The cold silence spread like fog.
The students stood frozen in shock.
The door that Alina Shezadi, Ayesgul, Gull-e-Amna, and Hooria had just entered… vanished.
Disappeared into thin air.
There was no crack, no frame, not even a trace.
Minha, standing still in the shadows, wore a black mask. Her head slowly tilted.
And then… she smiled.
But it wasn't a normal smile.
It was calm.
Chilling.
Like she already knew.
Zanib Gulzar whispered, "Did that door just… vanish?"
Hijab grabbed her arm. "It's not just the door. It's them. They're gone."
Fatima Noor Malik clutched her pendant. "This place is messing with our minds."
Minha didn't speak. She simply stepped back, melting into the darkness behind her. Like a shadow.
Doorways & Desires
Hamna loudly sighed and sat down on the floor.
Hamna: "Okay, mystery is cool and all, but I'm starving. Like… 'eat-my-own-arm' starving."
Mehk (rolling her eyes): "Don't worry, you'll taste spicy. Too much drama in your blood."
Zanib Aman: "Seriously, Hamna? You're hungry at a time like this?"
Hamna (with a smirk): "I panic-eat. It's either food or my feelings."
Ayesha Rafi (laughing): "Someone get her a ghost with a snack."
Noor ul Huda: "We can't lose focus. Whatever this place is, it's watching us. Testing us."
Zanib Aman (serious tone): "Maybe that's the point. It's not just about surviving... it's about knowing who we are when everything is against us."
Hamna pouted. "Well, I'm a very hungry warrior, apparently."
"Sugar-Coated Lies"
As the group slowly regains composure, they spot a new door glowing gently. Unlike the rest, this one is… colorful. Bright. Covered in swirls of pink, gold, and mint green. A sugary scent floats from under the frame.
Hamna's eyes light up.
Hamna: "Please let this one be a bakery. Or a biryani dimension."
Mehk, Hamna, Ayesha Rafi, Zanib Aman, and Noor ul Huda step closer.
Zanib Aman looks back. "Ready?"
Noor ul Huda nods. "Let's find out where this one takes us."
They push the door.
It swings open… and instantly—
The world changes.
They are now standing in the Candy Land.
Mountains of chocolate, rivers of jelly, cotton-candy clouds above them.
Cupcakes as tall as trees. A path made of marshmallows.
Hamna faints dramatically. "I'm home."
But behind the sweetness, something strange moves under the candy soil… watching them.
There's no sun, but shadows fall… and stretch.
Noor ul Huda takes a photo. The camera doesn't capture candy.
It captures… bones.