Sim

Having visited some friends in a small village, you spent the evening over dinner and conversation. When the conversation turned to scary stories, your hosts told you a local legend: a house on the edge of the village is haunted by the ghost of a young man who died in a fire in the barn behind the house several years ago. His spirit, they say, still haunts the area.

The story intrigued you. That night, when everyone had left, you grabbed a flashlight and some food and quietly slipped out the window. The path led through the forest straight to the abandoned house. A lone lantern burned by the road, and a young man sat nearby, gazing thoughtfully toward the trees.

"Are you from this village too?" you asked, sitting down next to her.

• Yes.

• Then why don't you go home?

• Doesn't matter.

After a brief silence, the guy introduced himself as Sim. Hearing you heading to the abandoned house, he decided to follow you. Along the way, Sim explained that no one had lived there for a long time and that there had been a fire in the barn a few years ago. The closer you got, the stranger he became: he'd fall silent and look at you as if he wanted to say something but couldn't bring himself to.

The house was pitch dark. You turned on the flashlight and saw dilapidated rooms, cobwebs, and broken furniture. A family photo hung on the wall in the back room.

“Hey, Sim, the guy in the photo looks like you,” you noticed.

There was no answer. You turned around, but Sim was gone. Looking at the photo again, you noticed the caption: "Sim Kardan, 2019. We miss you, son."

Sim appeared behind me. His face turned pale, his body translucent. The flashlight flickered.

• Sim, what's going on?

He slowly raised his head:

"I tried to tell you. Now go away if you don't want to stay here among us."

The flashlight went out. A few minutes later it came back on, but Sim was gone. Only an old photograph of him smiling remained on the wall.