The Man in the Family Portrait
When Ryan moved into his grandmother's old house, he spent the first weekend cleaning out the attic.
Most of it was useless—old furniture, dusty books, broken toys, and boxes filled with photographs.
Late that evening, he found a large family portrait covered in a white sheet.
He recognized his grandmother immediately.
She was standing beside his grandfather, surrounded by relatives Ryan had never met.
But there was one person he couldn't identify.
A man standing at the very back.
Ryan assumed it was a distant relative.
Then he noticed something strange.
The man was wearing the exact same jacket Ryan was wearing.
Ryan laughed it off.
Until he looked closer.
The man's face looked exactly like his.
Not similar.
Exactly the same.
Ryan took a picture of the portrait and sent it to his mother.
She called him less than a minute later.
“Where did you find that?”
“In the attic. Who's the man behind Grandpa?”
There was a long silence.
Then his mother whispered,
“Ryan... don't stay in that house tonight.”
He asked why.
She didn't answer.
Instead, she said something that made his stomach drop.
“That photograph was taken in 1986.”
Ryan looked at the portrait again.
His mother continued.
“You weren't born until 2001.”
Ryan slowly turned toward the attic door.
Someone was standing on the other side.
A man's voice came through the darkness.
“Mom told you not to stay?”
Ryan froze.
The voice sounded exactly like his.
Then the attic door began to open.
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