My Daughter’s Face in the Wall

My Daughter’s Face in the Wall

Author: Kavya Joshi

Chapter 4: The Old Building

Early the next morning, I returned to the old building. I’d contacted Rohan beforehand—he still lived there, the last resident, preparing to move out. He’d posted the photo to say goodbye, to keep a memory.

The auto dropped me at the gate. When I got downstairs, a wave of fear suddenly washed over me. My feet stopped involuntarily. I stood frozen in front of the stairs, remembering the rusty red railing and that peculiar smell—a mix of incense and dampness.

Seven years ago, I had stood in this exact spot, waiting for Ananya to come down. This place had become a lifelong shadow in my heart... The sunbeams filtering through the grill made dust motes dance, just like before.

Thankfully, Rohan appeared just in time and called out,

"Arre Bhaiya, subah ho gayi! Khana khaya? Amma ne poha banaya hai, chalein?"

His voice snapped me out of it.

"Chalo Bhaiya, woh wall upar hai. Darna mat, kuch nahi hoga!" he said with a weak smile.

He turned to go up, and I hurried after him, my heart thumping, my hands trembling just a little.

We reached the landing between the fourth and fifth floors. Rohan pointed,

"Bhaiya, yahi jagah hai, na?"

I looked up—

The wall was messy, covered with stains and marks. There was indeed one spot that looked like the outline of a face. An old plastic wrapper was stuck nearby, fluttering slightly in the morning breeze.

But it didn’t look nearly as human as in Rohan’s photo, and certainly not like Ananya.

I breathed a sigh of relief. My chest felt lighter, as if some weight had been lifted.

So it was just the angle and lighting that made it look like Ananya in the photo...

It was just my stress playing tricks on me. Maybe all those sleepless nights were finally catching up.

But at that moment, I actually felt a bit disappointed. Maybe I wanted some sign, after all these years.

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