The Dormitory's Phantom Picture: A Ghost Story of the Lost

The cold night air seeped through the gaps of the ancient dormitory windows, casting long, eerie shadows on the faded walls. Inside, a group of university students, diverse and lively, gathered in the dimly lit common room, their laughter mingling with the distant echo of their footsteps. Among them was the quiet but determined Liu, a fresh graduate who had just moved into the dormitory, and the inquisitive Xiao, who was eager to uncover the secrets hidden within the walls of their new home.

As Xiao flipped through the thick, dusty dormitory directory, a name caught her eye: Liang, the previous student who had vanished without a trace. “Have you heard any stories about Liang?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Liu shook his head, his eyes reflecting the shadows. “No, but the dormitory has a reputation. Some say it's haunted.”

The dormitory was one of the oldest on campus, a relic of the university's early days. Its exterior, a patchwork of weathered brick and peeling paint, belied the mysteries that lay within. Xiao had seen a peculiar photograph tacked to the wall in the hallway leading to the dormitory rooms, a black and white image of a figure shrouded in mist, with a cryptic caption: “The Lost.” It was a chilling reminder of the dormitory's past, and the fate of those who had lived there before them.

As the days passed, the students began to notice strange occurrences. A door that creaked shut by itself, the sound of footsteps in the empty hallways, and the feeling of being watched. Liu, determined to uncover the truth, convinced Xiao to investigate further. They returned to the photograph in the hallway, its edges worn and yellowed.

“Who was this person?” Xiao asked, pointing to the figure in the photograph.

“I don't know,” Liu replied, “but there's something about him. He looks lost, like he's searching for something.”

They spent hours poring over the directory, searching for any mention of Liang, but there was nothing. Liu decided to visit the library, hoping to find a record of the student. It was there, amidst the stacks of old textbooks and journals, that they stumbled upon a peculiar volume: “The Dormitory's Phantom Picture.”

The book detailed the mysterious events surrounding the dormitory and Liang's disappearance. According to the stories, Liang had been seen wandering the halls, searching for something he couldn't quite find. Some believed he was looking for a lost friend, while others thought he had been driven mad by the dormitory's malevolent spirit.

The book mentioned the photograph, and how it had been taken just before Liang's disappearance. It was said that the figure in the photograph was a ghostly representation of Liang's lost soul, searching for answers to the mystery that haunted him.

Determined to solve the puzzle, Liu and Xiao began to piece together the clues. They spoke to the older students who had lived in the dormitory before them, each one sharing a story that seemed to fit into the larger narrative. They discovered that the dormitory had been built on the site of an old, abandoned asylum, and that many of the former patients had met with tragic ends.

As the days went by, the strange occurrences in the dormitory grew more frequent and intense. One night, Xiao awoke to find the photograph of the ghostly figure lying on her bed. She had never seen the photograph before, and it was as if it had appeared out of thin air.

Liu and Xiao knew they were running out of time. They had to find a way to break the curse before it claimed another victim. They returned to the library, searching for any mention of the lost soul's origin. It was there, in a hidden corner of the book, that they found the key to the mystery.

The photograph was a talisman, a beacon for the lost soul. By uncovering the truth, they could release him from his tormented existence. With renewed determination, Liu and Xiao set out to uncover the identity of the lost soul.

Their investigation led them to an old, abandoned asylum in the nearby town. There, they found a forgotten journal belonging to one of the asylum's patients, a man named Wang. Wang had been a patient at the asylum for years, driven mad by the horrors he had witnessed. He had believed that he had been haunted by a spirit, a manifestation of his own despair and madness.

As Liu and Xiao read through Wang's journal, they discovered that he had been searching for a lost friend, much like Liang. It was Wang who had taken the photograph, hoping to capture the spirit of his friend and bring him back to the world of the living.

Realizing that the photograph was a relic of Wang's despair, Liu and Xiao returned to the dormitory, intent on destroying the talisman. As they approached the photograph, a cold wind swept through the hallways, and the shadows seemed to come alive.

The photograph flickered, and a voice echoed through the empty rooms, “Help me find peace.”

Liu and Xiao exchanged a glance, then approached the photograph. They reached out, their fingers brushing against the cold glass. In that moment, they felt the weight of the lost soul's burden lifting from their shoulders.

The photograph shattered into a thousand pieces, and the dormitory fell silent. The students who had vanished began to return, each one looking more at peace than they had before. Liu and Xiao stood in the hallway, watching as the lost souls found their way back to the world of the living.

The dormitory's curse had been broken, and the lost souls had been set free. Liu and Xiao had succeeded in their quest to uncover the truth and bring peace to the dormitory. They had learned a valuable lesson about the power of compassion and the importance of facing one's fears.

The Dormitory's Phantom Picture had been a haunting reminder of the past, but it had also brought a new beginning to the dormitory. Liu and Xiao had become the guardians of the lost souls, ensuring that they would never be forgotten again.