“It’s time to sing Happy Birthday! Viola, can you go find Mom? I think she was looking for something in her room,” Noah asked as Clementine brought out the birthday cake with candles. She set it on the table and started lighting them.
The whole family had gathered at their childhood home in Thornton, Colorado, to celebrate their mother’s 75th birthday. The house was filled with noise, and everyone was having a good time, but it was getting late. Viola went to check on her mother, thinking she might want everyone to leave soon.
When she returned, she shrugged, saying, “She’s not in her room. Could she be outside?”
“No, she’s not,” replied Karina, Noah’s wife. “I’m sure I saw her go into her room just a moment ago.”
“Yikes, let’s all search for her. With her mind not being as sharp lately, I hope she didn’t go outside,” Clementine said.
Everyone searched the house and asked the kids outside if they’d seen their mother, but no one had. After several minutes of searching, they began to get worried.
“The neighbors haven’t seen her either. Should we call the police?” Noah asked, pulling out his phone.
“No, it hasn’t been that long. Let’s drive around and check some places. She likes the café two blocks away and the Walmart where everyone knows her. Where else could she have gone?” Clementine suggested, listing possible spots. Just then, their mother appeared.
“Why is everyone gathered here?” Fiona asked, hands on her hips as she looked around.
Everyone rushed to her, asking where she had been because they’d been searching for at least 30 minutes. Fiona was confused.
“I was just in my room, doing my makeup,” she explained, mimicking putting on lipstick. The siblings exchanged confused glances, especially Viola, who had just searched the room and found it empty. No one knew how to explain this.
“Anyway,” said Clementine’s husband, Matthew, leading Fiona to a chair. “Let’s sing Happy Birthday and let Mrs. Wright rest. She’s clearly tired.”
They sang Happy Birthday, although Fiona still seemed confused. She suddenly whispered, “It’s my birthday? We should wait for Robert to come out of the bedroom.”
Her children exchanged worried looks. Robert, their father, had passed away over ten years ago.
Before they could say anything, Fiona suddenly collapsed from her chair and passed away.
The next week was a blur as the family held the funeral and a reception for out-of-state relatives. Afterward, they began sorting through their mother’s things in preparation to sell the house.
Viola, folding one of Fiona’s old dresses, said, “I hate that we’ll never know what happened that day. I swear she wasn’t in her room.”
Their childhood home lacked built-in closets, so Fiona had an antique wardrobe, which she loved. As they packed up, Viola noticed an old photograph behind the wardrobe. When she tried to pull it out, Noah came to help her, but in doing so, they uncovered a secret door.
“Is this a door?” Viola asked, her eyes wide.
“Just like in the movies,” Clementine said, rushing to help move the wardrobe further. After they fully moved it, Viola tried the rusty door, which opened easily. They gasped as they discovered a staircase leading down.
“This is not exciting, Clementine. It feels like something out of a scary movie,” Viola muttered. But they decided to go down, and what they found shocked them: a life-size sculpture of their father.
“Now I get why Mom talked about Dad being in the bedroom. She must’ve been hiding down here, looking at this sculpture when you went to find her, Viola,” Noah said, shaking his head.
“I think Mom missed Dad so much. She probably came down here every day,” Viola said, inspecting the sculpture. “Should we keep it?”
The siblings discussed it, and after a few days, Viola decided to have it appraised. The curator confirmed it was made of marble, and an art collector eventually bought it after it was displayed in a gallery.
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