Chapter 1 The tenant
The first night in the apartment was uneventful.
At least, that was what Arjun told himself.
He spent most of the evening unpacking books and arranging them on a small wooden shelf near the bed. Psychology textbooks filled most of the space—titles about cognition, perception, hallucinations, and the human subconscious.
Subjects he trusted.
Subjects that explained fear.
By midnight the apartment was silent except for the ticking wall clock in the living room.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Arjun lay on the bed scrolling through his phone before finally turning off the lights.
The bedroom sank into darkness.
Except for one thing.
The mirror.
Moonlight slipped through the curtains and fell directly onto its surface, turning it into a pale rectangle in the darkness.
Arjun noticed it immediately.
He turned on his side so he wouldn’t have to look at it.
But something about it bothered him.
Mirrors weren’t supposed to stand like that in bedrooms. Most people mounted them on walls or placed them in bathrooms.
This one simply leaned there… as if it had been watching the room long before he arrived.
“Stop it,” he muttered.
His mind was clearly reacting to the rumors.
Classic suggestion effect.
He closed his eyes.
Minutes passed.
Then an hour.
Sleep slowly crept over him.
And that’s when he heard it.
A faint sound.
Tap.
Arjun’s eyes opened.
He lay still.
The room was silent again.
He waited.
Nothing.
Probably the building settling.
He shut his eyes again.
Tap.
This time he sat up.
The sound had come from the mirror.
Arjun turned on the bedside lamp.
The room flooded with warm yellow light.
Everything looked normal.
The mirror stood where it had been before.
His reflection stared back calmly.
Arjun walked closer.
“Loose frame,” he murmured.
Maybe the wood expanded in the night air.
He pushed the mirror slightly.
It didn’t move.
Solid.
Strangely solid.
Arjun leaned closer.
For a moment he stared directly into his reflection’s eyes.
And something strange happened.
The reflection blinked.
But Arjun hadn’t.
He froze.
His brain immediately began searching for explanations.
Eye fatigue.
Delayed perception.
Neurological lag between stimulus and awareness.
Yes.
That had to be it.
He stepped back and laughed nervously.
“Too much studying.”
Arjun switched off the light again and returned to bed.
But he kept his back to the mirror.
And for the rest of the night…
He could swear someone was watching him sleep.
