The Picture on the Wall

I recently bought a house and started to move my things in when I observed the house. It was very spacious; the living room has enough room for a coffee table as well as a couch and television. The kitchen has an island and a beautiful tile floor. Why was this house sold for so cheap? It was elegant, but for some reason, it had an eerie feeling toward it. It felt like something was there, hiding within the darkness. I shrugged it off and got to work unpacking.

There was one picture left in the house before the last owner mysteriously vanished. It was a simple picture: A field that looked dark and foreboding, but I noticed there was a house in the background. It looked familiar and after some inspecting I realized what it was. It was my house. Why was there a picture with this house in it? That field isn’t even the same as the house’s front yard; it is only lives on a half an acre with a fence and a road ahead of it. Who took the picture?

After gazing out the window, I looked back towards the painting. It looked different as if it had been altered. It looked the same except… except for the house. It was closer. The house had only moved a little bit, but it was enough to see the difference. I thought I was seeing things and I hadn’t gotten very much sleep from the night before since I was unpacking most of my things. I shoved it off and took the time to get into bed early that day.

I woke up feeling refreshed. After some breakfast-time planning, I figured I would take this day to stroll around the neighborhood and perhaps meet some of the neighbors. I took a nice hot shower, got on some clothes, and walked to the door. I took a glimpse at the photo and I nearly fell back in shock. The house in the picture was closer now, so close that it was nearly taking up the entire frame. I saw a figure in the front window as i looked into the picture. The figure seemed to sag and hang their limply. I looked at the same window in my house. As I walked over to look outside I could not believe what I saw.

The field.

I looked back at the picture for the last time and the figure in the window was visible.

It was me.

And it was smile was sickening.