The Photograph That Aged Backwards

Prologue: The Estate Sale

Black Creek Gazette - June 12, 1932

"Search continues for missing Eleanor Pritchett, 12. Witnesses report seeing the girl wading near Miller's Bend before..." [clipping torn]

The attic smelled of cedar and secrets. When I found Grandma Eleanor's portrait wrapped in funeral-black cloth, the frame burned my fingers like dry ice. The date etched underneath made no sense:

"Taken September 1947"

Fifteen years after she supposedly drowned.

Chapter 1: The Changing Face

Text Messages with Husband

[Oct 3, 8:17 AM] Me: "Look at this!!" [photo of portrait]

[Oct 3, 8:19 AM] Jake: "Weird filter babe"

[Oct 7, 11:43 PM] Jake: "Lia the frame's MOVING" [video deleted]

By day three, the changes were undeniable.

Monday: Eleanor's victory rolls loosened to 1930s waves

Wednesday: Her wedding band vanished from her left hand

Friday: The photo showed a teenager in a pinafore

The silver frame tarnished in reverse too—fresh oxidation creeping inward from the edges like a photographic darkroom process in reverse.

Chapter 2: Dr. Halloway's Ledger

Excerpt from Studio Logbook - 1947

"Subject E.P. - 10 years purchased (advanced aging method)

Collateral: 3 living donors (see contracts)

Warning: Portrait must never—" [entry scorched]

Grandma's diary entries grew increasingly frantic:

"March 1958: Mrs. Wilkins asked too many questions. Had to visit the creek again."

"July 1962: The portrait coughs at night now. Sometimes it spits up hair."

Beneath a loose floorboard, I found her "collateral"—a cigar box containing three gold teeth.

All child-sized.

Chapter 3: The Thing in the Frame

Security Footage Transcript - 10/14/23

02:17:34 - Subject approaches dresser

02:18:01 - Portrait glass fractures

02:18:22 - Black liquid observed dripping

02:18:30 - FEED LOST

The night the glass cracked, I woke to wet clicking sounds.

The portrait now showed a squalling newborn, its face pressed against the inside of the frame. Tiny fingernails left hairline scratches in the glass as it pushed.

When I screamed, Jake came running—

—just in time to watch the first drop of black fluid ooze onto the dresser.

It smelled like the creek where Eleanor Pritchett drowned.

Chapter 4: The Debt Collector

Voicemail from Lucy Tall Grass (Last Living Halloway Model)

"Your grandma stole years she wasn't owed. The camera doesn't just take pictures, honey—it takes pieces. And that thing in your frame? It's here to..." [message cuts to static]

The final diary entry explained everything:

"Halloway's secret: The camera steals time from others to give to you. But the Portrait always collects what's owed—with interest."

Downstairs, Jake screamed.

I found him clutching his face as his wrinkles smoothed away. Our newborn's cries turned to gurgles, then silence.

From the nursery monitor, a wet voice whispered:

"Three donors repaid. One account remains."

Epilogue: The New Portrait

Missing Persons Report - Case #4471

"Husband and infant missing. Wife claims 'the photograph took them.'"

The police didn't believe me.

But this morning, a new photo appeared on my dresser—a handsome young man holding a baby.

Jake's wedding ring glints in the light.

Our daughter's eyes are already changing color.

And if you press your ear to the glass at 3 AM, you can hear them...

...scratching.