The Reflection of the forgotten
They stood in the yard, the cold air biting at their skin. The house behind them was silent, still as if nothing had ever happened. But Matt couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. He looked down at the locket in his hand. The photo had changed again. Mary's smile was wider now, almost too wide.
Jess glanced over at him, her face pale. "What do we do now?"
Matt didn't know. He just knew they couldn't stay here. They couldn't stay near the house. But no matter how far they moved, the feeling of something watching them never went away.
"It's over," he said, trying to convince himself. "We've done what we came to do. It's over."
But Jess didn't look so sure. "Is it really? The locket... and that shadow... we haven't finished anything."
Matt turned, staring at the dark outline of the house, the windows empty and cold. The air around them felt heavier. He wanted to walk away, to forget it all. But deep down, he knew they couldn't. Not yet.
He took a deep breath. "We need to make sure it's finished."
Without a word, they turned back toward the house, their feet dragging as if the ground itself didn't want them to come closer. But they couldn't stop now.
They pushed the door open again. The house felt different—quieter, emptier. The whispers were gone. The dark energy that had filled the place was no longer there. Still, they didn't trust it.
"Mary?" Jess called out, her voice shaky.
There was no answer. The house stood silent, as if it had nothing more to give.
Matt's heart beat loudly in his chest as he walked deeper into the house, Jess following closely behind. He walked toward the stairs, the locket still gripped in his hand. He didn't know why, but something told him to go up.
As they reached the top, the room at the end of the hall was open. The same room they had seen in their dreams—the place where everything started.
In the center of the room was an old mirror. It was cracked now, broken down the middle. The shadows around it seemed darker than before.
"This is it," Matt whispered, his voice low. "This is where it all happened."
Jess nodded, her eyes wide with fear. "What do we do?"
Matt didn't know. But he had an idea. Slowly, he placed the locket on the floor in front of the broken mirror. The photo inside the locket was still there. Mary was smiling, standing too close to them. The shadows behind her were growing.
He stepped back.
The room grew colder, and the air thickened again. The mirror began to shimmer, the cracks glowing faintly, like light trying to push through the darkness. Then, without warning, it exploded into shards, scattering across the room.
A low, deep sound filled the air—like a sigh, but it wasn't a sigh of relief. It was the sound of something waking up.
The shadows in the corners of the room began to shift. The figure, the one that had been watching them, slowly stepped forward. It was no longer a shadow. It had a shape now, a face, but it wasn't human. Its eyes glowed red, its form twisting as if it were made of darkness itself.
"No," Matt breathed, his heart pounding. "We have to stop it."
Jess grabbed his arm, her grip tight. "How?"
"I don't know," he whispered. "But we have to try."
The thing reached out, its hands like claws, stretching toward them. Matt stepped forward, the locket in his hand. With one last, desperate move, he threw it into the darkness. The moment the locket hit the ground, the shadow screamed, a sound so loud it shook the walls.
The world seemed to shift.
And then everything stopped.
The house was silent once more. The air was still. The shadows were gone. The creature was gone.
They stood in the middle of the room, breathing hard, unable to move.
"We did it," Jess whispered, her voice shaky. "It's over."
Matt looked around. The house was empty now, completely still. The mirror had vanished, the air no longer heavy. The darkness was gone.
The locket was nowhere to be seen. And Mary... she was free.
They didn't look back as they left the house, walking away without a word, the sun rising on the horizon, casting a new light on everything. The past was behind them now. The nightmare was over.
And as they walked away, the house stood silent in the distance, waiting for the next soul to step inside.