Hello Steemians! I am excited to share my entry for Week 3 of the Steemit Challenge Season 24 under Team Wordsmiths "The Last Photo". The prompt of this week truly Fascinated me in a lost photographer, a mysterious hut in the forest, And a final petrified image that changes everything.

Now I continue the story with mystery, emotion, and a touch of the supernatural. I hope you really like entry, so let's start

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^{Generated From AI}

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The Last Photo

The night Nadeesha disappeared, her brother Kavin had not slept a second. He just stared at the last picture on her camera. His heart was pounding in his chest. The hut in the picture made no sense, no one had mentioned anything like it being there. And the figure standing in its doorway.

That figure was not just long but It also looked wrong and Its limbs were also too long, its clothing was rupture or torn like old skin, and it was hunched in a way that made Kavin's stomach twist. Like it should not exist.

Most of the villagers were already mourning her. They said she was lost or worse. After all, the forest was no place to wander alone.

But his brother Kavin knew better her. Nadeesha was not reckless. She told someone at every time she changed her usual route. She planned, packed, and always respected the wild. Something had happened, but it was not an accident.

After three days search teams gave up, Kavin packed a little a compass, a pocketknife, water and his camera. The image haunted him. Using GPS tags in his shots, he traced its footsteps in untouched parts of the forest.

The deeper Kavin went, the everything became quieter. No birds and no leaves rustling even no insects. Just silence as if the trees were waiting.

Then he saw the hut.

It hunched under the tangled vines, leaning slightly to one side as if it had been there for centuries. The door was open.

No footsteps, no sound and Kavin walked inside the hut.

The was almost empty from inside, no furniture, no sign of life. Except for one thing, A mirror

Long, crooked, its frame made of bark and thorns. But the reflection? Kavin understand it was not of the hut. Mirror showed a silent lake, silver in the moon light. And there are, on the bank, stood the river yes it's Nadeesha.

She looked very peaceful and comfortable.

Nadeesha raised her hands and although no sound came out from mirror, Kavin could see his lips forming his name.

Kavin moved closer to mirror, his fingers brushing the glass.

I’m coming, he whispered.

The mirror sparkled. His reflection fluttered and disappeared..

Kavin was never seen again.

The village was once again in mourning. Two lives were lost in the forest.

But Riya, (nadeesha and Kavin's cousin), could not let her rest. Riya was not a dreamer girl like Nadeesha or a stubborn like Kavin, Riya was logically trained in code and data best in software engineer. But even she could not deny what she saw when she plugged in Nadeesha memory card.

Buried in the file system was a short video clip. There was no sound. Just Nadeesha was standing in front of the hut, a tall figure slowly emerging. For a moment she looked frightened. Then the next moment her face changed. As if she knew something. As if she recognized to each other.

Then the screen went black. Riya did not hesitate. She had to go. But not as ready as they were.

He packed smart: his GoPro, his DSLR, a red lanyard for the return, and a small pouch filled with his grandmother's old charm ashes and feathers, said to protect him from the spirits of the forest.

Riya took her a day to reach the hut. And when he saw the hut, it was as if the picture had come to life.

Inside, the mirror awaited.

And this time, both Nadeesha and Kavin stood inside it. They looked completely presentable, Happy and not trapped, not scared.

Just... somewhere else.

Then riya saw the same figure again, tall and still, watching them from a distance. Riya's hand leaned against the mirror. But riya did not touch the mirror.

Riya said No loudly. “Not yet.”

She turned and followed her red cord out of the forest. When Riya back in village, no one believed on riya. Some from villagers called it a trick, a hoax. Then the old people whispered again about the hidden lake, about spirits that do not harm but lure, about a place beyond the forest where the lost might live.

Riya never returned to the hut and she never needed to. Some mysteries are not meant to be solved and riya realized this, they are meant to be remembered. There was a picture on her wall, hidden from her last visit. The mirror shining softly, her cousins ​​smiling behind the glass.

Riya never met her cousin's again, but in every picture he took after that day, Riya sometimes wondered if the same people behind the lens were now holding him instead.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I hope you really like my Story.

At the end I would like to invite @chant, @sualeha and @faran-nabeel to participate in this challenge.

Wishing you all writers the best of luck in this prompt challenge! Stay creative and keep dreaming.

Best Regards,
Abdul Sameer