Everything changed when Thomas and Sienna posted a photo on social media to commemorate their tenth wedding anniversary. A creepy face appeared in the image, setting off a chain of events that brought the happy couple face to face with a horrifying truth.
Thomas quickly set the camera timer and joined Sienna in front of the fireplace, saying, “Ten years.”
Sienna replied, “Our tenth birthday.”
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As the camera’s timer counted down, Sienna thought she heard a faint noise in the hallway behind her. Her attention wavered, but she quickly pushed it aside to focus on their anniversary photo, another of the pictures that immortalized their lives.
Their house contained more than enough, and the walls were decorated with them.
Thomas sighed, suddenly nostalgic. “I remember when we first moved here… We spent two nights sleeping on the floor,” he said, wrinkles forming at the corners of his eyes.
Sienna added, “And now every corner holds a piece of our story. And we can also share those pieces with others… on social media.” She laughed, clicked on her phone, and put it away to enjoy the rest of the night.
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In the morning, the sun woke her, but as she blinked in the light, Sienna realized that something else was also disturbing their peace.
“Can you check that, darling?” Thomas said, his voice thick with sleep. “There’s been a ping for a while.”
Sienna reached over to her nightstand, eyes half-closed, and brought the phone up to her face. A slew of social media notifications had popped up. She checked them, sitting up a little on the bed to get comfortable.
“People say there’s something weird about our photo,” she says, frowning. “I also have several missed calls.”
Thomas moved to look at his phone. “Weird? Like what?”
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Sienna’s eyebrows furrowed as she read a few comments. “They say there’s a strange face in the background. But that’s impossible, right?”
He sighed, grabbed the phone, and studied the photo. “It’s probably just shadows or something. Don’t let it bother you.” He shook his head and handed the phone back to her, then got out of bed for the day. But Sienna kept reading.
There was a comment with a screenshot highlighting a creepy, childlike face near her shoulder in their photo. “Thomas… What is this?” she whispered fearfully, her finger touching the screen.
Thomas, who had brushed his teeth by then, came back and took a look. “This must be a joke.”
But Sienna was terrified, remembering the noise she heard when the camera took the picture. So she searched her phone until she found the original photo in the gallery app.
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“It’s not Photoshop. It’s too defined, too real. Look at his expression,” she argued, her eyes wide.
Thomas still wasn’t convinced, but Sienna wouldn’t give up. She flipped through the photos. “Look. In every photo, there’s this strange, misty presence,” she remarked. “I think… it could be a ghost. Maybe our house is haunted.”
“We’ve lived here for about ten years. We would have noticed,” he mocked, but his voice cracked. Sienna could tell he was confused, if not downright worried.
As they contemplated this strange discovery, Sienna went to the camera’s location and began taking pictures, searching for a logical explanation. But the experience was cut short when she screamed in horror as hands touched her shoulders.
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“Relax, honey. It’s me,” her husband said with a little chuckle. “Forget that picture. We have a lunch reservation, remember?”
Sienna agreed and got ready, but looked around the house apprehensively before leaving. She continued to look around intently as Thomas opened the car door for her and later walked over to the driver’s seat.
A movement prompted her to focus on the window. The same ominous face had appeared, making her yelp. “Stop the car!” she insisted, pointing at the house. Thomas squinted but saw nothing. He was gone, but Sienna was sure of what she saw.
***
That night, Sienna was awakened by a scream and footsteps in their house. “Darling, wake up. Do you hear that?” she whispered, hearing sobs coming from the hallway.
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Thomas woke up and heard the noise too. He immediately grabbed the phone.
“You can’t call 911 for a ghost!” Sienna argued, but he insisted on protecting them from a very real threat. After ending the call, he grabbed his gun and went to investigate.
Sienna refused to be left alone, saying, “I’m coming with you!”
They cautiously approached the source of the mysterious noises in their house. Thomas checked the guest bedroom, but footsteps echoed downstairs. They paid attention to every step and heard other noises—a different language—coming from the kitchen.
Sienna jumped a little and yelped again after finally seeing their intruder. It wasn’t a ghost. Instead, they discovered the disturbing presence of a malnourished boy—the same one in their photo. He was crying, his pale, bony face completely covered in tears.
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“Don’t move!” Thomas shouted, but the boy was sobbing and shaking his head. Her husband focused on the intruder and lowered his arm, realizing there was no danger. “Hey there, it’s okay. We won’t hurt you.”
“Help?” The child’s eyes widened with hope.
Despite her racing heart, Sienna’s fear turned to sympathy at his pleas. “You’re hungry, aren’t you?” she asked, smiling tenderly.
“I’m hungry, yes.” The boy nodded.
“What’s your name ?”
“Nikolai.”
As Sienna made Nikolai a sandwich, the couple realized the boy hadn’t meant to break in. He needed real help. “Where are you from?” she asked kindly.
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Nikolai remained silent, later revealing that he had fled a “bad place.”
“Where is your mother now?” she asked.
This reassured him a little. “Will you help Mom?” he asked, sniffing.
Sienna stuttered for a second, but nodded, “Of course, darling. Just tell us how we can find her.”
“I see a bear on the wall and flowers in the garden… flowers like the sky. I run to the wire wall, but the big dog is there,” Nikolai sobbed again. “I’m a bad son. I ran, and now Mom is alone.”
A knock interrupted them. It was the police, whom Thomas had called. Nikolai panicked and tried to escape through a window, despite Sienna’s words: “It’s okay, it’s the police. They’ll help us find your mom!”
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But the frightened boy left, eluding both Sienna and the police. The next day, she and Thomas took it upon themselves to search for Nikolai. They distributed his photo throughout the neighborhood, meeting with varying reactions but no solid leads.
One of their curious neighbors, Nancy, recognized the “ghost” in their birthday photo. She joined the search, and others eventually did too.
Finally, Sienna arrived at a neglected Victorian house and knocked. There was no answer. She jumped when she heard barking nearby. It was coming from behind a metal fence. “A wire wall,” she whispered, looking around, noticing the chicory flowers as Nikolai’s words came back to her.
Investigating further, she found a barred window and heard a woman crying for help from inside. In a second, she had her phone in hand to call the police. She then called Thomas. Soon, he arrived, and other neighbors gathered.
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Authorities arrived and burst into the house, discovering Nikolai’s mother, who wept with gratitude and explained her story. “My name is Asya. I came here with my son to build a new life. To marry a man, but he… the monster! He kept me prisoner,” she explained in broken French.
Nikolai’s search led to the basement, where he was found and quickly reunited with his mother. A police officer thanked Sienna for her role in the rescue. “Ma’am, thank you for alerting us to this situation. Your quick response helped these people.”
“And the man who did this?” Sienna asked.
The officer reassured her, “We’ve already sent agents to arrest him at work. Nikolai and Asya will be taken to a secure location. It appears she came from Russia as a sort of mail-order bride. The legality of her immigration status is unknown at this time, but we will make sure they get the help they need.”
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Nikolai saw them at that moment and approached. He said, “Thank you. Mom and Nikolai are safe now.” He returned to his mother, waving. They were then escorted by a kind social worker, who was taking them to a shelter.
After a while, Thomas and Sienna returned home. They sat on the couch, sighing in disbelief that their photo had led to all this. Thomas snapped his fingers as if remembering something, and Sienna watched curiously, tilting her head as he grabbed his briefcase.
“I think the last photo deserves a special place,” he announced, holding up a framed print of the now-famous photo the couple had posted on social media.
“She’s the best of the lot,” Sienna joked, and they both laughed.
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