Don’t look too close (fiction- thriller- short story)

 Beatrice and Edward Bellingham were married for 23 years. They could not bear any children of their own. They only had each other. Edward enjoyed inventing things and had a passion for experimenting. Beatrice always supported her loving husband in everything he did.   

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  Unfortunately, Edward became infected with a pandemic, called bubonic plague, also known as black death. It was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, resulting in many deaths. Beatrice showed no sign of the disease. Beatrice prayed that she too would get infected and die beside her husband.      

  Two months has passed, and Edward’s condition became worse. Beatrice had no sign of the infection and became very depressed. She feared loneliness more than she feared death. Edward was so concerned, he found a medieval book on the dark arts a few weeks before his illness. He saw a curse in the book on how one had to carry out a ritual to see the dead.    

  He consoled Beatrice by telling her about the curse and that she could see him whenever she wanted to. Edward made a looking glass, better known as a magnifying glass. He read out of the book and carried the ritual by killing himself, leaving a note saying, “When you want to see me, look through the looking glass.”  

  Beatrice was heartbroken because Edward killed himself, not bothering with the looking glass. Months had passed, and she was very lonely, reminiscing on the life she had with Edward. One evening, it was very late and Beatrice was lying in bed and crying. She decided to pick up Edward’s last note and looking glass.   

  She slowly lifted the looking glass to her face and looked through it. At first, she saw nothing. She continued staring in desperation to see Edward. Suddenly, she saw Edward, but it did not look like Edward. He looked very frightening and scared her. She did not sleep that evening and was terrified. The next morning, Beatrice buried the looking glass.   

  A few weeks had passed and she missed Edward very much.  The nights were very long and lonely, and so was the days. Beatrice decided to dig up the looking glass once more, hoping to see Edward in a better condition. Later in the evening, she dug up the looking glass and took it home. She lied in bed and slowly lifted the looking glass to her face and she saw nothing again. Beatrice continued to stare through the looking glass for a few minutes.   

  In the corner of the room, she saw Edward’s silhouette coming towards her. He was very frightening and disfigured. Beatrice tried to be brave and thought he looked that way due to the bubonic plague (black plague). Beatrice tried to talk to him and he scream in a loud hideous voice which sounded nothing like Edward.   

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  The next morning, the neighbour noticed that Beatrice did not come out of her home. He went to investigate and found Beatrice dead in her bed. Beatrice was strangled to death. Traces of bubonic plague was found on her neck. She was declared dead due to bubonic disease. The neighbours knew this was not true. She never showed signs of bubonic disease. Some folk tale said that Edward strangled her, others believed she had the disease.   

 Beatrice had a nephew, Richard, who travelled many miles to attend his aunt’s funeral. He became the heir to her estate. Richard had to spend a few days and then return back to his family. He spent the first night in Beatrice’s home and was sorting out all her belongings. He came across Edward’s note before he had killed himself. Edward did not think much of it. When he got into bed and found the looking glass in the bed. He picked it up and looked   through it. He stared through it for a few minutes. He saw a very frightening face in the room. He dropped the glass and there was no one there.     

  Richard found Beatrice’s death very sinister and with all the folk tale in the town, he knew that nothing good can come out from the looking glass. He immediately wrapped the looking glass into a cloth and tied a rock to it. He then threw it in a nearby lake. He packed up and left for home. 

  Many years later, a group of teenagers swimming in the lake stumbled upon the looking glass. They were so excited to have found this treasure. They began to argue who would safekeep their new-found treasure. Charles being the more dominant one in the group, took the looking glass home. The next morning, Charles was found dead with traces of the bubonic plague disease on his neck. His parents and friends were devastated. His mother collected a few of his belongings from his room and gave it to his best friend, Angus, including the looking glass.      

  Two weeks later, Angus was found dead in his bed, in the same manner as Charles. Angus’s mother had heard of the folk tale about the looking glass that gives bubonic disease. She believed it because before Agnus went to bed, he showed her the looking glass. She checked his bed and found it in there. She hid the looking in Angus’s casket and wanted to bury this cursed object once and for all.      

  The day of the funeral, Angus’s friends came to pay their last respects. Each one went up to Angus’s casket to say goodbye. Rick saw the looking glass in the casket and believed it belonged to him because he was the one who found it under the water. Legend has it that the looking glass has made its way through centuries, camouflaging mysterious deaths through disease.      

  Death is inevitable. Nothing good comes out from one who takes their own life. There is no problem greater than taking your own life. As humans, dealing with the loss of someone close can be very painful. Resorting to people who say they can help you reconnect with the dead is not possible. Don’t waste your money.      

  Make peace with the beautiful memories and spend more time with the ones you are still blessed with.