Share This Article
July ki pehli baarish thi aur Mumbai ke Khar area mein power grid fail ho gaya tha. Gulmohar Heights, ek upscale apartment building, generator pe chal raha tha — lekin sirf designated essentials ke liye. Lift chalne se mana kar diya gaya tha.
Par log kaun maanta hai? 9th floor par rehte 26-year-old Arnav, kuch groceries le aaya tha. Saat baje ke aaspaas, lift shayad kisi wiring anomaly ke chalte briefly chalu ho gayi. Us time pe lift mein Arnav ke saath Mrs. D’Souza (flat 901) aur 14 saal ka Rinku (watchman ka beta) bhi chad gaye.
Lift ne niche jane ke bajaye — kuch aur hi kiya. Aakhri baar lift ka CCTV teen log dikhata hai, muskurate hue, aur phir screen ruk jaata hai. Raat bhar, kisi ne lift ke gate khulte nahi dekhe. Jab subah tak koi bhi teenon mein se nahi mila, police bulayi gayi.
Lift control system ke logs mein kuch bhi unusual nahi tha — magar CCTV se pata chala ki lift ne 9th floor se direct 5th pe aakar ruk gaya. Lekin 5th floor par kisi ne lift ne aate hue dekha nahi; sanata tha.
Lift kholne ke liye building ne technician bulaya. Darwaza jab manually pried open kiya gaya, andar khaali tha. Koi bhi teen passengers usmein nahi the. Aur chhanni se check karne par, lift pit bhi khaali mila.
CCTV recording mein kuch aur ajeeb tha — jab footage loop mode se hataya gaya aur frame-by-frame dekha gaya, unme se ek frame aisi thi jahan Arnav ka reflection lift ke mirror mein nahi tha. Bas Mrs. D’Souza aur Rinku dikh rahe the. Doosre frame mein, Rinku direct camera ki taraf dekh raha tha, lekin uska shadow ulta tha — jaise woh kisi aur gravity ke influence mein ho.
Uske baad, Gulmohar Heights ki lift permanently band kar di gayi thi aur stairs mandatory bane. Aur fir tiyanak baatein shuru hui…
Mrs. D’Souza ka flat kabhi band nahi hota. Har sham humesha ek slow microwave beep sunai deta hai, jab ki unka kitchen connection remove kar diya gaya hai.
Rinku ka father batata hai ki har teesri raat ko koi staircase par chalta sunai deta hai — lekin pairon ki gati ulta hoti hai, jaise koi upar se neeche nahi, neeche se upar aa raha ho… lekin samay ke Khilaaf.
Aur Arnav ka mobile — jo building lobby ke lost-and-found mein mila tha — har weekend kisi ek resident ke ghar ke Wi-Fi se automatically connect ho jaata hai. IP logs pe Arnav ke naam se ek unknown device last synced dikhaata hai — magar us number se koi signal track nahi hota.
Twist tab aaya jab building secretary Mr. Shetty ne ek old file open ki — Gulmohar Heights ke pehle jo building thi wahi pe, usme ek lift crash hua tha 1987 mein. Jab barish ke baad lift cable snap hui thi… aur teen log gayab ho gaye the. Ek lady in white saree, ek teenage boy aur ek 25-26 saal ka man, jo grocery lene gaya tha.
Same combination. Umra bhi milti julti.
Forensic psychological experts ne bola lift mein jo hua woh ek time loop nahi tha — balki identity absorption phenomenon. Lift kisi unknown spatial junction mein convert ho gayi thi — jahan ek baar insaan ki identity us jagah mein absorb ho jaaye, woh physical existence se permananetly nikal jaata hai. Magar uski echo wapas physical world mein dikhne lagti hai — galat jagah par, galat waqt pe.
Aaj bhi, jab koi naya resident elevator shaft ke pass se guzarta hai, kabhi kabhi ek aawaz aati hai: “Kya 5th floor pe kisi ne lift bulayi hai?” Par lift to ab wahan hai hi nahi.
