The final school bell echoed through the corridors of U.H.A.V.(For Girls’),signaling the end of another ordinary day.

Students rushed out of their classrooms, chatting excitedly as they hurried toward the gates. Within minutes, the once-busy school grounds began to empty.

Avrila packed her books into her bag and glanced out the classroom window. The golden afternoon sunlight painted the schoolyard in warm colors.

“You’re leaving late again,” her friend Mili said while adjusting her backpack.

“I know. You go ahead. I’ll catch up later.”

Mili narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

“Don’t tell me you’re staying back to study again.”

Avrila smiled.

“Exams are only a few months away.”

“You’re impossible.”

Laughing, Mili waved goodbye and left.

Soon, Avrila found herself alone.

After organizing a few notes, she headed toward the washroom. The corridors felt strangely quiet now that everyone had gone home.

The sound of her footsteps echoed against the walls.

For some reason, she felt a slight chill.

“Probably because I’m alone,” she muttered.

A few minutes later, she exited the school building and stepped outside the gate.

The road was calm.

She adjusted her bag and started walking home.

After a short distance, she remembered she needed a new pen.

“Right. Maa asked me to buy one.”

Just ahead stood a small stationary shop where students from both schools often stopped after classes.

As she approached, she immediately heard raised voices.

“No, you’re wrong!”

“I am not!”

“Yes, you are!”

Avrila rolled her eyes.

Only one group of people argued this much.

Three boys stood near the counter.

Smarth.

Arum.

Matrik.

Students of  U.H.A.V.

Unfortunately, they were also in the same grade as her.

The moment Smarth noticed her, he smirked.

“Well, look who decided to join us.”

Avrila sighed.

“I came to buy a pen, not to listen to your nonsense.”

Arum burst out laughing.

“Ouch.”

Matrik added dramatically, “Direct hit.”

Smarth folded his arms.

“What makes you think our conversation is nonsense?”

“Experience”

“Very funny.”

“It wasn’t a joke.”

The shopkeeper watched the exchanged with amusement.

For some reason, she always took the bait.

“You’re still acting like you know everything,” Avrila said.

“And you’re still acting like you don’t.”

“What does that even mean?”

“It means you’re stubborn.”

“Excuse me?”

“See? Stubborn.”

Avrila glared at him.

Arum and Matrik quietly stepped aside.

They had seen this happen far too many times.

The strange thing was that neither Smarth nor Avrila ever seemed to realize how much they enjoyed arguing with each other.

After a few more minutes of pointless bickering, Avrila finally bought her pen.

“I’m leaving.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

“Why are you still standing here then?” Smarth asked.

“Why are you?”

Neither answered.

Arum groaned.

“Please get married  and end our suffering.”

Both turned toward him simultaneously.

“SHUT UP!”

The shop erupted with laughter.

Embarrased, Avrila quickly turned away and began walking down the road.

Behind her, she could still hear the boys laughing.

She didn’t notice that Smarth continued watching her until she disappeared around the corner.

 ***

The road to home was familiar.

She had walked it countless times.

A few minutes later, she passed a grocery shop attached to an old two-story house.

Just as she walked by—

“AAAAAHHHHH!”

A terrified scream shattered the silence.

Avrila jumped.

Without thinking, she rushed inside.

A small boy was standing on a stool, pointing at a corner.

“A spider! A spider!”

Avrila blinked.

Then she looked at the tiny spider crawling harmlessly across the wall.

For a moment she simply stared.

Then she burst out laughing.

The boy looked offended.

“It’s not funny!”

“It kind of is.”

At that moment, the shopkeeper appeared.

A middle-aged woman with tired eyes and a gentle smile.

“What happened?”

“Maa! Kill it!”

The shopkeeper  sighed.

“A spider again?”

After  removing the poor creature from the wall, she turned toward Avrila.

“Oh, dear. Did my son’s screaming scare you?”

“A little.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright.”

The woman smiled warmly.

“Thank you for checking on him.”

“It was nothing.”

“Take a chocolate.”

“No thank you.”

“At least have some water.”

Avrila hesitated.

The day had been not.

“Okay.”

The shopkeeper poured a glass of water.

She drank it quickly.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

The little boy waved.

Avrila smiled.

“Bye!”

Then she continued on her way.

***

As she walked, her thoughts drifted elsewhere.

Mostly toward a certain annoying boy.

Why had Arum said that ridiculous thing?

Why had everyone laughed?

And why had Smarth looked embarrassed?

The memory made her cheeks warm.

“Idiot.”

She wasn’t sure whether she meant him or herself.

Several minutes passed.

Lost in thought, she barely paid attention to her surroundings.

