The Vanishing Hour
The Missing Shift
Dr. Neha Verma had worked the night shift at Hospital for
three years. The hospital was usually quiet at night, except for the usual
emergencies. She knew the routine well: check vitals, update charts, calm
patients, drink too much coffee.
One Monday morning, Neha noticed something strange.
Her shift log — the big book where all night staff signed in
and out — had a blank page for Sunday night.
She flipped back. Friday’s page was full. Saturday’s too.
But Sunday night had no names. No notes. Nothing.
Neha frowned. She remembered clearly working that shift.
Checking on patients. Writing notes. Talking to the security guard around 3
a.m. She even remembered spilling tea on her coat. The stain was still there.
She went to the head nurse and asked, “Did anyone work
Sunday night?”
The nurse looked confused. “You didn’t, Dr. Verma. I worked
that night.”
“No, I was here. All night.”
The nurse shrugged. “Maybe you’re mixing up days?”
Neha’s stomach tightened. Something wasn’t right.
Next, she went to the CCTV room to check the recordings from
that night. The operator searched but shook his head.
“All cameras were off Sunday night,” he said. “Power issue.”
Neha knew there had been no power cuts. She checked with the
building manager. No outages reported.
Back in her apartment, Neha looked at her phone. She took
photos of notes and patient charts every night. But all photos from Sunday
night were gone—deleted. Except one blurry picture, taken at 3:12 a.m., showing
an empty patient bed.
The name on the tag was Aditya Rao.
She didn’t know that name.
Neha searched the hospital system. No record of any patient
by that name.
Curious, she searched online and found an old newspaper
article dated six years ago:
"Man disappears from CityCare Hospital during night
shift. CCTV was down. No staff reported working that night."
The man’s name was Aditya Rao.
Neha felt a chill. She took the article to the hospital
director.
He glanced at it briefly and said coldly, “Drop this, Dr.
Verma. We have no reason to reopen old cases.”
“But I was on that shift,” she said.
He looked at her strangely. “No, you weren’t.”
That night, Neha received a call from a private number.
A low voice said, “Stop looking. Or you’ll end up like I
did.”
“Who is this?” she asked.
The voice whispered, “You know who I am.”
Then the line went dead.
The caller ID showed: Aditya Rao.
Neha sat in silence, the phone trembling in her hand.
She didn’t know what to believe anymore.
But one thing was clear:
The missing shift wasn’t just a missing page in a book.
It was a missing truth. And someone wanted it to stay that
way.
“What is erased
can still leave a trace — if you dare to look for it.”
The End
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