"Hello? Is anyone there?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdPGvHkqXlO
Why did I agree to come to this stupid cabin? I knew the storm warnings were serious.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfTFMbcqjWx
"Sarah? Come on, this isn't funny!"
Maybe the power's just out. That has to be it. The wind was picking up before I got here.
"If you're trying to scare me, mission accomplished!"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡufnejl33JT
Keep it together, Michael. You're a grown man. It's just an old family cabin in the woods... with no cell service... during what might be the storm of the century.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ25GFEETEyT
"Oh! You scared me half to death!"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7z00nUwWVV
"Sorry about that. I was in the cellar checking the circuit breakers. No luck though. Power lines must be down somewhere."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaz2hc3EFeK
She looks different somehow. Something about her eyes...122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdrHSc6Tg7u
"Well, at least we have the fireplace. I brought some logs in before the rain started. How long have you been here, Sarah?"
"Just since this morning. I wanted to set everything up before you arrived. We haven't spent time together like this in years."
Not since before the accident. I still don't know how to talk to her about it.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf4dQMWTYLZ
"Did you bring the food supplies like we planned?"
"Everything's in the kitchen. But I think we should start that fire first. It's getting cold in here."
Why isn't she mentioning what happened last time? Maybe she doesn't remember. The doctors said there might be memory issues.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeE9zQOCOU6
"The flames look beautiful, don't they? Like they're dancing."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYzL9FSYhS9
"Yeah. Remember when Dad used to tell us ghost stories by the fire?"
"How could I forget? I didn't sleep for a week after the one about the lumberjack."
She remembers that? I thought... no, don't bring it up. This is nice. Normal.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdcAQZAPdwi
"Michael, why are you looking at me like that?"
"Like what?"
"Like you're seeing a ghost."
If only she knew how accurate that was.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7EXn9BmgMW
"Sorry, it's just... it's been a while."
"I know. After everything that happened... I wasn't sure you'd want to see me again."
So she does remember. But how much?122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWHL7b6b3q9
"Listen to that rain. It's really coming down now."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzx3sCSYXB8
"The weather report said it could last for days. Are we going to be okay here?"
"We should be. There's plenty of food, we have water, and the fireplace will keep us warm."
Unless the river floods. Like last time.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9gtfu1sMiL
"Sarah... can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"What's the last thing you remember... from before?"
Please don't be upset. I just need to know.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiFLJWptJJs
"You mean from before the accident?"
She said it. She actually said it.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOR5fTYWa9v
"Yes."
"I remember everything, Michael. I remember the argument we had. I remember storming out into the storm. I remember the bridge collapsing."
But that's impossible. She couldn't have survived that.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIU3qWi2TaN
"Then how are you... how are we having this conversation?"
"What do you mean? I'm right here."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHVy9sv2uTo
Is she really not aware?122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYX0FiMPRk9
"Sarah, they never found your body. The current was too strong. We searched for weeks."
"That's ridiculous. I'm sitting right across from you!"
Her expression... it's changing. Can she see the truth in my face?122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMxHmFHSEgF
"Then why did you ask me to meet you here? After three years of nothing?"
"I didn't ask you anything. I got your message. You said you had something important to tell me."
This isn't happening. This can't be real.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu0Jf1N4SFm
"No, that's not... I got a text from your number. It said to come to the cabin. That you'd be waiting."
"Michael, my phone was lost in the river. With me."
Oh god.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsXBIms1kie
"Did you hear that?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDfEOrFzoX5
"Hear what?"
"It sounded like footsteps. On the porch."
Please be the wind. Please be the wind.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJtmUAMpkjt
"I don't hear anything. Michael, you're scaring me."
She's scared? How does that work if she's...122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVQnaYhPG3X
"Wait, there it is again!"
"I still don't hear anything. Maybe you're just on edge because of our conversation."
Or maybe whatever sent that message is here now.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2YS2oGzCuq
"Stay here. I'm going to check."
"No! Don't leave me alone!"
If she's really a... then what is she afraid of?122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk61qdhe1Ix
"There's nothing out there. Just the storm."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjcR1yZId5M
"Are you sure? You seemed convinced."
"I guess my mind is playing tricks on me."
Or something else is.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKLoMFVVGBZ
"Michael, there's something I need to tell you. About that night."
Finally, the truth.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3jjdsivSlD
"What about it?"
"It wasn't an accident. I went to that bridge on purpose."
No, no, no. Please don't say it.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFl7TATyGfw
"What are you saying, Sarah?"
"I wanted it to end. Everything was too much. The pain, the memories... I just wanted peace."
