Tring. Tring.

In the midst of this serene setting, Beth's voice echoed from the kitchen, her words carrying a hint of exasperation. "Sean! Can you please pick up the phone? I've got batter in my hands!"

Sean, his steps hurried, rushed to answer the phone mounted on the wall that separated the living room from the dining area. His movements betrayed a sense of urgency as he plucked the receiver from its cradle.

"Pops," a sweet, distant voice whispered from the other end of the line, tinged with both nostalgia and longing.

Sean's curiosity piqued, he leaned in closer, his voice hesitant as he inquired, "Who is this?"

"Don't you remember me? Oh well, it's been so many years since we last spoke; you could barely recognize my voice," the voice replied, laced with a sense of melancholy.

A furrow deepened on Sean's brow. "Um... I'm afraid you might have called the wrong number. Who are you looking for?"

"Isn't this Sean Slater?" the voice inquired, filled with a strange mix of playfulness and mystery.

"It is Sean Slater, but I don't know..."

"Oh! You do know me. You just forgot about me. Like I said, it's been so long. I hardly recognize myself," the voice continued, its tone softening.

Sean's confusion grew. "I'm really confused..."

"Okay, let me not waste your time anymore. I just wanted to ask you something."

His frustration began to creep in as Sean questioned, "Are you from the media? I've already told you people that I didn't take that money. Now leave me alone."

A reassuring chuckle emanated from the other end. "Oh no! I'm not from the media. I wanted to ask if you remember what today is?"

"What about today?" Sean's voice quivered with a growing sense of unease and impatience.

The voice on the other end continued to tease, "Well, I want you to remember on your own."

"Who are you? What the hell do you want?" Sean's voice rose, his patience running thin.

The voice, undeterred by Sean's frustration, countered, "Pops! Pops! Calm down. We don't want your blood pressure to shoot up and get you to the hospital holding your chest like 6 months ago."

A cold sweat broke out on Sean's brow as he muttered, "How... How do you know about that?"

"I told you. I know everything. I see everything," the voice whispered ominously. Sean's eyes darted around the room, realizing the curtains were drawn open, allowing prying eyes to peer inside. He rushed to close them and called for his wife.

"Beth, come over here!" he shouted, his voice trembling.

Beth, her hands still coated in clumps of batter, approached him cautiously. "What is it?" Her irritation was apparent, but a hint of fear lingered beneath her courteous demeanor.

"Some creepy girl knows everything happening in this house. Did you tell someone where we kept the money?" Sean's words tumbled out, laced with suspicion.

"No! No, Sean. Why would I do that?" Beth cried out, her eyes welling with tears.

"How else does this girl know about it?" Sean's voice wavered with anxiety.

Beth took the phone from Sean, her fingers trembling. "Let me speak to her," she said softly and then addressed the mysterious caller, "Who are you?"

"Mum... mum... Why do you always keep so mum," the voice taunted with a sing-song sarcasm.

Beth's voice trembled as she pleaded, "What do you want from us?"

"I just have a few questions. Answer me, and I will not call you again," the voice promised.

Beth glanced at her husband, fear etched in her eyes, and then turned back to the phone. "Ask."

"Do you remember what today is?"

"I...uh... I don't know," Beth stammered.

"Didn't you go to the cemetery today?"

"Yeah, I did. It was my daughter's death anniversary."

"Now, we're in line," the voice smirked. "Do you remember how your daughter died?"

Beth hesitated, her voice trembling as she replied, "Uhm... it was an accident. She fell off the boat during a trip."

"Oh, poor girl, I'm sorry for her," the voice continued, its tone now filled with a dark edge. "This reminds me of a vacation I went on with my parents. I was 4 years old, playing with my toys on a boat. My dad was fishing, and my mom was reading her book. I got hungry and started crying. My dad, frustrated from not catching any fish, hit my mom. I cried even more, and he... he dunked me into the water to muffle the sounds. I screamed from inside the water, but my mom just stood there, frozen, spineless, helpless."

"Stop!" Beth gasped, dropping the phone and clapping a hand over her mouth.

