One Three One
The day I discovered that Esther Mabry was having an affair, my severe depression drove me to the rooftop.
It was my older brother, Adam Abernathy, who stabbed her and dragged her back to me so she could atone.
Under Adam's watch, Esther truly changed. She deleted every man from her contacts and came home on time every day. Even when she stepped outside to take out the trash, she told me beforehand.
I believed our battered marriage had finally been given a fresh start, right up until the day I received a call from myself, 10 years in the future.
Looking at the haggard man on the screen, I asked carefully, "Ten years later, and I'm still sick?"
He said nothing. He forced a smile that looked more painful than tears, then turned the camera around.
On the screen, Esther had Adam pinned against the storage-room wall. Her eyes were filled with anguish she had held back for far too long.
"We've lived under the same roof for 10 years, and you won't even let me touch you. How long are you going to keep punishing me?"
Adam kept his eyes shut as tears ran down his face.
"We did something unforgivable to Hugo. Staying apart is the only way we can atone."
I froze, cold to the bone.
The man I had searched every corner of Seacliff for and never found had been the brother I loved most all along. Esther had hidden him so well that he lived right under my nose for 10 years, and I never noticed.
The camera turned back.
The older version of me leaned close to the screen and laughed like a madman.
"You heard that? As long as you're still alive, everyone suffers. The moment you die, we're all set free."