Then suddenly she stopped.

A strange feeling crawled up her spine.

Something felt wrong.

Very wrong.

Slowly, she looked up.

Her eyes windened.

The grocery shop.

The same grocery shop.

The same house.

The same signboard.

The same bicycle parked outside.

Avrila frowned.

“That’s strange.”

Maybe she had simply mistaken it for another shop.

That wad possible.

Right?

She shook her head and continued walking.

Ten minutes later—

She froze.

The grocery shop stood before her again.

This time heart skipped a beat.

“No.”

She quickly looked around.

The tea stall.

The mango tree.

The broken lamp post.

Everything was identical.

Exactly identical.

A cold sensation settled in her stomach.

“This isn’t funny.”

She turned around and walked in the opposite direction.

Faster.

Faster.

Almost running.

Fifteen minutes later—

The grocery shop appeared once more.

The evening sun was beginning to sink below the horizon.

The shadows had grown longer.

And for the first time that day, genuine fear entered Avrila’s heart.

She wasn’t going home.

She wasn’t getting anywhere.

No matter which road she chose…

She always came back here.

To the same road.

The same houses.

The same grocery shop.

As if the world itself had trapped her inside an invisible circle.

And somewhere in the distance, as the sun slowly disappeared beyond the horizon, a dog began to howl.

Avrila swallowed hard.

For the first time in her life—

She realized she was lost.

And the night was only beginning.

The sky darkened.

One by one, the last traces of sunlight disappeared beyond the horizon.

Avrila stood motionless in front of the grocery shop.

Her heart pounded loudly inside her chest.

“No…”

She looked around desperately.

The tea stall.

The banyan tree.

The broken lamp post.

Everything was exactly the same.

She had already passed this place three times.

Or maybe four.

She wasn’t even sure anymore.

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to stay calm.

“Think, Avrila. There must be a logical explanation.”

She turned and started walking again.

This time she paid attention to every detail.

Every turn.

Every crossing.

Every house.

Yet after fifteen minutes of walking, she found herself standing before the grocery shop once again.

The same signboard creaked softly in the evening breeze.

A chill ran down her spine.

“No… no, no, no…”

Her voice trembled.

For the first time, real panic began to settle in.

She took out her phone.

8:02 PM.

There were several missed calls from her mother.

Avrila quickly dialed her.

The call connected for a moment.

Then—

Static.

The screen flickered.

The call disconnected.

“What?”

She tried again.

No signal.

She looked up.

Strangely, every other part of the town seem normal.

Yet the roads around her felt deserted.

Not a single person was visible.

Not a single vehicle passed by.

Even the usual sounds of evening had vanished.

The silence felt unnatural.

Heavy.

Oppressive.

As if the darkness itself was listening.

***

An hour later.

Avrila’s legs hurt.

She had tried every possible road.

Every shortcut.

Every alley.

Every path led back to the same place.

The grocery shop.

Again.

And again.

And again.

The clock on her phone now showed 8:57 PM.

Suddenly a familiar voice called out.

“Child?”

Avrila looked up.

The woman from the grocery shop was standing outside.

Beside her stood Riku.

The man frowned.

“Haven’t you gone home yet?”

Relief flooded Avrila.

Finally.

Another human being.

She hurried toward them.

“Auntie, I think I’m lost.”

The woman looked confused.

“Lost?”

“I know it sounds strange, but every road leads me back here.”

For a moment, something strange flashed across the woman’s face.

A look that disappeared almost instantly.

Then she smiled.

“Oh dear. You must be exhausted.”

Riku looked worried.

“Didi, are you okay?”

Avrila nodded weakly.

“I just need to reach the main bypass.”

The woman turned toward her son.

“Riku, take Didi to the main bypass.”

“Okay, Mom.”

***

For the next thirty minutes, Riku guided her through several streets.

The boy seemed confident.

“This way.”

“No, maybe this way.”

“Wait, I think it’s here.”

But eventually—

They stopped.

Avrila felt her blood run cold.

The grocery shop stood before them.

Again.

Riku stared.

His face turned pale.

“What…”

He looked around.

Confused.

“We were just over there.”

Avrila felt her stomach twist.

So it wasn’t only her.

Even Riku couldn’t leave.

The boy grabbed her sleeve.

“Didi…”

His voice shook.

“I want to go home.”

Without saying a word, they walked back into store.’

The woman seemed surprised to see them.

“You’re back already?”

Riku immediately hugged her.

“Mom! We got lost!”

A flicker of concern crossed the woman’s face.

She looked toward Avrila.

Then toward the dark road outside.

The expression in her eyes was impossible to read.

“You poor child.”

She sighed.

“It’s already late.”

