A.Photo.That.Should.Not.Exist
928 Words
Beverly got home later than usual.
The rain had stopped, but the roads still shunned under the glow of streetlights. Water dripped from rooftops, and the cool evening air carried the scent of wet rain.
She unlocked her apartment door and stepped inside.
The silence greeted her immediately.
Normally, she loved coming home to peace and quiet after a long day at the tattoo shop. Tonight, however, the silence felt different. Uncomfortable.
She dropped her handbag on a chair and took off her shoes.
Her thoughts kept returning to the same person.
Daniel.
The stranger with the calm eyes.
The man who seemed to know things about her that he shouldn’t know.
Beverly rubbed her eyes.
“You’re overthinking this,” she murmured.
But even as she said it, she knew she didn’t believe it.
She walked into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water.
The cold liquid calmed her nerves a little.
Her phone suddenly rang.
Amara.
Beverly answered immediately.
“Did you get home safely?” Amara asked.
“Yes. I just got in.”
“Good. The rain was crazy.”
Beverly leaned against the kitchen counter.
“It wasn’t just the rain.”
Amara immediately noticed the change in her voice.
“What happened?”
Beverly hesitated.
She wasn’t even sure how to explain it.
“A man came into the shop today.”
“A customer?”
“I don’t think so.”
Amara frowned on the other end of the line.
“What do you mean?”
Beverly stared through the kitchen window.
“He knew things about me.”
“Like what?”
“My grandmother.”
Silence.
Amara became speechless, but this was one of those moments.
“That’s… strange.”
“Very strange.”
Beverly slowly walked toward her bedroom.
“He spoke as if he’d known me for years.”
“Did he tell you who he was?”
“He said his name is Daniel.”
“Do you know any Daniel?”
“No.”
“Maybe someone your grandmother knew?”
Beverly shook her head even though Amara couldn’t see her.
“No. That’s not it.”
“What then?”
She sat on the edge of her bed.
“I don’t know how to explain it.”
“Try.”
Beverly took a deep breath.
“It felt like I knew him.”
Amara laughed softly.
“You just met him.”
“I know.”
“So how can you know him?”
Beverly stared at the wall.
“That’s exactly what’s bothering me.”
The conversation drifted to other topics, but neither of them truly left the subject behind.
After nearly thirty minutes, they ended the call.
The apartment became silent again.
Too silent.
Beverly changed into comfortable clothes and tried watching television.
Nothing held her attention.
She tried reading.
After three pages, she realized she hadn’t understood a single sentence.
Eventually she switched off the lights and lay down.
But sleep refused to come.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Daniel standing in her tattoo shop.
The way he’d looked at her.
The way he’d spoken her grandmother’s name.
The strange sadness in his eyes.
An hour passed.
Then another.
Finally, frustrated, Beverly sat up.
“If I’m not sleeping, I might as well do something useful.”
She walked to the small wooden drawer beside her bed.
Inside were old photographs she had collected over the years.
Looking through them usually helped her relax.
She pulled out a stack and sat on the floor crossing her legs."
One by one, she flipped through them.
Birthday celebrations.
Family gatherings.
School events.
University graduation pictures.
A photograph of her grandmother smiling in a garden.
Beverly smiled sadly.
She missed her every day.
Then she reached another photo.
Her hand froze.
The smile vanished.
Slowly, she pulled the picture closer.
Her heart skipped a beat.
“What…”
The photograph showed her standing beside a man.
A man she had seen only hours earlier.
Daniel.
The room suddenly felt colder.
Beverly stared in disbelief.
The picture looked old.
Several years old.
Yet she had absolutely no memory of it.
No memory of the day.
No memory of taking the photograph.
No memory of Daniel.
But there they were.
Standing together.
Smiling.
Not the smile of strangers.
Not even the smile of casual friends.
They looked close.
Very close.
As though they shared secrets.
As though they belonged in each other’s lives.
“This isn’t possible.”
Then she noticed something else.
Something even stranger.
Daniel’s face had been scratched out.
Not by accident.
Deliberately.
Repeatedly.
Someone had used a sharp object to destroy his image.
Only his outline remained visible.
Beverly’s fingers trembled.
Who would do that?
And why?
A chill crawled up her spine.
Suddenly her phone buzzed.
The sound nearly made her jump.
She grabbed it immediately.
Unknown Number.
A knot formed in her stomach.
For several seconds she simply stared at the screen.
Then a message appeared.
DON’T LOOK FOR HIM.
Beverly felt the blood drain from her face.
The photograph slipped from her fingers and landed on the floor.
She read the message again.
And again.
And again.
DON’T LOOK FOR HIM.
Her hands turned cold.
“Who are you?” she whispered.
No reply came.
Outside her window, thunder struck across the night sky.
Beverly looked up.
The sky was completely clear.
Not a single cloud in sight.
Yet the sound echoed again.
Louder this time.
As if something had awakened.
And was watching.
- Writer
