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Delhi ke CR Park mein rehne wala Ankit Gupta, ek 27-year-old software developer, apni routine life mein busy tha—office, gym, Netflix repeat. Lekin pichhle kuch hafton se ek ajeeb cheez ho rahi thi. Roz raat 3:27 AM ko uske phone par ek missed call aata tha—from the same unknown number: +91-9600001919. Jab usne pehli baar dekha, usne ignore kiya. Dusri baar curiosity hui. Teesri baar dar laga.
Kisi ne kaha spam ho sakta hai, kisi ne bola “ghost call”, par sabse ajeeb baat? Vo number kabhi online nahi hota tha, na WhatsApp pe, na Truecaller pe koi details. Aur jab bhi Ankit call karta, “Number does not exist”, bolta.
Ek weekend raat, Ankit ne decide kiya ki vo jagta rahega taaki dekhe kya hota hai 3:27 pe. Vo laptop pe kaam kar raha tha jab uske Samsung Galaxy A52 ne vibrate kara. Fir se wahi number. Is baar uski himmat badh gayi aur usne call ka screen record on karke, call pick kar liya.
Koi nahi bola. Sirf ek faint static noise thi… aur background mein kuch ajeeb si mechanical gurgle jaisi awazen. Jaise koi machine zinda ho. Phir ek low female voice aayi, bilkul mechanical, lekin recognizable.
“Don’t trust your tomorrow, Ankit. They can attach.”
Uski ragon mein thandak utar gayi. “Kaun ho tum?” Usne poocha, lekin dusri taraf sirf silence. Phir line cut.
Agli morning usne decide kiya ki bas, ispe investigation karega. Apni friend Neha—jo ek cybersecurity analyst thi—usse contact kiya. Neha ne us number ka trace kara, par output disturbing tha. “Yeh number kisi telecom database mein registered nahi hai, Ankit. Lekin ek aur baat… iska location trace hota hai lekin vo har raat badalta hai. Rajasthan se start hua, Bhopal, Varanasi… aur aaj Kalka.”
Us raat Neha uske ghar ruki. Dono ne phone ko mic analyzer se connect kara. Jab call aaya, Neha ne us signal ko decrypt kiya. “Ye signal artificial hai, but encoded with a time loop pattern. It’s as if the call is not from a person… but a timeline.”
3:28 AM pe call ka message change ho gaya.
“Tumne sun liya. Ab tum bhi scan kiye ja chuke ho.”
Screen pe kuch flashes aaye—bina kisi app ke. Sirf ek blinking line: ‘Gateway seed accepted.’
Agli subah Ankit ka phone puri tarah black ho gaya. Repair store ne kaha motherboard fried hai. Neha ne uska old backup restore kiya ek naye phone pe… par gallery mein ek nayi album thi: “Mirror Calls”.
Andar 24 photos thi—Ankit ke khud ke hi photos, lekin unmein vo zyada pale tha, aankhon ke neeche dark veins aur background mein sirf white void. Aur seedhe camera mein dekh raha tha, jaise kuch ya kisi ne uska scan complete kar liya ho.
Next few days mein Ankit normally office chalne laga, par har reflective surface mein apne peeche ek pale version dekhne laga. Glass doors, laptop screen, basin mirror. Vo versions chup rehte… par dheere dheere smile karne lage.
Ek din office ke washroom mein uski reflection ne seedha uski aankhon mein dekh ke bola, “I’m here now. Tu kal se mat milna.”
Ankit bhagta hua washroom se nikla, Neha ko call kiya. Vo urgently uske ghar aayi. Jab Ankit Neha ko dekh raha tha, usne notice kiya… Neha ki aankhon mein bhi pale version dikh raha tha. Thoda movement bhi karta.
Neha ne bola, “Ankit, we’re inside the net between timelines. Ye call kisi aur duniya se nahi, balki ek corrupted timeline se aaye hain. Tumhara data unhone absorb kar liya hai. They send calls to people at 3:27 AM, jab mind sabse vulnerable hota hai. Us waqt reception layer thin hoti hai… aur scan shuru hota hai.”
Ankit ne pucha: “Toh ab kya ho sakta hai?”
Neha ne kaha: “Bas ek solution hai. Ek aur ko us number ka call sunana padega. Tabhi ‘they’ naye host pe shift karenge.”
Ankit ne us raat apne flatmate Rishi ko bina bataye call suna diya… 3:27 AM pe speaker on kar ke. Rishi ne suna, react kiya—aur tab se Rishi ke phone mein wahi album dikhne lagi.
Ankit ka phone ekdum blank ho gaya. Uski reflection normal ho gayi.
Ek hafte baad, Ankit ne apne terrace se neeche jump karke suicide kar liya… lekin koi body nahi mili. Sirf uska phone mila—screen on thi. Gallery open thi. Aur latest album tha: “3:27 – Incoming”. Usmein 27 wajahen thi.
Har ek… kisi aur ke reflection ki.
Aur har photo mein… ek chhoti si jagah pe likha tha: “Next is you.”