Avrila looked outside.

The streets were completely dark now.

“Maybe…”

The woman hesitated.

“…maybe you should stay here tonight.”

Avrila froze.

Stay here?

Something about the suggestion made her uncomfortable.

She couldn’t explain why.

The woman seemed kind.

Riku seemed harmless.

Yet…

Something felt wrong.

“I’ll be fine.”

“Nonsense.”

The woman smiled gently.

“You’re just a schoolgirl.”

“I don’t want to trouble you.”

“It isn’t trouble.”

For a few seconds neither spoke.

The woman glanced toward the dark road outside before letting out a quiet sigh.

“It’s difficult managing everything alone.”

Avrila looked at her.

“Just you and Riku?”

The woman nodded.

“Yes. His father hasn’t been with us for years.”

“Oh.”

“Life goes on,” the woman said with a faint smile.

Riku lowered his head and remained silent.

A few moments later, while waiting near the sitting room, Avrila’s eyes wandered toward a nearby hallway.

Then Avrila noticed something.

A pair of muddy slippers near the entrance of the corridor.

Large slippers.

The slippers looked recently used.

Fresh mud clung to their soles.

Her gaze lingered on them.

If Riku’s father hadn’t been here for years…

Then whose slippers were those?

Before she could think further, Riku suddenly spoke.

“Mom, should I tell Baba—”

The woman’s expression froze.

“Riku!”

The boy immediately fell silent.

An uncomfortable hush settled over the room.

For a fleeting moment, something resembling panic flashed across the woman’s face.

Then she forced a smile.

“He means his grandfather.”

Avrila nodded.

But she wasn’t convinced.

The explaination had come too quickly.

Too rehearsed.

As though the woman had prepared it beforehand.

The silence that followed felt strangely heavy.

Then—

A cough echoed from somewhere deeper inside the house.

A man’s cough.

Low.

Rough.

Distinct.

Avrila’s head snapped toward the hallway.

The woman noticed immediately.

“What happened?”

“I thought I heard someone.”

For the briefest moment, the woman”s fingers tightened around the edge of her shawl.

Then she smiled.

“The television.”

Avrila listened carefully.

No voices.

No music.

No sounds of a television.

Nothing.

Only silence.

And the memory of that cough.

A chill crept down her spine.

“I should leave.”

The woman looked at her for a moment.

Then nodded.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“You can stay if you want.”

“I’ll be alright.”

The woman remained silent for a few seconds before reaching behind the counter and handing her a flashlight.

“Take this.”

“Thank you.”

“Be careful.”

Avrila forced a smile and stepped outside.

The cold night air greeted her immediately.

As she walked away, she glanced back one last time.

The woman was standing in the doorway.

Watching.

Her expression unreadable.

The beam from the store illuminated only half of her face.

She turned away and continued walking.

Yet the uneasy feeling refused to leave her.

The muddy slippers.

Riku’s words.

The cough.

The forced explanations.

None of it made sense.

And as the darkness swallowed the road ahead, a troubling thought settled into her mind.

The woman had lied.

About something.

She just didn’t know what.

Far behind her the grocery shop remained lit like a lone beacon in the darkness.

Avrila tightened her grip on the flashlight and continued walking.

The road ahead was empty.

Silent.

Endless.

And no matter how hard she tried to ignore it, she couldn’t shake the feeling that unseen eyes were following her from somewhere within the night.

The darkness seemed deeper now.

Heavier.

Almost alive.

Avrila fought back a shiver and quickened her pace.

She needed to find a way home.

Unaware of what the night still had in store,

Beyond the veil of darkness, fate was quietly at work.

Avrila had lost count of how many times she had walked past the grocery shop.

Ten times?

Twenty?

Maybe more.

The roads had become meaningless.

Every turn looked familiar.

Every house looked the same.

Every path led back to where she started.

Her phone now showing 11:17 PM.

No signal.

No messages.

No way home.

The fear she had been suppressing all evening was beginning to overwhelm her.

“Maa…”

Her voice cracked.

At that moment, tears gathered in her eyes.

She missed home.

She missed the safety of  her room.

And she desperately wished she wasn’t alone.

A distant sound suddenly echoed through the darkness.

Tring… Tring…

A bicycle bell.

Avrila froze.

Then another.

Tring…

This time closer.

Three moving lights appeared at the far end of the road.

Her heart pounded.

She couldn’t tell whether to feel relieved or terrified.

The lights approached.

And then she recognized the faces.

Smarth.

Arum.

Matrik.

“What the—”

Smarth almost lost control of his bicycle.

“Avrila?!”

Arum blinked.

“Why are you here?”

“At this hour?” Matrik added.

