For several seconds, neither Meera nor I moved.
The abandoned monitor continued flickering in the darkness of Room 309. Dust floated through the weak light coming from the screen, while thunder rumbled outside the old building.
On the monitor, only two words remained visible.
Recorded by Aisha Khan.
My breathing became uneven.
Meera's fingers tightened around my hand.
Neither of us spoke.
Because somewhere deep inside, both of us knew—
Nothing would ever be the same after this.
Slowly, I sat down in front of the computer.
The file had no date.
No duration.
No name.
Just one word.
Goodbye.
My hand hovered over the mouse.
And suddenly—
Fear.
Not fear of what I would see.
Fear of losing her again.
Because for the first time since this nightmare had begun, Aisha no longer felt like a stranger.
She felt real.
Human.
Someone who had loved us enough to disappear.
Meera knelt beside me.
Her eyes were red.
"Arjun…"
She smiled sadly.
"I think she's been waiting for this."
I looked at her.
"You knew."
Meera lowered her head.
"I remembered small things."
"What things?"
She hesitated.
"Dreams."
I stared at her.
"Dreams?"
She nodded.
"For three years."
"I thought they were just grief."
Her voice trembled.
"But sometimes… she would appear."
Thunder echoed outside.
"She used to sit beside me."
A tear rolled down her cheek.
"And every time I cried… she would tell me something."
"What?"
Meera closed her eyes.
"'Don't hate him.'"
My chest tightened painfully.
"'He chose pain because he loved too deeply.'"
Another tear escaped her eyes.
"'And when he comes back… tell him I never blamed him.'"
Silence.
The room suddenly felt too small.
Too heavy.
Three years.
For three years…
A dead girl had been comforting the girl I loved.
Not asking for anything.
Not blaming anyone.
Just waiting.
I looked at the screen again.
Then finally—
I clicked the file.
Static.
A few seconds of darkness.
And then—
A young woman appeared.
Long black hair.
Bright eyes.
And a smile that somehow felt painfully familiar.
Aisha.
Not the broken version I'd seen.
Not the sad figure from Room 309.
She looked alive.
Happy.
And beautiful.
She waved awkwardly toward the camera.
"Okay… this feels weird."
She laughed softly.
And somehow—
Hearing her laugh made tears gather in my eyes.
Because something inside me recognized it.
"Arjun."
Her smile softened.
"If you're watching this… then either I failed terribly…"
She laughed again.
"Or things became much worse than I hoped."
She looked tired.
But peaceful.
And then she turned serious.
"If Meera is beside you right now…"
Meera froze.
"...then thank God."
Tears streamed down Meera's face.
Because Aisha looked directly into the camera and smiled.
"You stubborn idiot."
Meera broke completely.
She covered her mouth, sobbing quietly.
And even through her tears, she smiled.
Because somehow—
Aisha still knew her.
Still understood her.
The video continued.
"By now, both of you probably hate yourselves."
"Please don't."
Aisha shook her head immediately.
"None of this happened because you were weak."
"Love makes people do stupid things."
She smiled gently.
"And honestly… we were all idiots."
Despite everything—
Meera laughed through her tears.
I laughed too.
And suddenly, for the first time in years…
Room 309 didn't feel haunted.
It felt alive.
Filled with memories.
Filled with her.
Aisha's expression grew serious again.
"There are some things you need to know."
My heartbeat quickened.
"The accident wasn't an accident."
Meera and I exchanged shocked looks.
"Dr. Raghav didn't create Project Echo."
"He inherited it."
The screen flickered.
"And he wasn't the most dangerous person involved."
A chill ran down my spine.
"Someone else funded the project."
Someone else?
"Someone powerful."
Aisha's smile disappeared completely.
"And they still exist."
Thunder exploded outside.
"They wanted memories."
"Not because they wanted to cure trauma."
"But because memories can control people."
"They wanted to replace pain."
"Replace loyalty."
"Replace love."
"They wanted to create perfect obedience."
I felt sick.
Everything suddenly became darker.
Bigger.
This wasn't just about us anymore.
Project Echo had never been an experiment.
It had been a weapon.
Aisha continued.
"After discovering the truth, I copied everything."
Files.
Research.
Names.
Evidence.
"I hid them somewhere."
My pulse quickened.
Where?
"Arjun."
Her eyes softened.
"You know the place."
"What?"
"You just forgot."
Of course.
Another memory.
Another missing piece.
Aisha smiled sadly.
"And that's okay."
"Because I know you'll remember."
Her eyes became watery.
And suddenly—
She looked directly into the camera.
Not at me.
At Meera.
"Take care of him."
Meera burst into tears.
Aisha smiled.
"He always forgets to eat when he's stressed."
"He drinks coffee instead of sleeping."
"And he pretends he's fine even when he's falling apart."
Meera laughed weakly through her tears.
"Idiot…"
Then Aisha looked back at me.
And for the first time—
There was sadness in her eyes.
Real sadness.
"Arjun…"
"I know what you're thinking."
"No."
"Don't blame yourself."
"You loved me."
"You loved Meera."
"You tried to save everyone."
"And that's enough."
Tears blurred my vision.
"No…"
Her voice trembled now.
"And please…"
"Don't spend the rest of your life looking backward."
She smiled.
The same smile I'd seen in dreams.
"Live."
"Fall in love."
"Get married."
"Grow old."
"Be happy."
"Okay?"
I broke.
Completely.
Because somehow—
Even after death—
Aisha's final wish wasn't to be remembered.
It was for us to live.
And then—
Her smile became mischievous.
"And Arjun."
I looked up through my tears.
"If you make Meera cry again…"
She pointed at the camera.
"I'm haunting you."
Meera burst out laughing.
And despite everything—
So did I.
For a few precious seconds—
It felt like all three of us were together again.
Then Aisha became quiet.
Very quiet.
Tears filled her eyes.
"I think…"
She whispered softly.
"I'm tired."
My heart stopped.
"No…"
"Thank you."
"For loving me."
"For giving me a home."
"For letting me be part of your story."
She wiped her tears.
And smiled one final time.
"Goodbye."
The video ended.
Darkness returned.
Silence filled Room 309.
Meera cried quietly beside me.
And I sat there, unable to move.
Because for the first time in three years—
I understood something.
Aisha had never stayed because she couldn't leave.
She had stayed because we weren't ready.
And now—
She had finally said goodbye.
But just as I reached toward the keyboard—
The computer screen suddenly flickered again.
A new file appeared.
One that definitely hadn't been there before.
Neither Meera nor I had touched anything.
No one had.
And yet—
There it was.
A black file.
With today's date.
And only one sentence written beneath it.
"They're watching you."
And attached to it—
Was a photograph.
Taken less than one hour ago.
A photograph of me and Meera.
Standing inside Room 309.