Share This Article
Aditya ek tech startup mein developer tha, Bangalore ke HSR Layout area mein apna 1BHK rent pe le kar rehta tha. Raaton ko kaam karne ki aadat thi — silence, music, aur bina interference ke kaam. 2:04 AM ho rahe the jab uska phone vibrate hua. Unknown number se video call.
Pehle to ignore kiya. Lekin call baar baar aata raha. Jab teesri baar ring aayi, curiosity se Aditya ne call utha liya. Screen pe thoda static tha… fir uska hi chehra nazar aaya. Wahi background, wahi kapde — lag raha tha Zoom mirror mode on ho.
Usne turant camera check kiya, doosra app band kiya, par sab normal tha. Lekin screen pe uska chehra dheere se muskurana shuru ho gaya — bina uske muskuraye. “Tu… tu main ho?” Aditya ne kaha, thoda mazaak mein.
Screen pe usne dekha, uska hi reflection kuch bol raha tha bina awaaz ke. Suddenly phone freeze ho gaya, aur screen pe likha aaya: “Yeh tumhara pehla nahi, aakhri call hai.”
Aditya ne call cut karne ki koshish ki, par phone hung ho gaya. Sab kuch disable — buttons kaam nahi kar rahe the. Aur tab screen pe background change hone laga. Uska kamra ab pitch black tha. Usne real world mein light on ki, but phone pe dark basement jaisa kuch dikh raha tha.
Usi waqt, uske peeche dark screen mein kuch chali. Woh turned towards his room. Kabhi bhi darne wala nahi tha, par ab lage jaise koi sach mein uske room mein hai. Laptop ka screen flicker karne laga — khud hi on hua aur terminal open ho gaya:
“/usr/ghost_session/003_open|status:mirror-inverted”
Usne turant WiFi disconnect kiya, phone airplane mode pe kiya. Sab cheeze band kar di. But laptop ki screen ab bhi chal rahi thi. Text likha aaya:
“Apni jagah chhod di. Tumhara chehra le liya. Tum ab exist nahi karte.”
Aditya ne dar ke maare room ka darwaza toda aur building se bahar bhaag gaya. Lekin bahar sab kuch… alag tha. Roads waisi hi thi, par sab kuch monochrome lag raha tha — jaise kisi ne reality ko negative filter mein dal diya ho.
Wo ek nearby chai stall pe gaya, par chaiwaala usse dekh nahi paaya. Bar bar chillaya, lekin kisi ne react nahi kiya. Wo dikh nahi raha tha. Uska phone suddenly vibrate kiya.
Ek naya video call: Iss baar caller ID thi — “Aditya Mehta (Verified)”.
Wo call uthata hai. Is baar uska reflection normal hai. Lekin us reflection ke peeche koi aur khada hai.
Jaldi se camera reverse karta hai. Pata chalta hai: ess duniya mein uska ek replica chal raha hai. Uski jagah koi aur, uska asli chehra, identity, sab kuch le chuka hai.
Aur asli Aditya ab “video buffer” mein phas gaya hai — ek aur digital corridor jahan har vo insaan locked hai jisne is unknown call ko uthaya. Internet ke dead zones ke ek dusre layer mein, jahan sirf echo bachte hain aur koi pehchan nahi bachti.
Aaj bhi, raat 2 baje ke aaspaas, kisi random techie ko ek video call aata hai. Caller ID: ya to khud ka naam… ya koi ajeeb unknown byte code.
