The school never recovered from the notice board photo.
By the next morning, it had already spread.
Phones.
Chats.
Whispers.
Memes turned into rumors, rumors turned into accusations.
And Rk Chowdhury became a name people avoided saying too loudly.
But what scared him most wasn’t the students.
It was the fact that part of him still couldn’t remember clearly.
Only fragments.
Like broken glass in water.
Aria didn’t come to school again.
This time, no one knew where she was.
Not even Hasan.
“Bro…” Hasan said, sliding into the seat beside him. “Police came again this morning.”
Rk didn’t look up. “About me?”
Hasan shook his head.
“…About Aria.”
That finally made him pause.
“They said she doesn’t have proper permanent records,” Hasan continued. “Like… her identity is partially missing.”
Rk frowned. “Missing how?”
Hasan lowered his voice. “Like someone erased her past.”
A cold feeling crawled up Rk’s spine.
“Why would anyone do that?”
Hasan hesitated.
Then quietly—
“Because she might not be who we think she is.”
Rk stood up immediately.
“I need to see the lake file again.”
By afternoon, he was back in the archive room.
Same chair.
Same screen.
But now everything felt different.
He wasn’t searching anymore.
He was chasing.
He reopened the trip records.
Scrolled further.
Past the redacted sections.
Past the accident report.
Until he found something new.
A hidden attachment.
“Recovered Footage — Restricted”
His heartbeat quickened.
He clicked.
The video loaded slowly.
Low quality.
CCTV angle.
Night vision.
A forest path.
The lake nearby.
Students moving in panic.
Someone shouting “Fire!”
Then—
Screams.
Rk leaned closer.
Something was wrong.
The footage didn’t match his memory at all.
There were too many people.
Too much chaos.
And then—
He saw himself.
Standing still.
Not running.
Not helping.
Just watching.
“No…” he whispered.
Then—
A girl appeared in the frame.
Running.
Falling.
Reaching toward him.
Her face—
Blurred.
But her voice—
Clear.
“Rk… help me!”
Rk’s breath stopped.
He took a step forward in the video.
Just one step.
And then stopped.
The footage froze.
Rk stepped back in real life.
“No… I didn’t—”
But the image didn’t lie.
At least not on the surface.
A voice came from behind him.
Soft.
Familiar.
“I told you not to dig too deep.”
Rk turned sharply.
Aria stood by the doorway.
But something was different.
She looked paler.
Tired.
Like she hadn’t slept in days.
“You’re supposed to be gone,” Rk said.
Aria gave a weak smile.
“I tried.”
Rk stepped closer. “What is this video?”
Aria didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she walked into the room and closed the door behind her.
Click.
Lock.
Then she said quietly:
“That video is only half the truth.”
Rk narrowed his eyes. “Then show me the other half.”
Aria looked at him for a long moment.
Then—
“Do you remember Nira’s face?”
Rk hesitated.
Nothing came.
Not clearly.
“I don’t even remember meeting her,” he admitted.
Aria nodded slowly.
“That’s because you weren’t supposed to.”
Rk frowned. “What does that mean?”
Aria stepped closer.
Close enough that her voice dropped to a whisper.
“Nira didn’t die at the lake.”
A pause.
“She died before the trip.”
The room went silent.
Even the air felt heavier.
Rk shook his head. “That’s not possible.”
Aria’s eyes hardened slightly.
“It is… if someone needed her to disappear twice.”
Rk stared at her. “You’re not making sense.”
Aria finally exhaled.
Then said the sentence that changed everything:
“They used her death to cover the first one.”
Silence.
Deep.
Absolute.
Rk whispered, “Who are ‘they’?”
Aria didn’t answer.
Instead, she slowly lifted her sleeve.
A faint mark on her wrist.
A burned symbol.
Half faded.
Rk froze.
He recognized it.
Somewhere deep in his memory.
Not clearly.
But enough.
Aria looked at him.
And for the first time—
There was fear in her voice.
Not of him.
But of what was coming.
“You didn’t just leave Nira behind,” she said quietly.
“You helped hide what happened to her.”
Rk stepped back.
“No… I wouldn’t—”
But his voice cracked.
Because part of him wasn’t sure anymore.
Suddenly—
His phone buzzed.
Again.
Unknown number.
New message.
“Memory threshold reached.”
“Next unlock: ARIA RAHMAN — FULL RECORD.”
Rk looked up instantly.
But Aria was already moving toward the window.
“Wait,” he said.
She didn’t stop.
“Aria!”
She paused.
Just for a second.
Then whispered—
“If you remember everything… you’ll wish you didn’t.”
And then she opened the window.
Rk rushed forward—
But she was gone.
Only her bracelet remained on the floor.
Cracked.
Broken.
And on the screen behind him—
The video started playing again.
But this time—
There was a new figure in the footage.
Standing behind Rk.
Watching.
Smiling.
And the caption appeared:
“You were never alone that night.”
End of Episode 4
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