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Now, Fatima was an engineering major, just like him. She looked at the ghost’s eyes. They weren’t scary. They were tired .

But when the shock faded, Fatima didn't throw the lanyard away. She read the name again. Khalid. Class of 2003. She opened her university’s alumni directory. Khalid Al Mazroui had never graduated. He had vanished during his final project—a survey trip into the Empty Quarter desert.

She opened the laptop again. This time, the website didn’t spin. It opened . store.uaeu

The next morning, she skipped her 8 AM calculus. She walked to the old engineering library, the one they were about to demolish. She found Box #47 in the basement archive. Inside: Khalid’s senior thesis. “Structural Resonance in Desert Wind Towers.”

Her roommate, Aisha, didn’t look up from her organic chemistry textbook. “It’s not broken. It’s testing your patience . It’s the final exam no one told you about.” Now, Fatima was an engineering major, just like him

They found his jeep, but not him.

She clicked submit.

A cold wind blew through her closed window. The overhead light flickered. On her desk, where her coffee mug used to be, lay the lanyard. It was heavy. The ID card read: Khalid Al Mazroui – 2003 – Civil Engineering.