Welcome to this week’s installment of many micro stories, ranging in length from 100 words to 500 words.
With each story we hope to deliver a little whimsy into the lives of our readers.
THE FIGURE IN THE FRAME
It arrived in plain brown paper, unmarked and anonymous, tucked in the corner of my grandfather’s antique shop as if it had always been there. I do not recall anyone bringing it in.
The frame…dusty, ornate, almost vulgar…held a portrait: a figure facing away in a rust-hued haze, only a cheekbone and a jaw visible. His back was straight, his hands clasped like broken birds.
I meant to hang it and forget it. But I kept returning, drawn to the stillness, the suggestion of something unfinished. I told myself it was just curiosity. Nothing more.
Then, one night, the figure had changed. His right arm now hung at his side, fingers splayed. The left one outstretched. I stared at it.
Then I heard it…barely a whisper:
“Save me.”
His eyes, now facing mine, were not cruel. They were haunted.
The next day, I searched the library. Old painters, I read, often reused canvases. Layers of work buried beneath fresh paint. It explained the texture…thick, scaled brushwork at the center.
That evening, I scraped.
Beneath the top layer: another figure. Younger, mouth open in a silent scream.
It looked, by God, like my grandfather.
I scraped again.
Another. A younger man…but with familiar features. And another. Each more frantic. More decayed. Faces pressed to the surface like insects in amber. Going back through time to some unnamed past.
That night, the whispers came from the walls: “Save me!”
At dawn I returned. The canvas was white.
But not for long. Color rose through the gesso like blood through gauze.
A new figure formed. Familiar. Reaching.
It was me.
I tried to run. My limbs failed. I screamed. The sound curled inward.
The figure reached toward the edge of the frame.
And pulled me in.
They’ll find it again. They always do.
And someone will hear me whisper:
“Save me.”
Zary Fekete grew up in Hungary. He has a debut novella (Words on the Page) out with DarkWinter Lit Press and a short story collection (To Accept the Things I Cannot Change: Writing My Way Out of Addiction) out with Creative Texts. He enjoys books, podcasts, and many many many films. Twitter and Instagram: @ZaryFekete Bluesky:zaryfekete.bsky.social
If you enjoyed this story you can find it and more in the Hawthorn & Ash 2023 anthology.
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