“Do you need help with anything down there?” she asked. “Maybe I can bring something up for you?”
I shook my head. “That’s sweet of you, but we’re good.”
“Oh, of course.
Just curious.” She sipped her coffee. “How’s it set up?”
I hesitated. “Uh… it’s just a basement.
Pretty basic.”
She hummed as her fingers tapped lightly against her mug. At the time, I didn’t think much of it. But now, looking back, I can see the pattern.
There were little hints and some seemingly harmless questions that always circled back to the basement. The basement. There was something about it that she was too invested in.
One evening, Mary was over at my house. She had dropped by, as she often did, and we were chatting in the kitchen over a cup of tea. The conversation was casual, but something felt off.
Maybe it was the way she kept glancing toward the hallway. Or the way her fingers drummed lightly against the counter as if she was waiting for something. At one point, I excused myself to use the bathroom.
But when I came back, she was gone. At first, I thought she might have stepped outside to take a call or something. But when I checked the front door, it was still locked from the inside.
Which meant Mary was still in the house. A strange feeling crept up my spine. “Mary?” I called out, walking through the living room.
No answer. I checked the back door. Still locked.
Then I heard something. It was a faint sound of something moving downstairs. Something moving in the basement.
My stomach tightened as I hurried down the steps. The moment I reached the bottom, my gaze landed on Mary. She was standing in the corner, rifling through a set of drawers.
“Mary?” I called out. My voice came out sharper than I’d expected. She whirled around and looked at me with wide eyes.
“Oh! Lara, I—”
“What the hell are you doing down here?” My voice rose. “You’re trespassing!
What do you even want here?”
Her hands trembled as she shut the drawer. “I’m… I’m so sorry,” she stammered. “I—I shouldn’t have—”
“You shouldn’t have?” I repeated.
“You snuck into my basement, Mary! What were you looking for?”
She didn’t answer. She just shook her head.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered again. But sorry wasn’t good enough. “Get out,” I said firmly.
“Lara, please, I—”
“Get out.”
For a moment, she just stood there. I looked at her as her lips parted slightly like she wanted to say something. Then, without saying anything, she hurried past me up the stairs.
I followed close behind, watching as she grabbed her coat from the chair and rushed out the front door. When it shut behind her, I locked it. Then I just stood there as my heart pounded against my chest and my mind raced with questions.
What the hell had she been looking for? That night, I couldn’t shake the unease curling in my chest. I kept replaying it in my head.
The way she had acted, the way she had desperately searched for something. And it wasn’t just anywhere in the basement. It was this one particular area.
A corner of the room. I needed to know what she had been after, so I went back down. I searched the drawers, the shelves, and every cabinet.
But nothing seemed out of place. Then I noticed something. I ran my fingers on one of the walls and felt a faint inconsistency.
It felt like a section of the wall stuck out. I ran my fingers over it again. It wasn’t obvious, but… it was there.
Curious, I pressed against it. And then… the panel shifted. Behind it was a small, weathered box.
What’s this? I thought as I pulled it out. My hands trembled as I lifted the box.
I expected something sinister. Something that would explain why Mary had been so desperate to get down here. But as I sifted through its contents, I realized the truth was far more complicated.
Inside were photographs. Old, faded, and some curling at the edges. I recognized one of the faces immediately.
It was the man who had owned this house before us. I had seen his picture in the listing and heard his story from the realtor. He had passed away a few months ago, and his wife had sold the house shortly after.
But what shook me most… was the woman in the photographs with him. Mary. The box was full of photos of them together.
Some were casual, while others were intimate. Was Mary so interested in my basement because of this box? Was she looking for these photos?
There were so many questions in my mind that needed answers. So, I held the box under my arm and went to her house. It was around 10 p.m.
when she opened the door, and it looked like she had been crying. Her red, puffy eyes widened when she saw me. Then, they flicked down to the box in my hands.
“Lara…” she whispered. Her husband walked past us in the hallway before disappearing into another room. “Not now,” Mary murmured as she wiped her tears.
“Not now, please.”
I nodded and left her place, hoping to return the next day. This time, she opened the door and stepped aside, letting me in without a word. We sat at her kitchen table as I placed the box between us.
Then, I pushed it toward her. “This is what you were looking for, isn’t it?”
Her fingers trembled as she lifted the lid. Then, I heard a quiet, broken sound as she examined the photographs.
It was as if she was relieved to see them. “Thank you,” she said as tears rolled down her cheeks. She ran her hand over one of the pictures and it looked like she was thinking about something.
“We loved each other,” she said suddenly while staring at the photograph. “For over thirty years.”
“But…” I began. “But you were both married, right?”
She nodded.
“We could never really be together. We had families. Responsibilities.
But we always… we always found our way back to each other.” She let out a bitter chuckle. “We knew it was wrong. But we couldn’t stop ourselves.”
What the heck… I thought.
I didn’t know what to say. She picked up another picture. It was of them at the beach, smiling as the wind whipped through their hair.
“When he died, I realized I had nothing left of him. Nothing but memories.” She whispered. “He used to keep our photographs hidden in his office.
He told me his wife never went in there. So, I thought… maybe… he left them behind.”
I exhaled slowly as I tried to make sense of everything. “So, you kept trying to get into my basement.”
She nodded.
“I just… I needed something. Anything.”
I stared at her, trying to make sense of what I was feeling. Was this a love story?
Or was it a story of betrayal? I wasn’t sure. In the end, I left the box with her, and she never bothered me again.
Never even stopped by to say hi. This incident made me realize that love isn’t always right. Sometimes, it drives people to do things they can’t control.
Things that cross the line. Things that can unravel their lives in ways they never imagined. What do you think?
Do you believe love is always right?
