The rule
Mohan's first night as a security guard at Sapphire Tower began with a warning.
The old guard, Pandey ji, handed him the keys and the torch. Then he held on to Mohan's hand a little too long.
"One rule," Pandey ji said. "This building has twelve floors. If the lift ever stops at thirteen, don't step out. Don't look out. Just press the ground floor button and wait."
Mohan laughed. "Thirteen? There's no button for thirteen."
"No," said Pandey ji. "There isn't."
He didn't laugh back. He picked up his bag and walked out of the gate fast, like a man who had been waiting a long time to leave. He didn't look back once.
Mohan shook his head. Old men and their stories.
The job was easy. Every two hours he took the lift up to the twelfth floor, then walked down floor by floor, checking that the office doors were locked. The building was empty at night. Just him, the hum of the lights, and the lift.
For six nights, nothing happened.