Blurry Faces

The night thirteen-year-old Tara Malhotra’s body was found in the storm drain, the city fell silent. Her body was bruised, washed by rain, and her face was blurred—as if the world itself refused to remember her.

For three days, Inspector Arjun Mehta searched for answers.
None came.

Until an unmarked envelope slid under his office door at 3:17 a.m.

Inside were photos from a house-party Tara attended the night she went missing. Every face in every picture was blurred—distorted in unnatural ways, as if erased. But Tara was visible in one frame, staring at the camera with terrified eyes.

At the bottom of that photo was a message:

“You forgot me first.”

Arjun immediately thought of one person—Rehan Malik, a quiet boy, brilliant with digital manipulation. Rumours once said he could “edit people out of existence.” And three years ago, his sister Aisha had died under mysterious circumstances… at a party where Tara had also been present.

But Rehan insisted he hadn’t touched those photos.
And Arjun saw fear in his eyes, not guilt.

That same night, as Arjun examined the blurred images, a soft whisper filled the room.

“Please… remember me.”

It was Tara’s voice.

He followed the sound to the abandoned playground behind the school—the same place where Aisha Malik had collapsed years ago. There, the air grew colder, and a faint figure appeared near the rusted shed. Her face flickered like a dying candle flame.

“Tara?” he whispered.

Her spirit nodded.

“I lied,” she said.

And the past opened like a wound.

---

Three Years Earlier — Aisha’s Death

Aisha Malik, twelve, shy and gentle, had been invited to a birthday party by girls who didn’t truly like her. Tara was among them—popular, loud, the leader of their little circle.

They played a cruel game, The Dare Wall.
Aisha hated dares, but Tara pushed her.

“Don’t be dramatic,” Tara had said. “Just go.”

The dare: walk to the abandoned shed at night—dark, dusty, full of mold.

Aisha begged.
They mocked.
And Tara shoved her forward.

Aisha went inside.

Minutes later, she suffered a fatal asthma attack in the choking dust. By the time they found her, she was gone.

When the investigation began, Tara lied.

“She went in on her own,” Tara had said.
“She wasn’t forced.”

That lie destroyed Rehan’s family.
And Tara never forgave herself.

---

Back to the Present — Tara’s Murder

Tara’s spirit trembled as she spoke.

“I wanted to tell the truth… but someone else didn’t.”

Arjun pieced the clues together.
Tara had tried to confess to Aisha’s mother days before her death.

Someone overheard.

Someone who feared Tara’s confession would reopen the case and expose their role in the cruel dares three years ago.

That someone was Naina, Tara’s closest friend—and the girl who initially invented The Dare Wall. Her family reputation, her perfect image, everything depended on keeping that night buried.

Naina had lured Tara away at the party, confronted her behind the house, and pushed her into the drainage pit during an argument.

Tara didn’t die immediately. She struggled, tried to climb out, and scratched the cement with her nails.

Arjun found it the next morning.

On the broken concrete:

N A I…
Tara’s final message.

---

Justice

When confronted, Naina broke down.

“She was going to ruin everything,” she screamed.
“She was going to tell them about Aisha!”

But Tara’s spirit finally stood still.
Her face—no longer blurry.

Rehan, though grieving, was not the killer.
He was another victim of that terrible night years ago.

As Naina was taken away, Tara whispered:

“Now you remember.”

And with that, her spirit dissolved into the morning light—
free at last.