Lens[]
One year ago, I found a really strange camera. It was one of those old cameras... the ones that print the picture out once you take it. It was at the Sunday Markets, in the stall with that creepy old lady no one liked. Usually, I wouldn't go near her, but my mates dared me to go buy something from her. When I looked at the stall, the lady didn't speak. It was sorta creepy, but I thought she might be shy or something. She didn't seem to have a proper business, there were just things that looked like were given to her years ago, and she decided to sell them to buy... buy whatever old people like, like a sewing machine. Along with the camera, there were other strange things, such as nail clippers, a broken lamp and even a few Halloween gifts that you would find a dollar store. The camera looked pretty cool, and my girlfriend was a bit of hipster, (She only buys things that are older than her) so I thought she might like it. I can't really remember how I bought it though. I don't know why, but my brain blocked out that memory for some odd reason. Anyway, I showed the camera to my friends as proof, and we just messed around for the next couple of hours.
When I eventually got home, I showed it to my girlfriend, and as she said, she loved the age. She wanted to take a selfie with it, and after 20 minutes of her getting ready for it (don't ask), we took the picture. It did nothing for five seconds, then made an odd sound. It sounded like a fax machine for some reason (I know this because of my hipster girlfriend). The picture came out and she did that weird thing where you shake it and asked me how it looked. I didn't know what to say when I saw it. It was exactly what I expected, except where there were any facial features, there was just a poorly cropped black square on it. It looked like that was what the camera was doing in those five seconds like it was created to do that. I showed her, and she just thought it was cute and original. I did not. Later that night, when she was asleep, I grabbed some of the tools my dad gave to me on my birthday and took it apart. Inside it seemed pretty normal, besides for a note. The note read "I hate myself". It seemed pretty odd, and there was nothing that could really tell me who wrote, it was just too vague. The woman maybe? Or a previous owner? I didn't know. Although it did look like a rushed suicide note. I took the note out, put the camera back together and just went to bed for the night.
The next day, my girlfriends wanted to take another picture. I agreed because she seemed to like the way it blacked out the face. We took another one and this time she looked at it first. Her face went from her usual cheery self, to complete terror. She looked like she saw a ghost. She screamed so loud, it almost burst my eardrums, and she bolted out the door. I went after her and didn't come back home 'til eight that night. I couldn't find her. The next day after I called the police, she was found in the river. Dead. I moved out later that week. I... I can't believe she's gone. I sold the camera for a buck, and never looked at the picture we took. I tore up the other one.
I've never forgiven myself since.
The photo, courtesy of my girlfriend's Instagram.