THE 2:17 AM CALL

BEFORE THE CALL...

The first thing Kaira noticed every morning was sunlight.

It slipped through the pale curtains of her hostel room and fell directly across her face.
She pulled the blanket over her head.
"Five more minutes..."
From the other side of the room came a loud voice.
"KAIRA!"
Kaira groaned.
"Please..."
"Get up!"
"I said five minutes."
"You said that twenty minutes ago!"
Kaira slowly opened one eye and looked at the clock.
8:25 AM.
Her eyes widened.
"Oh my God!"
She jumped out of bed.
"Why didn't you wake me earlier?"
Riya stared at her.
"I've been trying to wake you for twenty minutes!"
Kaira grabbed her towel and rushed toward the bathroom.
"Save my seat!"
"Your seat?"
"Yes!"
"In the classroom?"
"Obviously!"
Riya shook her head and laughed.
"You're impossible."
That was how most of their mornings began.
Chaotic.
Loud.
And happy.
Kaira and Riya had been roommates for almost two years. They were completely different, yet somehow they fit together perfectly.
Kaira was adventurous, curious, and always ready to explore something new.
Riya was the sensible one—the girl who carried extra pens, medicines, snacks, chargers, and somehow knew everyone's secrets.
And then there was Arjun.
Their best friend.
The person who could turn even the most boring lecture into something worth laughing about.
The three of them had been inseparable since their first year at Sunshine Soldiers University.
If Kaira was planning something stupid, Arjun encouraged her.
If Arjun did something stupid, Riya stopped him.
And if Riya became too serious, Kaira and Arjun made sure she laughed.
Together, they had created their own little world.
A world made of college lectures, canteen food, late-night conversations, silly arguments, shared secrets, and countless memories.
That morning was no different.
Kaira and Riya rushed through the university corridor and reached their classroom just as Professor Dev was about to close the door.
"Good morning, girls."
They froze.
Kaira smiled nervously.
"Good morning, sir."
"Running late?"
"Not exactly, sir."
Riya looked at her suspiciously.
Kaira continued with complete confidence.
"We were testing our cardiovascular endurance."
The entire class burst into laughter.
Professor Dev stared at her for a moment before shaking his head.
"Sit down."
"Thank you, sir."
They hurried to their seats.
Arjun was already there.
He looked at them and grinned.
"Late again?"
Kaira dropped her bag onto the desk.
"Don't start."
"I didn't say anything."
"You were going to."
Arjun laughed.
"I know you too well."
Riya sat beside them.
"Both of you, shut up. Class has started."
The three tried to concentrate.
They failed within five minutes.
By lunchtime, they were sitting beneath their favorite tree behind the library.
It was their usual spot.
The shade was perfect, the breeze was cool, and hardly anyone came there.
Kaira opened her lunch box.
Arjun immediately reached for it.
She slapped his hand away.
"That's mine!"
"I was just checking."
"With your mouth?"
"Quality testing."
Riya laughed.
"You've been quality testing her food for two years."
"And I haven't died yet."
"Unfortunately," Kaira muttered.
Arjun stole a piece of her food anyway.
Kaira chased him around the tree while Riya laughed so hard that she nearly dropped her lunch.
Those moments felt ordinary.
They didn't know how precious they were.
Because sometimes life doesn't warn you before changing.
Sometimes everything is perfectly normal one moment...
and completely different the next.
That Friday afternoon, the three friends decided to explore the old side of the university.
At the far end of the campus stood an abandoned building.
Block C.
It had been closed for years.
Nobody knew exactly why.
Some students said there had been an accident.
Others said the building had developed serious structural problems.
There were also rumors that students occasionally heard footsteps inside at night.
Arjun didn't believe any of it.
"Ghost stories are for children," he said confidently as they approached the building.
Riya immediately stopped.
"I'm not going any closer."
Arjun turned around.
"Why?"
"Because I have common sense."
Kaira laughed.
"You were the one who said ghosts aren't real."
"They aren't."
"Then why are you scared?"
"I'm not scared."
Riya pointed toward the building.
"Then go."
Arjun went silent.
Kaira laughed.
"Exactly."
They slowly walked toward the entrance.
The old building looked completely different from the rest of the university.
The windows were covered in dust.
The walls were stained from years of rain.
Dry leaves covered the steps.
A thick metal chain hung across the main door.
Kaira looked through the glass.
"It's creepy."
"Let's go," Riya said immediately.
But Kaira noticed something.
The door was slightly open.
She frowned.
"Was that open before?"
Arjun looked at it.
"No."
The three stared at the doorway.
Nobody spoke.
Then—
CLANG.
The chain moved.
Riya grabbed Kaira's arm.
"Did you touch it?"
Kaira shook her head.
Arjun stepped closer.
"Maybe the wind."
"There isn't any wind," Riya whispered.
They stood completely still.
Then came a sound from inside.
Knock.
They looked at each other.
Another.
Knock.
Then a third.
Knock.
Kaira's heart began beating faster.
"Someone's inside."
Arjun pulled out his phone.
"I'll call security."
Before he could dial, Kaira's phone rang.
All three froze.
She looked at the screen.
UNKNOWN NUMBER
Arjun whispered,
"Don't answer."
The phone kept ringing.
Kaira hesitated.
Then curiosity won.
She answered.
"Hello?"
Nothing.
Only silence.
Then she heard breathing.
Slow.
Heavy.
Close.
Kaira's expression changed.
"Who is this?"
A faint voice finally came through.
A whisper.
"Kaira..."
Her blood ran cold.
Nobody had introduced her.
Nobody should have known her name.
She looked at Riya and Arjun.
The voice continued.
"Why did you come back?"
Kaira couldn't breathe.
"Who are you?"
No answer.
Then—
The call ended.
Kaira slowly lowered the phone.
Arjun stared at her.
"What did they say?"
Kaira looked toward the dark entrance of Block C.
"I don't know."
Riya shook her head.
"Tell us."
Kaira swallowed.
"They said... 'Why did you come back?'"
Arjun's face changed.
"What does that mean?"
Before Kaira could answer, her phone vibrated.
A message.
Unknown Number:
You have forgotten what happened here.
Kaira stared at the screen.
Riya moved closer.
"What happened here?"
"I don't know."
Another message appeared.
But I haven't.
The three friends looked at each other.
For the first time that day, nobody was laughing.
Nobody made a joke.
Nobody knew what to say.
Then Arjun looked toward the building.
The doorway was empty.
But just before they turned away, Kaira noticed something lying on the ground near the entrance.
A small photograph.
She picked it up.
It was old and faded.
Three students stood beneath the same tree where Kaira, Riya, and Arjun always ate lunch.
Kaira stared at the photograph.
The first student looked unfamiliar.
The second student looked unfamiliar.
But the third...
Her heart stopped.
The third student looked exactly like Kaira.
Same eyes.
Same smile.
Same face.
On the back of the photograph was a handwritten date.
August 17, 2019.
Kaira slowly turned the photograph over again.
Her hands began to shake.
"Guys..."
Riya looked at her.
"What?"
Kaira pointed toward the photograph.
"I think..."
She couldn't finish the sentence.
Because underneath the date, someone had written four words:
"You promised you'd remember."
And suddenly, from somewhere deep inside the abandoned building...
a phone began to ring.
Tring...
Tring...
Tring...
Kaira looked at her own phone.
It wasn't ringing.
The sound was coming from inside Block C.
The three friends stood frozen.
And none of them noticed the figure watching them from the second-floor window.
A figure that had been waiting for Kaira to return.
For six years.
                                To be continued........