It was a cold, misty evening when I checked into The Mist Vale Inn — a quiet, old hotel perched on the edge of a lonely hill in Shimla. The wooden staircase creaked under my steps, chandeliers hung like forgotten memories, and the walls carried faded portraits of strangers long gone.
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡttulntrFp6
At the reception, I signed the guest register.
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJK6DPb6yyh
"Rahul Verma. One night."
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZTt1eGc1XX
The receptionist didn’t smile. He just said,
“Room 304. Third floor.”
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Sl0EHL7kf
I took the key and walked toward the staircase. The silence in the building was unsettling — like the walls were holding their breath.
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1XVRVub385
On the third floor, I found Room 301… then 302… then 303…
And after that — just a blank wall.
No Room 304.
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnWbHjxkzYU
I stood there confused.
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡefVNYLhKDm
I went back downstairs.
“There’s no Room 304. It just… doesn’t exist,” I told the receptionist.
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXunr4nSpUy
He stared at me with hollow eyes.
“Sir, I just gave you the key for 304...”
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2uzQIdEDoz
I looked at the key again.
It clearly said 304 on the brass tag.
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlfsT0ewJxw
I walked back up, this time more slowly. I examined the wall near 303 — and there it was: a faint outline, barely visible.
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP477Pty1yW
I pushed the wall gently, and with a soft click…
A door opened.
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx7SXdBSAs5
The air was stale and damp. The room was dark — no lights, no windows. It smelled of mildew… blood… and something else I couldn’t describe.
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiuaP714RsH
The moment I stepped inside,
the door shut behind me.
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5F9VWHAaJs
I pulled out my phone —
No signal.
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXXIdSQzY7Y
The room had only an old, rusted bed, a broken cupboard, and a yellowed newspaper nailed to the wall.
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9c7V9GcfIs
The headline read:
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3SnIOcF1C3
> “Local boy Rahul Verma murdered in Room 304 of Mist Vale Hotel — body never recovered.”
(Dated: 1997)
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiQTDEPje0j
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl19dRBKmxM
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfJkj0cXPFs
I dropped the newspaper.
That was my name.
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWUJ4IL4Eus
And then…
A whisper from behind me:
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxXbmTyGDX3
"This time… you won't leave."
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpxL1unIrgw
I spun around —
No one.
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHAkV6Draso
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ925W2nGmnt
---
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYoKsfrhLqA
🩸 Twist Ending:
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7VTmEfHLUc
To this day, the reception register at Mist Vale still carries the name:
“Rahul Verma — Room 304”
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMpwBUyA4bQ
And every year, on the same date, someone checks in looking for that room…
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ3lT9oroBb
But they’re never seen again.
460Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6OrT9SZ34e
and then Add to home screen.