"Hello? Is anyone there?"26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcBqimKWgV2
Why did I agree to come to this stupid cabin? I knew the storm warnings were serious.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWFKQxbGWUy
"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!"26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ80NblhWtda
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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiu0guC1hx7
"Oh! You scared me half to death!"26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFP8P7rGtq1
"Sorry about that. I was in the cellar checking the circuit breakers. No luck though. Power lines must be down somewhere."26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJRCJcZYkmF
She looks different somehow. Something about her eyes...26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXqK5HHBbVL
"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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoaCWifCHAU
"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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtCvFGLgpnX
"The flames look beautiful, don't they? Like they're dancing."26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0VRjo2KZDO
"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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8wvdfEWyhD
"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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuneEMUKAii
"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?26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUXSXcKDdcm
"Listen to that rain. It's really coming down now."26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7HGexw0Aec
"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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYmYOra56dx
"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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6lV7yfK31S
"You mean from before the accident?"
She said it. She actually said it.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmUyVhRNaSV
"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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZc6bkbI0w4
"Then how are you... how are we having this conversation?"
"What do you mean? I'm right here."26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkvEQe7frSH
Is she really not aware?26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoIf4fepv4l
"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?26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwyElaC0IVs
"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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6AF1K7HlIi
"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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqmetxx9EEO
"Did you hear that?"26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDgSFqyfNL4
"Hear what?"
"It sounded like footsteps. On the porch."
Please be the wind. Please be the wind.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTaD7LCUgUT
"I don't hear anything. Michael, you're scaring me."
She's scared? How does that work if she's...26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡig4oqAOA1S
"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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUl59agKpuR
"Stay here. I'm going to check."
"No! Don't leave me alone!"
If she's really a... then what is she afraid of?26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn6f1zJ3hd1
"There's nothing out there. Just the storm."26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqfQFQp8AP5
"Are you sure? You seemed convinced."
"I guess my mind is playing tricks on me."
Or something else is.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡstZ5rl3MCB
"Michael, there's something I need to tell you. About that night."
Finally, the truth.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡItQCeRE3JF
"What about it?"
"It wasn't an accident. I went to that bridge on purpose."
No, no, no. Please don't say it.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAgoc3VeorW
"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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc6ATBzyhEv
"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?26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEIM1pY6SSc
"I need some air."26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaRRvAObe6I
"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...26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKkba3gbrIN
"The storm is getting worse. Look how the fire flickers. We shouldn't separate."
Was that a flash of... something else... in her eyes?26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg4dd0qnQ8d
"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?26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ87WMeImtOM
"Do you remember what you said to me? Right before I left that night?"26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWKcLnS711U
I've replayed those words every day since.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvpQKsC22MX
"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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXyhAt1KmuU
"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?26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡISrgaxCLqv
"What's happening to the fire? It's turning... blue?"26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgULE6I7uq3
"It's time, Michael."
"Time for what?"
She's not moving. Why isn't she blinking?26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSi2yaMjaXR
"Time for you to make a choice."
The room feels like it's spinning. The walls seems to be... breathing?26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmNrLhBe9oA
"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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW7zJoP6VcO
"Sarah, you're scaring me."
"Good. Fear means you're finally paying attention."
"What choice? What are you talking about?"26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡydC26EcfGL
Her eyes... they're completely black now.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiPjtXLlXAo
"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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbSW5If3HVV
"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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ68lCZRz9pb
"The storm is inside now, isn't it? Not just outside."26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtrr4e7CbmB
"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?26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAqWbbLbH3L
"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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSjn7jqvREG
"I don't want to die."26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxe3qMs1FmO
But I don't want to live without her either.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4tDEJAi1Pi
"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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡccFLKS2CSg
"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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ72kFXNF3bu
"Will I ever see you again?"26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoVyAwkTFET
"Not like this. But I'll be around."
The fire is returning to normal. The walls have stopped breathing.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9tU0qqNtge
"I love you, Sarah."
"I love you too. Now, make your choice."
I know what I have to do. For both of us.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCa3hdwnOUJ
"I choose to live."
Her smile is the last thing I see before the room goes dark.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpCz4XVa9sg
"Hello? Is anyone there?"26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY8PXb24eTg
The cabin is empty. Sunlight streams through the windows.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡozEbHN7vlS
"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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡteYPZwZdlQ
"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?26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeBtUaAq3ZW
"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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh0D6lFd75b
