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Radhika Gurgaon ke ek upscale society mein apne flat mein akele rehti thi. Tech firm mein kaam karti thi aur zyada tar samay apne laptop ya phone pe hi rehti. Uska routine simple tha: kaam, khana, aur raat ko thodi der kisi app pe gossip ya memes dekhna. Ek raat, ek naye anonymous chat app ka notification aaya: “Jhilmil Signal — Talk to strangers, find connections”. Curious ho kar app khol liya.
Interface simple tha— naam ki jagah log apne aapko anonymous rakhe hue the. Radhika ne bhi apna naam nahi diya. Pehla stranger jisse chat shuru hui, kaafi ajeeb tha.
Stranger123: “Tum bhi wahi awaz sunte ho?”
Radhika: “Kaisi awaz?”
Stranger123: “Wahi… jhooti khilkhilahat… jab koi room mein nahi hota.”
Usne socha, koi prank kar raha hai. Ignore karke dusre stranger se baat shuru ki. Lekin har 10 minute mein Stranger123 dobara connect hota tha. Har baar naya message karta, jaise wo use pehchan gaya ho.
Stranger123: “Light blink karti hai jab main pass hota hun.”
Us moment pe Radhika ke room ki tubelight ek baar flicker kar gayi. Usne socha coincidence hai. Thoda anxious feel karne lagi. App band kar diya.
Agli raat phir se notification aayi: “Stranger123 wants to chat again.” Is baar usne ignore kiya. Par tab se har raat 3:13 AM pe uske flat ki bell bajti thi, jab koi darwaze par hota bhi nahi. Society ka guard bolta ki un cameras mein koi movement hi record nahi hoti us time.
Teesri raat, Radhika ne app uninstall kar diya. Par tab bhi 3:13 pe message aaya— WhatsApp pe:
“Tumne mujhe download kiya tha. Ab uninstall kar ke farak nahi padega.”
Number naam se nahi tha, lekin pichle messages jaise same gaane ki line likhi gayi thi — ek purana Vividh Bharti song:
“Jhilmil sitaron ka aangan hoga…”
Radhika panic mein aa gayi. Usne phone band kar diya. Achanak uske kamre ki light bilkul blue paint jaisi tint denote karne lagi, jaise kisi aur dimension ka filter lag gaya ho. Windows se bahar kuch bhi dikhayi nahi deta tha… sirf andhera aur ek gaana jo halki-halki awaaz mein loop pe baj raha tha.
Jaise he video-calling screen khul gayi — bina kisi button press kiye — usme ek distorted face dikh raha tha. Na puri tarah aadmi, na pura virtual. Face aise lag raha tha jaise pics ka collage ho multiple logon ka, unmein ek chehra uske khud ka bhi tha — par aankhen nikal chuki thi.
Usi samay message aaya:
“Tumhara digital presence ab humaare signal mein sync ho chuka hai. Aaj raat ke baad tum sirf message ban jaogi.”
Agli subah Radhika ka phone milta hai par wo kudh gayi thi building ke terrace se — aisa police report kehti hai. Par CCTV ke footage mein terrace ka gate kabhi khula hi nahi record hua.
Do hafte baad Gurgaon ki ek aur ladki Shweta, Jhilmil Signal app download karti hai Reddit recommendation ke kehne par — first stranger chat jata hai:
Stranger123: “Tum bhi wahi awaz sunte ho?”