Sean, his face drained of color, took the phone again and demanded in a serious tone, "I know who you are. You're the police. If you think you can make us talk and confess, you're wrong. You have no evidence."

A sigh emanated from the voice on the other end. "I don't need any evidence. I was there. I saw it happen."

"You're bluffing!" Sean yelled, his voice trembling.

"Am I bluffing? Am I bluffing when you had zero emotions when you pulled that limp body out of the water? Am I bluffing when I tell you that you didn't even try to revive her?" the voice continued, its words cutting deep into Sean's soul. "In fact, you were relieved she was gone. You never wanted that poor girl. You knew she wasn't born to you. She was a product of your wife's secret affair. You knew it, and you wanted her gone. Tell me. Am I bluffing?"

Sean gasped for air, his heart racing, as he whispered, "Who...? How...?"

"Still wondering how I know all of this?" The voice trailed off, leaving a chilling silence in its wake.

The room seemed to close in on Sean and Beth as they stood there, the weight of their past actions pressing down upon them. The once-warm ambiance of their cozy living room now felt suffocating, as if their secrets had been unleashed and were swirling around them like a malevolent storm.

Tears welled up in Beth's eyes, glistening like crystal teardrops as she hesitated, her trembling hand clutching the phone receiver. The room seemed to hold its breath, as if aware that something profound and haunting was unfolding within its walls. Fear and remorse swirled in her voice as she finally spoke, "Please, tell us who you are. How do you know all this?"

On the other end of the line, the voice remained eerily calm, like a shadowy specter haunting their lives. "Oh, I'll reveal everything in due time. But for now, let's continue our little trip down memory lane, shall we?"

Sean's heart pounded within his chest, each beat echoing through the room like a relentless drum of anxiety. He struggled to maintain his composure, his voice quivering with an undercurrent of desperation. "What do you want from us?"

The voice, devoid of sympathy, responded with an unsettling calmness, "Patience, pops. You've got to learn to be patient. That is exactly what killed that poor woman in the subway 3 years ago - your lack of patience. Maybe if you had listened, and maybe if you had given a second chance, you wouldn't have that blood on your hands. Have you wondered why you haven't had proper sleep in years?" It paused, letting the weight of the question hang in the air. "It's your guilt, eating you up from the inside."

Frustration and anger simmered in Sean's voice. "Why are you doing this? Do you need money?"

The voice's response was cryptic, laced with a chilling intensity. "Oh, pop! What would I do with all the money in the world, if I don't have the one thing I truly want? I want you to remember the pain you caused, the lives you shattered. I want you to understand the consequences of your actions, pop!"

Sean's patience was wearing thin, and he snapped, "Stop calling me pop! The only person who ever called me that was... Sabrina. Sabrina?"

"Ahh! Finally," the voice sighed in relief. "It took you so long!"

"You're alive... How is this possible?"

The voice laughed, a sinister sound that seemed to reverberate through the room like a haunting melody. "My time is up. I just have one last thing to tell you. I want you to know that you both are made for each other, that you'd actually die together."

The line abruptly cut off, leaving Sean and Beth in stunned silence. The air in the room seemed to thicken, and they exchanged bewildered glances before placing the phone back on its holder.

"What just happened?" Beth asked, her voice broken, her eyes wide with terror.

Sean, overwhelmed and unable to process the surreal turn of events, could only mutter, "Don't. I don't want to talk about it."

Numbly, they proceeded with their evening, eating dinner in a daze before heading to their bedroom. Hours passed, and sleep eventually descended upon them, a heavy shroud that offered temporary solace.

Unbeknownst to them, outside their peaceful room, the world had turned into an inferno. Flames consumed their home, smoke billowing into the night sky. The blaze was fierce, relentless, and unforgiving, swallowing everything in its path.

In a tragic twist of fate, the couple that lay in their slumber, unaware of the catastrophe were soon reduced to ashes, at the exact moment Sabrina drew her last breath, 15 years ago. And thus, their souls remain bound together forever.

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Another entry for Olivia_Benedetti ( Prompt 3 of Halloween Bash )