I can't breathe. This is my fault. I should have seen the signs.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuqxndbsRlZ
"But then, in the water, fighting to breathe... I changed my mind. I wanted to live, Michael. I fought so hard."
Then how are you here? How are we talking?122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj9HJSFfDI7
"I need some air."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDta8r7HC3Q
"Michael, it's pouring outside. You can't go out there."
"I just... I need a minute. To process this."
None of this makes sense. Either I'm losing my mind, or...122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrcghAmCF9R
"The storm is getting worse. Look how the fire flickers. We shouldn't separate."
Was that a flash of... something else... in her eyes?122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE6ujG4zviq
"Sarah, if you survived, why didn't you come back? Where have you been for three years?"
"I... I can't explain that part. Not yet."
What does that even mean?122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUL8bfKorUd
"Do you remember what you said to me? Right before I left that night?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3TDhzKcdjg
I've replayed those words every day since.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfNiPSBuSEU
"I said I wished I'd never had a sister. That my life would be better without you in it."
"And now you've gotten exactly what you wanted."
Her voice sounds different now. Colder.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ98YWfl8HH3
"I didn't mean it. I've regretted those words every day since you... since you disappeared."
"Regret doesn't change what happened, Michael. Regret doesn't bring people back."
But then what is sitting across from me?122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3VctywIgE
"What's happening to the fire? It's turning... blue?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSTAXtKFsch
"It's time, Michael."
"Time for what?"
She's not moving. Why isn't she blinking?122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTyT0n0CEwN
"Time for you to make a choice."
The room feels like it's spinning. The walls seems to be... breathing?122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSm1uHOA6bL
"I don't understand what's happening."
"Three years ago, I made a choice at that bridge. Now it's your turn."
This can't be real. This has to be a nightmare.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjVjWaBzXEi
"Sarah, you're scaring me."
"Good. Fear means you're finally paying attention."
"What choice? What are you talking about?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVV4szGihrA
Her eyes... they're completely black now.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvxf7u3sSa8
"You can join me, or you can let me go. For real this time."
"Join you where? You're not making sense!"
"You know where I am, Michael. You've always known."
No. No, I refuse to believe that.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQtCpqvgOHK
"You're not dead. You can't be dead. You're sitting right here!"
"Am I? Look closer."
I can't. I'm too afraid of what I'll see.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgfbDOS7GJQ
"The storm is inside now, isn't it? Not just outside."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ke9WVH76z
"It's been inside you for three years. Guilt, regret, anger... your own personal tempest."
The fire is spreading along the walls, but nothing's burning. How is this possible?122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnfDDiC0GUG
"What happens if I choose to let you go?"
"Then you live, Michael. You finally live."
"And if I choose to join you?"
"Then the storm takes us both. Together. Like it should have that night."
She holds out her hand. It looks solid, real. But there's water dripping from her fingertips.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfH5JU10nZO
"I don't want to die."122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2PtxpaUsPn
But I don't want to live without her either.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbLV2wppBCO
"Then live for me, little brother. Live the life I never got to have."
"How? How do I just move on after everything?"
"By forgiving yourself. I already have."
The tears feel hot against my cold cheeks.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvkgQWoZ4zr
"I'm so sorry, Sarah. For everything."
"I know. That's why I came back. To say goodbye properly."
Her form is shifting now, becoming transparent around the edges.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD2I2VOU7SR
"Will I ever see you again?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtS9Cu05Pqg
"Not like this. But I'll be around."
The fire is returning to normal. The walls have stopped breathing.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdVJEObAuMx
"I love you, Sarah."
"I love you too. Now, make your choice."
I know what I have to do. For both of us.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡURPTWTBfsB
"I choose to live."
Her smile is the last thing I see before the room goes dark.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoQ3noxgjNA
"Hello? Is anyone there?"122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv6woUg8Hkb
The cabin is empty. Sunlight streams through the windows.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfJEzG1Ofc
"Just checking in, Mr. Harris. Wanted to make sure you were okay after spending the night. That was some storm, wasn't it?"
"I'm... I'm fine. Better than I've been in a long time, actually."
And I am. For the first time in three years, the weight is gone.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9dTvvEMU1
"Well, good. You had me worried when you said you needed to stay in your sister's old cabin. Especially with the anniversary coming up and all."
"It was something I needed to do. To say goodbye."
The caretaker nods, not fully understanding. How could he?122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUlG92hYv1K
"If you're ready, I can drive you back to town now."
"Yes, I think I'm finally ready."
As we walk out, I swear I feel her presence, just for a moment. And it feels like peace.122Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHvxL6SAqs0
