"Hello? Is anyone there?"27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJUZy292tD
Why did I agree to come to this stupid cabin? I knew the storm warnings were serious.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq7N4d5WlDj
"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!"27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM3x9NWxgCH
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaC2qNp09Fc
"Oh! You scared me half to death!"27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ46KM6JM53o
"Sorry about that. I was in the cellar checking the circuit breakers. No luck though. Power lines must be down somewhere."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZPCUB6aIv9
She looks different somehow. Something about her eyes...27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDzh52mIvNy
"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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSs8mn35xiZ
"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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡurIaE5SOqC
"The flames look beautiful, don't they? Like they're dancing."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnKtqN2OnNU
"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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7EwOK6P0e8
"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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTmOJMrHcUg
"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?27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ndfKzcMh9
"Listen to that rain. It's really coming down now."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFZaQ7dZxJ2
"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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPm7FUhoOBp
"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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡodgVllAt8C
"You mean from before the accident?"
She said it. She actually said it.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ44xCrSIyTh
"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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaowQpGA6V5
"Then how are you... how are we having this conversation?"
"What do you mean? I'm right here."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFC5Q5xu98V
Is she really not aware?27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEARn8jFV5X
"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?27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs9jMvbKnYJ
"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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZysJAr2upk
"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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtb0xhwivaY
"Did you hear that?"27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4n0FK7m5Ny
"Hear what?"
"It sounded like footsteps. On the porch."
Please be the wind. Please be the wind.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8gizxqxmsw
"I don't hear anything. Michael, you're scaring me."
She's scared? How does that work if she's...27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLycYZzyDQ0
"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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9RiwnylD3C
"Stay here. I'm going to check."
"No! Don't leave me alone!"
If she's really a... then what is she afraid of?27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2nkaiwhyMS
"There's nothing out there. Just the storm."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPP7LZCzG9r
"Are you sure? You seemed convinced."
"I guess my mind is playing tricks on me."
Or something else is.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA5Zx4cFd3h
"Michael, there's something I need to tell you. About that night."
Finally, the truth.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUIJLDnSPNG
"What about it?"
"It wasn't an accident. I went to that bridge on purpose."
No, no, no. Please don't say it.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5oTWd7123G
"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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx8EhDokQj7
"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?27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡULwDbCD8vO
"I need some air."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkfWIi9Oiwe
"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...27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAR0IDBZafZ
"The storm is getting worse. Look how the fire flickers. We shouldn't separate."
Was that a flash of... something else... in her eyes?27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8GCVFHREEm
"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?27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0CT8yUsuN7
"Do you remember what you said to me? Right before I left that night?"27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhQA4JdbeGO
I've replayed those words every day since.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJCPD5d5Gxn
"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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUezCg9JB5z
"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?27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP5vTt0gSTd
"What's happening to the fire? It's turning... blue?"27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTbK3515Vwp
"It's time, Michael."
"Time for what?"
She's not moving. Why isn't she blinking?27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWB6tSfmpNN
"Time for you to make a choice."
The room feels like it's spinning. The walls seems to be... breathing?27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡstwuMGCt2X
"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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3jtOCoISXL
"Sarah, you're scaring me."
"Good. Fear means you're finally paying attention."
"What choice? What are you talking about?"27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4RvDifAkYV
Her eyes... they're completely black now.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5pI7yG8WcY
"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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmDtn2Ya4Bi
"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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT4q7JgVXMS
"The storm is inside now, isn't it? Not just outside."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3SZBkUDZM
"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?27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDcYIQwGVsI
"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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx82rC8PkGp
"I don't want to die."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtbNAjVqDJm
But I don't want to live without her either.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE6hnXxu4GE
"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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzWwpxmp4we
"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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDEacmTb3go
"Will I ever see you again?"27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmgD6QhRYUw
"Not like this. But I'll be around."
The fire is returning to normal. The walls have stopped breathing.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZgob9AxwpI
"I love you, Sarah."
"I love you too. Now, make your choice."
I know what I have to do. For both of us.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI3iqcqbLDR
"I choose to live."
Her smile is the last thing I see before the room goes dark.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkTQ5oQjaSB
"Hello? Is anyone there?"27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡONmLAIzCYb
The cabin is empty. Sunlight streams through the windows.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJEWguGJCn
"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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡePhWVxXSAh
"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?27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwUp4ALkFqA
"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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5VsKUjGe4K
