Episode 1: Present, Sir
The first day after summer break was always chaotic.
Students talked loudly. Desks scraped against the floor. The classroom buzzed with excitement as everyone shared stories about their vacations.
Mr. Sharma stood at the front of Class 11-B, waiting for the noise to settle.
When it finally did, he picked up the attendance sheet.
"Let's begin."
One by one, he called the names.
"Aditya?"
"Present, sir."
"Ananya?"
"Present, sir."
The routine continued.
Nothing unusual.
Nothing strange.
Just another ordinary morning.
Mr. Sharma reached the end of the list.
Then he frowned.
There was a name he didn't remember seeing before.
He adjusted his glasses and looked at the sheet again.
Maybe the administration had transferred a new student into the class.
It happened sometimes.
Without thinking much about it, he called the name.
"Roll Number 41... Aryan?"
A voice answered immediately.
"Present, sir."
The classroom fell silent.
Mr. Sharma looked up.
Forty students stared back at him.
Forty faces.
Forty desks.
Forty students.
Yet someone had answered.
Slowly, he counted the rows.
Then counted again.
Forty.
Only forty.
A nervous laugh escaped him.
"Very funny. Who said that?"
Nobody replied.
The students exchanged confused looks.
Some looked genuinely frightened.
Mr. Sharma glanced back at the attendance sheet.
The name was still there.
Aryan Mehta. Roll Number 41.
A student who wasn't supposed to exist.
And for a brief moment...
Mr. Sharma could have sworn he saw someone sitting in the last seat near the window.
A boy.
Watching him.
Then he blinked.
The seat was empty.
To be continued...
