Episode 4

: Don't Let Her Remember

Meera stared at the photograph.

Her hands trembled.

"This... this can't be real."

Aishu quickly grabbed the picture.

"Oh my God."

Josh looked equally shocked.

The girl in the photograph looked exactly like Meera.

Not similar.

Exactly the same.

The same eyes.

The same smile.

Everything.

"Who is she?" Meera asked the old man.

The old man looked nervous.

"I shouldn't be talking about this."

"Please," Meera begged.

"If you know something, tell me."

The man hesitated.

Then he sighed.

"About fifteen years ago, a woman used to visit this bookstore."

"The woman in the picture?"

The old man nodded.

"She always came with a little girl."

Meera's heart raced.

"What happened to them?"

"One day they disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

"No one ever saw them again."

The bookstore fell silent.

Aishu and Josh exchanged worried glances.

"Do you know the girl's name?" Josh asked.

The old man looked directly at Meera.

"Her name was Maya."

The name sent a strange chill through Meera's body.

Maya.

Why did it sound so familiar?

Almost like she had heard it before.

In a dream.

---

That night, Meera couldn't stop thinking about the photograph.

Maya.

Who was she?

And why did she look exactly like her?

After dinner, she decided to ask her parents.

Her mother was washing dishes when Meera entered the kitchen.

"Mom, do you know someone named Maya?"

The plate slipped from her mother's hand.

CRASH!

The plate shattered on the floor.

Meera froze.

Her mother looked pale.

"Where did you hear that name?"

"You know her?"

"No."

"But your reaction says otherwise."

Before her mother could answer, her father entered the room.

"What happened?"

Meera held up the photograph.

The moment he saw it, his face turned white.

"Where did you get that?" he asked sharply.

"At an old bookstore."

For several seconds, neither parent spoke.

Finally, Meera looked at them.

"Please tell me the truth."

Her father clenched his fists.

Her mother looked close to tears.

"Who is Maya?"

Silence.

Then her mother whispered:

"She was your sister."

Meera felt the world stop.

"My... what?"

"Your sister."

The room spun around her.

"That's impossible."

"You never told me I had a sister."

Her mother began crying.

"We were trying to protect you."

"Protect me from what?"

No answer came.

Only silence.

The silence terrified her more than any answer could.

---

That night, Meera locked herself in her room.

Nothing made sense anymore.

A sister.

A photograph.

The dreams.

The mysterious messages.

All connected somehow.

Her phone suddenly buzzed.

Another message from the unknown number.

Unknown Number: They finally told you.

Meera immediately replied.

Meera: Who are you?

This time, the answer came instantly.

Unknown Number: Meet me tomorrow.

Meera: Where?

A location appeared on her screen.

An abandoned clock tower on the edge of town.

The exact clock tower from her dreams.

Meera's blood ran cold.

One final message appeared.

Unknown Number: If you want the truth about Maya...

Unknown Number: Come alone.**

To be continued...

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***