Chapter 5 – The Fire That Never Died

The night after Anaya’s message, Aarav Sharma couldn’t sleep.

Each time he closed his eyes, he saw her standing in that classroom — not like a ghost meant to haunt, but like someone trapped in a memory, asking for release.

Her words echoed in his mind:

“You’ll find him where it all ended.”

But where had it ended?

Everyone said the fire in the old science lab was the end. Yet somehow, it felt like that was only the beginning.

---

A Plan in the Rain

Next morning, clouds covered the sky again. It had been raining on and off for days — as if the weather itself refused to move on from that night a decade ago.

Rohit groaned as he entered class, his uniform half-wet.

“Bro, the principal says the back side of the old building’s being demolished next week,” he said between bites of samosa. “Finally, no more ghost stories.”

Aarav froze. “Demolished?”

Nisha looked at him sharply. “That means if something’s still there — letters, evidence, anything — it’ll be gone forever.”

Aarav’s mind raced. “We go tonight. Before it’s too late.”

Rohit’s eyes widened. “We? You mean you and your ghost girlfriend!”

“Shut up,” Nisha snapped. “If you’re scared, stay home.”

“I’m terrified, but I’m still coming,” Rohit muttered. “You’ll need someone to scream first.”

---

The Return to the Lab

By evening, the rain had slowed to a drizzle. The three of them sneaked in through the back gate, flashlights tucked under their jackets. The broken boards over the science block entrance creaked like old bones.

Inside, the air smelled faintly of burnt chemicals — even after ten years.

Every wall bore black marks where flames had once danced. Metal tables stood rusted and broken, glass beakers melted into strange shapes. It wasn’t just a classroom anymore. It was a tomb.

“Over there,” Aarav whispered, pointing toward the back wall. “That’s where the circuit board used to be.”

They stepped closer. The floor was cracked, covered with old ashes. Nisha bent down, running her fingers through the dust — and gasped.

Embedded in the floor was a half-burnt notebook.

Aarav knelt beside her. “It survived the fire?”

They opened it carefully. Most pages were unreadable, but one near the middle was still intact.

At the top, written in neat cursive, were the words:

> “Experiment: Static Energy Conduction (Joint Project: A.D. & R.M.)”

Below it — a scribbled note in a different handwriting.

> “Don’t do it tonight. The wires aren’t safe.”

— R.

Nisha looked up. “He warned her…”

“And she didn’t listen,” Aarav whispered.

Lightning flashed outside, illuminating the room — and for an instant, a figure stood near the doorway.

“Did you see that?” Rohit hissed.

But when Aarav turned, no one was there.

Only the rain.

---

A Hidden Room

They continued searching, moving toward the back storage area that had collapsed during the fire.

Something caught Nisha’s eye — a faint draft near the old cupboard.

“Wait,” she said. “There’s a gap behind this wall.”

Together, they pushed the cupboard aside. Behind it was a narrow wooden door, half-burned, half-hidden under soot. Aarav forced it open, coughing as dust filled the air.

Inside was a small room — untouched since the fire. A single wooden desk, a chair, and on the wall, a charred photo frame still hanging.

Aarav raised the flashlight.

The picture showed two smiling students in lab coats — Anaya Deshmukh and Raghav Mehta.

Rohit muttered, “Damn, they were really close.”

Under the photo, etched into the wood in faint knife marks, were the words:

> “Forever, even beyond time.”

Suddenly, Nisha’s flashlight flickered. “Aarav…” she whispered. “Do you feel that?”

The temperature dropped sharply. Their breath turned to mist. From somewhere deep within the room came a faint humming — like an old generator struggling to start.

Then came a voice.

Soft. Familiar. Broken.

> “It wasn’t his fault.”

The three froze.

The photo frame fell to the floor and cracked.

The voice came again, closer.

> “He tried to save me. But the fire… it took us both.”

Aarav turned slowly — and there she was.

Anaya stood in front of the desk, her face lit by the flickering light. Her eyes were filled not with anger but with pain — the kind that lingers long after death.

Aarav stepped forward. “Anaya… tell me what happened.”

She looked at him, trembling. “We wanted to prove something — a new way to conduct static energy. But the wires weren’t grounded properly. There was a spark. Raghav tried to pull me back… and then everything went dark.”

Nisha whispered, “Then how did he survive?”

Anaya’s lips trembled. “He didn’t. Not completely.”

Aarav frowned. “What do you mean?”

But before she could answer, the sound of thunder tore through the building — and the ghost’s image shattered like smoke.

The flashlights went out.

And from outside, through the rain and darkness, came the faint echo of a man’s voice:

> “Anaya…”

---

The Visitor

The next day, the school was abuzz with activity — construction workers had arrived to start clearing the old science block.

But Aarav wasn’t in class. Neither was Nisha.

They stood near the boundary wall, watching as the first slabs of debris were lifted away. Among the workers stood a man in his late twenties, quiet, with tired eyes and a familiar face.

Nisha whispered, “That’s him. That’s Raghav.”

Aarav’s chest tightened. “You’re sure?”

She nodded. “He asked the site supervisor for permission to visit before demolition. Said he used to work here.”

Aarav took a deep breath and walked toward him.

Raghav turned as Aarav approached, his eyes curious. “You’re a student here?”

“Yes, sir,” Aarav said softly. “I found something that belonged to you.”

He pulled the bracelet from his pocket — the same one he’d found near the lab weeks ago. The one that once belonged to Anaya.

Raghav froze. His eyes widened, then softened with grief. He took the bracelet in shaking hands.

“I thought this was lost forever,” he murmured. “It was hers.”

Aarav hesitated. “She… she’s still here. She’s been trying to tell you something.”

Raghav’s breath caught. “I’ve felt it. Every time I close my eyes. The fire… her voice. I stayed here because I couldn’t leave her behind.”

He turned toward the half-demolished building, eyes glistening. “I just wanted her to forgive me.”

At that moment, the wind shifted — warm and gentle. A single ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds and fell directly on the spot where they stood.

Aarav felt a strange calm pass over him.

Then, faintly — like a whisper carried by the wind — came her voice again:

> “I already did.”

Raghav closed his eyes, tears streaming down his face. The bracelet in his hand shimmered faintly — then broke apart into tiny particles of light, fading into the air.

For a long time, no one spoke.

Finally, Nisha said softly, “Maybe now, the fire can finally rest.”

Aarav nodded. But deep inside, he couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t truly over — that there was still something left unsaid.

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