For a few seconds, nobody spoke.

Then all three boys noticed her expression.

The fear in her eyes.

The exhaustion.

The tears she was trying to hide.

Their expressions immediately changed.

“What happened?” Smarth asked quietly.

 ***

Several minutes later, the four of them sat near a closed tea stall.

Avrila explained everything.

The endless roads.

The looping paths.

The grocery shop.

The strange woman.

The slippers.

The cough.

The mention of  Riku’s father.

The boys listened without interrupting.

When she finally finished—

Silence.

The Arum burst out laughing.

“You seriously expect us to believe that?”

“Arum.”

“What?”

Smarth frowned.

“Look at her.”

Arum immediately stopped smiling.

Because Smarth was right.

Avrila wasn’t joking.

She looked genuinely frightened.

Matrik rubbed his chin.

“Let’s test it.”

For the next hour they rode acorss every road they could find.

North.

South.

East.

West.

Every direction.

Every shortcut.

Every alleyway.

Every single attempt ended the same way.

The grocery shop.

Again.

And again.

And again.

By midnight, none of them were laughing anymore.

“This is impossible.”

Matrik stare at the shop in disbelief.

“We should be kilometers away by now.”

Arum looked pale.

Smarth remained silent.

His eyes fixed on the dark building.

Thinking.

Analyzing.

Observing.

Something about that house bothered him.

Eventually they abandoned the bicycles and continued on foot.

The night had become unnaturally quiet.

No dogs barking.

No passing vehicles.

Nothing.

Only their footsteps.

Crunch…Crunch…Crunch…

The sound echoed across the empty road.

Avrila walked slightly behind the others.

Her legs felt weak from exhaustion.

Suddenly—

She stumbled.

Before she could fall, someone grabbed her wrist.

Strong fingers closed around her hand.

Steadying her.

Avrila looked up.

Smarth.

“You okay?”

His voice was unusually gentle.

“Y-Yeah.”

Only then did he realize he was still holding her hand.

They both froze.

For a brief moment, neither moved.

Neither spoke.

Then Smarth quickly let her go.

A faint redness appeared on his ears.

“Watch where you’re walking.”

Avrila looked away.

“Thanks.”

Arum glanced behind them.

Then smirked.

Matrik immediately elbowed him.

“Don’t.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You were about to.”

“I absolutely was.”

A little later they stopped near an abandoned bus stand.

Everyone was exhausted.

The boys sat down.

Avrila remained standing.

Her eyes fixed on the darkness.

“Why didn’t you stay at the shop?” Smarth suddenlty asked.

She looked at him.

“What?”

“The woman offered you a place to stay.”

“Oh.”

Avrila hesitated.

Then shook her head.

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean?”

She looked down.

“I just felt uncomfortable.”

The boys exchanged glances.

“What kind of uncomfortable?” Matrik asked.

Avrila thought for a moment.

Then spoke quietly.

“The kind that makes you want to leave.”

Nobody laughed this time.

Because all three boys understtod.

Something instincts noticed things before the mind did.

And instincts were rarely wrong.

Several minutes passed.

The other were talking among themselves when Smarth moved beside her.

For a while neither spoke.

Then he said quietly,

“You know…”

Avrila looked at him.

“I’ve seen you before.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“We’re in neighboring schools.”

“Not like that.”

“What do you mean?”

Smarth looked away.

For once, the confident boy seemed nervous.

“I mean… I’ve noticed you.”

Avrila stared.

“What?”

“At school events.”

His voice had become suspiciously quiet.

“Sometimes during competitions.”

Avrila could hardly believe what she was hearing.

“Why?”

Smarth rubbed the back of his neck.

Because he suddenly seemed incapable of looking directly at her.

“Because I wanted to.”

For a moment, the world seemed strangely still.

The darkness.

The endless roads.

The mystery.

Everything faded into the background.

Avrila’s cheeks warmed.

She looked away first.

Neither of them noticed thart Arum and Matrik were staring from a distance.

“Witnessing history,” Arum whispered.

“Shut up,” Matrik whispered back.

A cold wind swept across the road.

The four teenagers immediately turned.

Something had moved.

Near the grocery shop.

A shadow.

Tall.

Motionless.

Watching them.

Nobody spoke.

Nobody moved.

The shadow remained there for several seconds.

Then disappeared behind the house.

Every hair on the back of Avrila’s neck stood on end.

“Did you see that?”

Smarth nodded.

Slowly.

His expression had become serious once more.

The warmth from a few moments ago vanished.

Only suspicion remained.

Because,

No longer were they relying on assumptions—

They had proof.

Someone else was there.

And whoever it was…

Had been watching them.