Rohan Malhotra was an ordinary man.
He lived a simple life in a small town called Sunridge.
Sunridge was quiet and beautiful.
Nothing special ever happened there.
People woke up early and sleep on time and also Shops closed on time.
Everyone knew everyone.
Rohan was thirty years old.
He worked in the town library.
It was not a big library.
But it was peaceful.
Rohan liked peace.
Every morning, he walked to work on the same road.
He passed the same tea shop.
He waved at the same people.
His life never changed.
He never imagined that something strange was waiting for him.
That day started like any other day.
Rohan woke up early.
He made tea.
He read the newspaper.
Nothing unusual.
The sky was cloudy.
The air was cool.
Rohan locked his house and walked toward the library.
The library was an old building.
Its walls were pale brown.
Its windows were tall and dusty.
Rohan unlocked the door and went inside.
The smell of old books filled the air.
It made him feel calm.
He switched on the lights.
He cleaned the tables and
arranged the books.
Students came and left.
Old people read newspapers.
The day passed slowly.
By evening, the library was almost empty.
Rohan looked at the clock.
"Time to close," he said softly.
He asked the last visitor to leave.
He began switching off the lights.
As he walked near the entrance, something unusual happened.
Rohan felt something under his shoe.
Clink.
He stopped.
"What was that?" he said.
He bent down and looked at the floor.
There was a small metal key lying near the door.
Rohan picked it up.
The key was old.
It was not shiny.
It felt cold in his hand.
There was a strange mark on it.
Not a letter.
Not a number.
Rohan looked around.
"No one is here," he thought.
He remembered the last visitor.
An old man with grey hair.
Very quiet.
Very serious.
"Maybe he dropped it," Rohan said.
He waited for a few minutes.
No one came back.
"I will keep it safe," he decided.
Rohan put the key in his pocket and locked the library.
Outside, the street was empty.
The wind was blowing slowly.
As he walked home, Rohan felt uneasy.
The key felt heavy.
He did not understand why.
That night, Rohan could not sleep well.
He kept touching his pocket.
The key was there.
His mind was full of questions.
"What does this key open?"
"Why does it feel so strange?"
The next morning, Rohan went to work again.
The library looked the same.
But Rohan felt different.
During lunch break, he decided to explore the library.
He walked to the back section.
This area was rarely used.
Dust covered the shelves.
Few people came here.
Suddenly, Rohan stopped.
Behind the last shelf, he saw something new.
A small wooden box.
His heart started beating fast.
"This box was not here before," he whispered.
The box looked old.
Very old.
It had a small lock.
Rohan's hands shook.
Slowly, he took out the key.
He walked closer to the box.
"What if this is the key?" he thought.
He inserted the key into the lock.
It fit perfectly.
Click.
The lock opened.
Rohan stepped back.
His breathing became fast.
He opened the box slowly.
Inside, there was an old paper, folded many times.
There was also a small cloth pouch.
Rohan picked up the paper.
It was fragile.
The edges were yellow.
He unfolded it carefully.
It was a map.
The map showed the town of Sunridge.
Some places were marked.
One place was circled in red.
At the bottom, words were written clearly:
"The key opens more than a door."
Rohan swallowed.
"This is not normal," he said.
He opened the cloth pouch.
Inside, there was a small stone.
The stone had the same mark as the key.
Rohan felt cold.
"What is this place?" he whispered.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps.
Rohan froze.
Someone was walking inside the library.
He quickly closed the box and hid it behind the shelf.
"Hello?" a voice called.
Rohan walked out slowly.
It was the library guard.
"You are still here?" the guard asked.
"Yes," Rohan replied.
The guard looked at him strangely.
"Be careful," the guard said.
"Why?" Rohan asked.
The guard lowered his voice.
"Some things in this building should not be touched."
Rohan felt his heart sink.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
But the guard didn't reply and had already walked away.
That evening, Rohan locked the library carefully.
As he walked out, he felt someone watching him.
He turned around.
No one was there, he felt very uncomfortable and then he fastly ran away from the library.
When rohan arrived at home, the first thing he do is hiding the key under his bed and
He placed the map inside a book which is kept in the shelf.
That night, heavy rain fell.
Thunder filled the sky.
Rohan could not sleep.
Suddenly, he heard a sound.
Tap… tap…
Someone was knocking on his door.
Rohan sat up.
His heart was beating fast.
He walked slowly to the door.
"Who is it?" he asked.
No answer.
He opened the door slightly.
No one was there.
But on the floor, there was something.
A piece of paper.
Rohan picked it up with shaking hands.
Only one line was written on it:
"You were not supposed to find the key."
Rohan's blood ran cold.
He closed the door quickly.
Outside, the rain continued to fall.
And somewhere in the dark, someone was watching him.
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