There, A Picture

The people around me were crying. Some silently, some openly sobbing. No matter where I looked, I saw people with faces contorted in sadness.

I started walking forward. When people saw me, they moved aside and made a path for me.

When I made it to the front, the center of the commotion, I saw a man.

He was sleeping peacefully in a bed of grass and flowers.

The tears I was holding burst forth and I couldn't stop myself from approaching him. But I can't touch him. There's no point when he wouldn't be able to feel my touch anymore.

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One day, a group of strangers arrived at my doorstep. Two men and a lady.

They introduced themselves to me. The man with green eyes is Marcus, the taller man is Jacob, and the woman is Hailey.

They were all quite tall, taller than me. They looked intimidating, being so much larger compared to me but they were very kind.

At noon when they arrived, we had lunch together and the lady offered to wash the dishes for me. I didn't want the guests to do my chores but she insisted on it and I couldn't say anything back.

In the afternoon, they helped me clean up the place. It was getting quite dusty and I was thinking of doing a little cleaning anyway.

In the middle of cleaning though, I lost balance and fell off the chair while reaching for something on top of a high shelf.

I don't remember what I was trying to reach for.

They immediately rushed over to me, trying to tell me something but I couldn't hear them.

They eventually let me be when they saw that I was fine.

When it came nighttime, the lady and I were sitting at the dining area, the two men nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, the lights went off.

I almost screamed. I wanted to. But before I could, the lights went back on and a cake was set in front of me. It was a small and simple, one-layered chocolate cake. It was my favorite. I remember always celebrating my birthday with something like this.

But I couldn't help but feel that something was missing.

I looked to my left. No one was there. Is there supposed to be someone there?

"...Don't worry. Even now, father is still watching over us"

The taller boy spoke up.

"Who...?"

They all looked at each other. I looked back at each of them with confusion. Who are they talking about?

The man with green eyes looked at me and smiled bitterly.

The taller man was hanging his head low.

The woman had tears in her eyes, threatening to roll down her face.

After the strange event, everyone composed themselves and the night went on with no more special events.

When the morning came, they said their goodbyes to me and left.

Now that they've went away, the house seemed a lot less lively. Perhaps I enjoyed their company more than I realized.

But in the corner of my eye, something moved. I looked towards it and—

I saw myself. A hunch back, wrinkles all over my face, drooping skin. The mirror reminding me once again of who I am and what I've lost.

I am not as beautiful and young anymore. Yet my husband beared with me until his last breath... How can I ever repay such loyalty he's given me?

I took a chair from the dining area and dragged it someplace else. I climbed up on it and reached out to the top of the shelf.

There, a picture of me and my husband.

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I thought of this while I was in the bathroom. Idea just suddenly came to me and I had no choice but to do it y'know?

I think this is honestly more sad than scary.