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Rehan, ek graphic designer, ne apne workload se break lene ke liye Lonavala mein ek heritage-style Airbnb book kiya tha. Colonial bungalow tha, 1920s ke British architecture ka sample. Bahar clouds the, andar silence. Usne socha, bas chai aur peace.
Villa ke caretaker, Ram Bhiaya, ne usse caution diya tha: “Sir, network toh idhar ghoomta rehta hai. Lekin ek baat yaad rakhna — outhouse wale store room ka darwaza band rehne dena.”
Rehan hansa, “Ha bhaiya, horror movie ka scene lag raha hai. Waise bhi main sirf interior kaam complete karne aaya hoon, chale jaunga do din mein.”
Pehli raat sab theek tha. Doosri raat, sote waqt uska personal smartphone suddenly dead ho gaya. Charging par lagaya, tab bhi nahi chalu hua. Frustrated, usne study room mein pada ek landline-type CDMA phone use karne ki sochi — bas nostalgic feel aayi.
Phone ka screen on jaise hi hua, ek missed call dikha — “Unknown Number, 3:33 AM”. Rehan ne socha glitch hoga. Agli raat — phir wahi number, wahi time par ek aur missed call. Phir agle din bhi. Kya coincidence tha?
Chauthi raat, Rehan ne decide kiya — wo jag ke dekhega. 3:32 AM, wo study mein beth gaya, light off kar ke. Exactly 3:33 AM par, phone ne beep kiya — again a missed call. Lekin iss baar screen par sirf ek digit tha: “3”.
Usne reception par call kiya, Ram Bhaiya ko phone uthaya. “Sir, aapne woh CDMA phone use kiya kya? Wo 2008 mein band ho gaya. Kisi ne usse tab self-destruct hone ke pehle poora area isolate kar diya tha. Please usse touch na karein.”
Rehan ne hasi mein uda diya. Par abhar se dar ke symbols screen par aane lage. “DEKHO”… “O WAQT AAGAYA HAI”… “ROOM KHOL DO”.
Us raat neend nahi aayi. Agle din usne outhouse ka darwaza khola. Andar andhera, aur ek aur similar CDMA phone pada tha – par ismein ek aur detail thi: ek wallpaper jaisa dikhta photo. Zoom karne par, photo mein Rehan dikha – yeh photo kab li gayi thi? Usne toh kabhi nahi kheechi.
Rehan bhaag ke wapas bungalow mein aaya. Phone kaafi gungunane laga, jaise kisi ki awaaz record mein ho. “Jab tum so rahe the, main dekh raha tha – tuh hi last witness hai.”
Final raat, 3:33 AM par, ek missed call nahi aayi – balki phone ne khud-se speaker par play karna start kiya. Ek distorted video chalu hua jismein ek aadmi, purane surveillance camera jaise view mein, villa mein gutted fire area explore kar raha tha. Tabhi usi jagah woh aadmi jal kar gir gaya – aur voh Rehan hi tha.
Shock mein, Rehan ne phone ko tor diya aur kisi tarah subah tak intezaar kiya. Check-out karte waqt, Ram Bhaiya ne sirf ek sentence bola: “Ye villa 2008 mein ek fire mein destroy ho gaya tha – aur tab se yeh phone har us aadmi se baat karta hai jiska maut ka waqt paas aa gaya hai. Aap wapas kabhi yahaan mat aana, aur voh missed call kabhi mat uthana.”
Rehan ne jab Mumbai laut ke apna phone chalu kiya, toh sabse upar ek notification tha: “Missed call: Unknown Number — 3:33 AM”.
Camera gallery automatically refresh hui. Last image: uska khud ka photo… aag ke saamne, aankhein seedha dekh rahi thi.
