The Silent Shadow

The Letter

"Regret will never leave you..."

He woke up panting again.It was 3:00 a.m. He had the same nightmare again, the nightmare that had kept him awake for years...

Regret will never leave you, his father's words echoed in his head. He had tried to forget them, tried to forget everything, but it was impossible. The past always catches up with you.

He got up and went to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. He looked outside the window, it was raining heavily. The rain always made him feel better, it was as if it was washing away his sins, if only for a little while.

He sat at the kitchen table and looked at the old photograph of him and his father. It was taken when he was just a child, before everything fell apart. He wished he could go back to that time, when life was simple and he had his father with him.

But he couldn't change the past, he could only try to make amends for his mistakes. He had done terrible things in the past, things that he would never be able to forget. But he had to try.

He looked at the calendar, November 12th ,his sister's birthday. He had to visit her.

He had prepared everything in advance; a dress, a stuffed bear, a storybook. And the letter he wrote the night before. He couldn't forget it. He had a short breakfast and waited for the day to dawn. At 6 o'clock he got into his old model car and drove off. Lakewood was quiet and calm as usual. Edward didn't want to run into his father or anyone from town, so he set off early.

He parked his car near the cemetery and got out. This was going to be much harder than he thought. He walked slowly, stopping next to a grave.

"Our dear angel Claire"

The words on the tombstone hit him like a ton of bricks. Claire, his little sister, was dead. He couldn't believe it had been ten years since her death. Edward put the teddy bear and the storybook on the grave. He took a deep breath and tried to hold back the tears that were about to fall from his eyes.

He took out the letter he had written and began to read it aloud.

"Dear Claire,

I miss you so much. I'm so lucky to have lived with you for such a short period of my life. I never knew losing someone you love could be so traumatic. Everything fell apart after you....

I've never forgiven myself... I'm sorry, my little daisy...

I know that you are watching over me, and I hope that you can forgive me for what I've done. I miss you so much, Claire. You left a void in my life that can never be filled.

Happy birthday, little sister. I love you.

Your brother,

Edward"

Edward wiped away his tears and placed the letter on Claire's grave. He slowly lay down beside the grave and looked up at the sky.He lay quietly for a while. He thought about the old days. How everything had turned upside down in an instant...  

He lost track of time, he looked at his watch; it's 8:00. It was time to go. He didn't want to meet anyone from the town.  When they saw him, they acted as if they had seen Wendigo.