PART 4
She nodded.
“I didn’t want to go home.”
“Why?”
“Because I promised him.”
My heart stopped.
“Promised who?”
Mia looked toward the old photograph.
Then she whispered:
“The boy in the picture.”
I stood slowly.
“What boy?”
Mia reached into her backpack.
She pulled out a small envelope.
It was old.
Yellowed.
The edges were torn.
She handed it to me.
“I found this underneath the floorboard in Cabin Seven.”
My hands shook as I opened it.
Inside was a folded piece of paper.
I unfolded it carefully.
There were only two sentences.
If anyone ever finds this, don’t trust the story they tell you about what happened to me.
And underneath:
Daniel knows the truth.
My entire body went cold.
Daniel.
My husband.
The director stepped closer.
“That letter is why I asked you to stay.”
I looked at her.
“You knew about this?”
“No.”
“Then why did you say you didn’t want children like my daughter here?”
The director’s expression changed.
For the first time, she looked ashamed.
“Because I was afraid.”
“Afraid of what?”
She looked toward Cabin Seven.
“Because your daughter found something we have spent seventeen years trying to forget.”
Silence fell between us.
I turned toward Mia.
“What happened in Cabin Seven?”
Mia wiped her eyes.
“I don’t know.”
“Then why did you promise someone?”
She hesitated.
“Because I met him.”
My heart pounded.
“You met who?”
“The boy.”
“The boy from the photograph?”
Mia nodded.
“But Mom…”
She looked terrified.
“He wasn’t a boy anymore.”
The director stepped backward.
“What did you say?”
Mia looked directly at her.
“He was an old man.”
The director’s face went completely pale.
Mia continued.
“He found me near the lake on my second week here.”
I grabbed her hand.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because he told me not to.”
“Why?”
“He said the camp would make me leave if they knew.”
The director whispered, “Where did you meet him?”
Mia pointed toward the woods.
“Behind Cabin Seven.”
The director immediately shook her head.
“No.”
Mia looked at her.
“He said his name was Thomas.”
The director froze.
I watched her face.
She knew that name.
“Who is Thomas?” I asked.
The director didn’t answer.
“Who is Thomas?”
Finally, she whispered:
“Thomas was one of the campers in that photograph.”
I looked at the photograph again.
Five boys.
One face scratched out.
Daniel.
And Thomas.
The director took the photograph from my hand.
“Thomas disappeared in 2009.”
Mia’s eyes widened.
“He didn’t disappear.”
The director stared at her.
“What?”
“He’s alive.”
Nobody spoke.
Then Mia reached into her backpack again.
This time she pulled out a small metal key.
She placed it in my palm.
“He gave me this.”
The director stared at the key.
Her face changed instantly.
“Where did she get that?”
“Thomas gave it to me,” Mia said.
“What does it open?”
The director took a step toward us.
But before she could reach the key, a loud sound came from the direction of Cabin Seven.
Bang.
All three of us turned.
Another sound followed.
Bang.
Then silence.
Mia squeezed my hand.
“That’s where he told me to go.”
I looked at the director.
She looked terrified.
“What is inside Cabin Seven?” I asked.
She didn’t answer.
Instead, she whispered:
“Nothing.”
Mia shook her head.
“That’s not true.”
The director looked at her.
Mia’s voice became steady.
“There is a room underneath it.”
The director’s face drained of color.
I looked from my daughter to the cabin.
“A room underneath the cabin?”
Mia nodded.
“Thomas showed me.”
The director backed away.
“You shouldn’t have seen that.”
I stepped between her and my daughter.
“What happened in that room?”
The director stared at me for several seconds.
Then she said:
“Your husband knows.”
My heart broke open all over again.
Daniel.
Every mystery seemed to lead back to him.
The man I had loved.
The man I thought I understood.
The man who had taken a secret to his grave.
I looked at Mia.
“Did Thomas tell you why Dad was involved?”
She nodded.
“He said Dad wasn’t the bad guy.”
I swallowed.
“What did he say?”
Mia looked at the director.
Then back at me.
“He said Dad was the only person who tried to save him.”
The director closed her eyes.
And at that exact moment, a car came speeding down the camp road.
It stopped beside us.
An elderly man stepped out.
He looked directly at Mia.
His face was filled with fear.
Then he looked at me.
“Are you Daniel’s wife?”
I nodded.
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