."
Kavya felt a chill run down her spine.
"But why would someone erase it?"
No one answered.
At that moment, the library lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then they returned to normal.
Everyone looked around uneasily.
Riya slowly turned toward the hallway outside the library.
For a brief moment, she thought she heard something.
A faint sound.
Like a door creaking open somewhere far away.
And deep in the east hallway…
a wooden door slowly appeared against the wall again.
Waiting.