An old woman by the name Martha sits alone at her studio, staring blankly at the broken camera resting in her frail hands. Photography is the only thing that really mattered to her ever since the tragic death of her husband, Moriss. He was a humble man, the only man that bore her fragile heart. She cried at the thought of him, its still carried his warmth despite its broken state. Considering it was a birthday gift from him, it felt like she had lost another piece of him, and it hurt her dearly. She forced her tears to stop, Morris, the sweet man he is, would never want her to cry over a camera, she knew that. He would never want her to quit photography. She sighed and decided to get a new one in his honour.
The next day, she passed by an old antique shop, it was tiny and squeezed at the worse corners of town but it sure was a cute store. The second her cane entered the room, a small bell rung, alerting the owner of her presence. The woman was rather young, perhaps in her mid 30's, which brought much surprise to Martha. Noticing her confused expression, the owner, Elizabeth, told her she had inherited the shop from her grand father, which eased Martha's suspiscions. Martha looked around and saw a small, white camera laid on a pillow in a neglected shelf. Martha immidiately fell in love with it, despite an odd breeze that discouraged her from taking it home. Something was off, but she was too excited to put too much thought into it.
Elizabeth stared at Martha as she left the little shop, a strained smile plastered on her face. Martha couldnt tell whether Elizabeth was relieved or not to have her customer go, in fact, she looked worried. Martha brushed it off as discomfort because the camera was probably one of Elizabeth's likings, no wonder the lingering eyes. On Marthas way home, she saw a beautiful woman, who seemed to be God's favourites. Her skin was a smooth olive, her face sculpted with such harmony she looked unreal. She sure was ethereal. Martha stopped for a momment and took a picture of her, lost in the beauty of this angel. She went home practically skipping, her day was just a delight!
2 days later, Martha, a rather well off lady, was looking through past news, bored out of her mind. Her fingers scrolled and scrolled, until it stopped on a familiar picture. As she read the article, she almost shreeked in horror. The same woman she had photographed yesterday had suffered a heart attack! She felt an overwhelming dread and pity, the woman was so gorgeous! She had such a bright future ahead of her, what a shame. She was at least a little happy that she got a pic of the angel before her demise, but she couldnt help but feel a little suspicious of the coincidence. Again, she didnt put too much thought into it.
The followng day, she took another 6 photos out of boredom, they turned out beautiful, the details in each of them had such high resolution it all seemed professional. Martha felt a joy that she hadn't felt in such a long time. The next day, Three people died, those three people that were present in the photos she so carelessly took. Martha gasped, realization dawning on her. One of them was her grandson. She turned pale, not wanting to accept the fact that she could be a murderer. "It isn't linked..." she thought "It just can't be!"She sobbed, trying to console herself, not wanting to believe this. This camera had brought her such joy, such wonderful feelings, how could she forsake it? She spiraled, holding the picture of her grandson. After much thought, she decided to continue, just for a little while.
About 2 weeks later, she had 'accidentaly' killed twenty three people, all dying exactly 24 hours after being shot. She stared at her camera and at the photos, she didnt just see evidence, she saw blood, not literally though. She felt like a monster, one that didnt deserve life. Hesitating, she threw the camera away, not being able to bare the weight of all those souls. She turned away from the trash bin, not wanting to look at that dreaded weapon. 'Flash'. Martha turned around so fast she almost broke her back. Did the camera just... Take a photo of her, on its own..? Suddenly, a wave of dread washed over her. For some reason, life didnt feel worth living anymore.
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