Echoes of Regret

A weathered picture frame rests on the mantle, the glass slightly cracked, the edges of the wood darkened with age. Inside it, a family smiles, frozen in a moment long past. The man, once full of life, now stares at the photo, his eyes distant. The memory feels both vivid and faded, like a dream he can no longer recall clearly. His wife’s smile is soft, her eyes full of warmth, and their son, a young boy in his innocence, is laughing. It was a time before the silence, before everything fell apart.

He runs his hand through his graying hair, his fingers trembling slightly as the weight of regret settles heavily on his chest. The house, once full of life, now feels too big, too empty. He remembers the sounds that once filled it—the clatter of pots and pans in the kitchen, the laughter of his son echoing through the halls, his wife’s voice calling to him from the other room. Now, all that remains is the silence, the stillness of a home that feels like a mausoleum, cold and abandoned.

The clink of ice cubes in his glass breaks the silence, a sound so hollow it feels like a reminder of everything he’s lost. He sits in the same chair by the window, staring out into the night, watching the rain fall in steady sheets. He takes another sip, feeling the burn of whiskey slide down his throat. It’s a ritual, one that helps him drown the pain, at least for a little while. But the pain never truly goes away. It lingers, like a shadow that refuses to leave, following him through every room of the house.

The liquor helps him forget, but only for a few hours. When the haze of alcohol fades, the memories come rushing back, sharp and unforgiving. He tumbles through his own mind, like stumbling through a fog, half-drunk and half-asleep. The glass in his hand is empty, and the day feels as distant as the family in the photo. Was it really as perfect as he remembers, or was it always doomed from the start?

He’s not sure anymore. The years of fighting, the arguments that seemed so small at the time, now loom large in his mind. The things he said, the things she said—they all come back to him now, twisted and distorted, like fragments of a shattered mirror. He never meant for it to end this way. He loved her. He still does. But there was always a darkness inside him, a demon he couldn’t control, one that fed on anger and pride, and in the end, it was always that darkness that drove them apart.

He slumps in his chair, his head in his hands, as memories flood him. He can hear her voice again, soft and loving, but also filled with frustration. He can see her face, the way it would soften when she spoke to him gently, and the way it would harden when she grew angry. He would argue with her, raise his voice, say things he didn’t mean. And she would retreat, her eyes full of hurt, but she would never leave. Not until that day.

The day she finally walked out.

He remembers it so clearly—her leaving with their son, the small suitcase in her hand. The boy, his son, holding onto her leg, looking up at him with wide eyes. He’d promised him they would play in the garden when he returned. The ball still sits by the back door, untouched, a silent witness to everything that followed. He didn’t chase them. He didn’t try to stop her. Instead, he stood there, watching them drive away in the rain, his heart heavy with guilt. He had never thought it would come to this. He thought she would always be there, that the love they had would be enough to overcome the hard times. But love, he realizes now, is not always enough.

What did they argue about, just before she left? Was it that last fight, the one where everything seemed to spiral out of control? The words they threw at each other, sharp and cutting, things they could never take back? He can’t remember the details. All he remembers is the final look in her eyes, a look that told him everything was over. And then, she was gone.

The door slams in his mind, and he’s alone. He hasn’t seen them since. It’s been months now, a year even, but it feels like it happened just yesterday. He still hopes for the phone call that will bring them back. The call that will tell him everything is okay, that they’ve missed him, that they want to come home. But the phone never rings. The house stays empty.

He’s trapped in that moment, that one instant when she walked away, when everything changed. He could have stopped her. He could have apologized, begged her to stay, but he didn’t. Now, all he can do is live with the consequences of his actions.

At night, the nightmares come. He dreams of the things he’s done, the words he’s said, the life he destroyed. His mind twists and turns, and the monsters come, creeping from the corners of his dreams. They are his own fears, his own guilt, his own regrets, taking shape in the darkness. He fights them, but they always win. The mornings come, and he wakes up, exhausted and broken, but the monsters never truly leave. They wait, lurking in the shadows, always just out of reach.

One night, a knock on the door interrupts his thoughts. It’s late, far too late for visitors. He opens the door, and there stands a man in a uniform, his cap in his hands, his face grim. He’s carrying bad news. The man tells him they didn’t suffer. The rain was heavy, the roads slick. No one was to blame.

The world spins around him as the officer’s words sink in. They’re gone. His wife. His son. Gone in an instant, taken from him in a flash of violence. A twisted wreck of metal and glass. And it’s all his fault. If only he had stopped her. If only he had said the right words, done the right thing, maybe they would still be here.

A year has passed, but he’s still trapped in that moment. The house feels colder now, emptier. He hasn’t touched the whiskey in days, but the pain doesn’t fade. He stares at the photo on the mantle again, his hand trembling as he reaches out to touch it. He would give anything to go back, to apologize, to tell her that he was sorry. But it’s too late now. The damage is done. They’re gone.

And so, he surrenders. He lets the monsters take him, the ones that have been tormenting him for so long. They cradle his broken soul, whispering that there is no way out, no way back. The demons offer him release, and for the first time, he considers it. Maybe it’s time to follow them, to end the pain once and for all. But the thought is fleeting.

Deep down, he knows there’s no escape from the echoes of regret that haunt him. There’s no way to undo the past, no way to bring them back. He will carry this burden for the rest of his life, a life filled with what-ifs and should-haves. And so, he waits, trapped in the memory of what he lost, a man alone in a house full of ghosts.

--