Raat ab poori tarah Bhangarh ke qile par chaa chuki thi. Andhera itna gehra tha ki flashlight ke bina kuch bhi dekhna mushkil tha.
Aisha aur Kabir dono mandir ke bahar khade the. Abhi-abhi jo awaaz unhone suni thi, usne unke dil ki dhadkan tez kar di thi.
"Tumne bhi suna na?" Aisha ne dheere se pucha.
Kabir ne haan me sir hilaya, lekin usne himmat dikhane ki koshish ki.
"Shayad koi prank kar raha hai."
Aisha ne gusse me kaha,
"Yahan kaun prank karega? Yeh jagah toh saalon se khali hai."
Hawa achanak aur tez chalne lagi. Mandir ke darwaze se "krrr… krrr…" ki awaaz aayi, jaise koi purani lakdi dheere-dheere hil rahi ho.
Kabir ne flashlight andar daali.
Mandir ke andar ek purani murti thi, jo aadhi toot chuki thi. Deewar par purane likhe hue nishaan the.
Aisha ne dheere se kaha,
"Mujhe lagta hai humein yahan se chale jana chahiye."
Kabir kuch bolta, usse pehle hi unhone peeche se footsteps ki awaaz suni.
Is baar awaaz bilkul paas thi.
Dono ne ek saath mud kar dekha.
Flashlight ki roshni pathron par padi… lekin wahan koi nahi tha.
Aisha ka dil zor-zor se dhadakne laga.
"Yeh normal nahi hai," usne kaha.
Kabir ne kaha,
"Shayad koi jaanwar ho."
Lekin usi waqt zameen par padi dhool me naye footsteps ke nishaan dikhai diye.
Aur sabse ajeeb baat…
Wo nishaan khud-ba-khud ban rahe the.
Jaise koi invisible cheez chal rahi ho.
Aisha ka muh khul gaya.
"Kabir… dekh!"
Footprints dheere-dheere unki taraf aa rahe the.
Ek…
Do…
Teen…
Kabir ne ghabra kar flashlight seedha un par daal di.
Aur achanak footprints ruk gaye.
Kuch seconds tak sab kuch bilkul khamosh ho gaya.
Sirf hawa ki awaaz.
Kabir ne dheere se kaha,
"Chalo… yahan se nikalte hain."
Dono tezi se qile ke bahar ki taraf chalne lage.
Raasta patla aur tedha-medha tha. Andhere me purane mahal aur deewarein ajeeb saaye bana rahi thi.
Aisha ko lag raha tha jaise koi peeche-peeche chal raha ho.
Usne peeche mud kar dekha.
Flashlight ki roshni me sirf khali raasta tha.
Lekin phir…
Usne ek lambi si parchai dekhi.
Ek second ke liye.
Parchai deewar par hil rahi thi… lekin wahan koi insaan nahi tha.
Aisha chillayi,
"Kabir!"
Kabir turant mud gaya.
"Kya hua?"
"Wahan… wahan koi tha!"
Kabir ne flashlight deewar par daali.
Ab wahan kuch bhi nahi tha.
Achanak Kabir ka phone vibrate hua.
Usne screen dekhi.
Signal bilkul nahi tha… phir bhi ek unknown message aaya tha.
Message me sirf ek line likhi thi:
"Tumhe mana kiya tha… raat hone ke baad yahan mat rukna."
Kabir ka chehra safed pad gaya.
"Yeh… kisne bheja?"
Aisha ne phone pakad kar dekha.
Uska dil ek pal ke liye ruk gaya.
Message ke neeche ek aur line likhi thi…
"Ab tum dono ko bhi wahi dekhna padega… jo sabne dekha tha."
Usi waqt qile ke andar se ek tez cheekh ki awaaz aayi.
Aisi cheekh jo kisi insaan ki lag rahi thi…
Lekin usme kuch ajeeb aur darawana tha.
Aisha aur Kabir dono jam gaye.
Phir dheere-dheere qile ke sabse bade mahal ki taraf se ek safed saaya bahar aata hua nazar aaya.
Wo saaya seedha unki taraf badh raha tha.
Aur is baar…
Wo gayab nahi hua.
Kabir ne dheere se kaha,
"Aisha… bhaago."
Lekin Aisha hil bhi nahi pa rahi thi.
Kyunki ab usse saaf nazar aa raha tha…
Us saaye ka chehra hi nahi tha.
Sirf ek khali andhera.
Aur phir wo awaaz dobara goonji—
"Ab tum yahan se kabhi nahi jaa paoge…"
To be continued… 👻