The Last Door in Room 13
Nobody stayed long at the old hostel on Hill Road.
Room 13 was always locked.
Not because it was broken. Not because it was under repair. But because anyone who entered… never stayed the same.
Riya didn't believe in such things.
She had just moved into the hostel for college and laughed when the caretaker warned her, "Don't go near Room 13 at night."
That night, around 2:13 AM, she heard a soft knock.
Tap… tap… tap…
She opened her eyes.
The sound wasn't coming from her door.
It was coming from the end of the corridor.
From Room 13.
Riya sat up, annoyed more than scared. "Probably just the wind," she muttered.
But the knocking continued.
Tap… tap… tap…
It sounded… patient. Like something waiting.
Curiosity pulled her out of bed.
The corridor was dark, the lights flickering as if struggling to stay alive. Each step she took made the air feel colder.
When she reached Room 13, the knocking stopped.
Silence.
Then—
Tap… tap…
From inside.
Her heart raced now.
"Who's there?" she whispered.
No answer.
The door was slightly open.
It wasn't supposed to be.
Riya hesitated… then pushed it.
The room inside looked normal at first. A bed. A chair. A mirror on the wall.
But everything felt… wrong.
The air was heavy.
And the mirror—
It didn't reflect her.
Riya froze.
Instead of her reflection, the mirror showed someone else standing behind her.
A girl.
Pale. Still. Smiling.
Riya slowly turned around.
No one was there.
She looked back at the mirror.
The girl was closer now.
Right behind her.
Riya stumbled back, her breath shaking. "This isn't real…"
The girl in the mirror lifted her hand.
And Riya felt something cold touch her shoulder.
She screamed and ran out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
The knocking started again.
Tap… tap… tap…
But now…
It was coming from her own room.
Riya ran back, her chest pounding. Her door was closed.
Slowly… she pushed it open.
Everything looked normal.
Too normal.
She stepped inside.
The mirror in her room stood in the corner.
And this time—
It reflected her.
Riya let out a shaky breath.
Relief washed over her.
"Just my imagination…" she whispered.
She turned to lie down.
Then froze.
Because in the mirror—
She was still standing.
Watching herself.
Smiling.
The next morning, the caretaker unlocked Room 13.
Inside, everything was quiet.
On the mirror, written in faint, shaky letters:
"Now I'm free."
And in Riya's room—
No one answered the knocks anymore.