It was the winter of 2024 when Amelie Baker had just moved into her new house. She had just retired from her job as a banker and was ready to enjoy life without having to worry about the responsibility of a job anymore. Her house was very quaint, and a perfect fit for her and her two cats.
She lived independently, ever since her husband died of a heart attack several years ago. She wasn't looking for any type of relationship with anyone; she just wanted to continue on the rest of her life on her own.
After everything was moved in, she did everything a 64-year-old widow did. She wasted time looking for new cooking recipes, shopping at thrift stores, and playing cards weekly with some of her good friends. Some days she would go volunteer over at the Church to help out, and also to get more socially involved with the locals.
She had gone to the food bank one Saturday to donate some canned goods, and stopped at the local video store on the way home to rent a movie for the night. When she got home, there was a cardboard box sitting on her doorstep. There wasn't anything that she had ordered, she thought, but she brought it inside to open it up. She slit the tape around the edges, and inside the box was a small tin container.
On the lid of the container was a yellow sticky note that had printed in ink: "the real truth". A little adrenaline rush ran through her body for a brief moment, and she was hesitant to open the container.
Finally, she took a deep breath, and took the lid off slowly. She gasped. Ashes. But wait. She saw a small gold spot buried in them. She shook the container. It was her husband's pin which had his initials engraved "MJB", for Martin Joseph Baker, and he'd lost it right before he passed away. She dropped the container, not knowing what to do, or what to feel. Immediately she picked up the phone and dialed nine-one-one.
"Nine-one-one, how may I help you?" the operator answered.
Talking very fast paced, she said, "Oh my God someone just put my husband's ashes on my doorstep! He wasn't cremated! I watched them bury him in the tomb in the graveyard seven years ago! Please help me! I don't know what to do! Please please--"
"Ma'am," she interrupted, "I need you to calm down. I need you to stay calm. There's someone on their way over there as we speak. They should be there shortly, and I'm going to stay on the phone with you until they get there, okay?"
"Okay. Okay. Thank you," she cried.
Seconds later, the police arrived. She ran out, speechless, with tears coming down her face. She lead them in and explained everything. She couldn't stop shaking. They immediately asked her to come downtown for further investigation.
When they got downtown, she was brought into a room. A few detectives came in and asked her the usual suspect questions: "What was the cause of your husband's death? Do you know of anyone whom had anything against him or vice versa?"
She told them the complete truth, that her husband died of a heart attack in the middle of a business dinner meeting, and that he was a very well-known and favored man in town before he passed.
"And you just moved houses here in Hattiesburg, right?" they asked.
"Yes, just this month," she stuttered, still confused about what was going on.
The detectives stepped out of the room and she could see them talking behind the blinds. She was still shaking, but she felt more comfortable knowing she was in a safe place.
They walked back in. "Martin Baker was his name, correct?" She nodded her head.
They questioned her again. "Are you aware that he had a twin brother?"
She looked at them confused. "No... You must have the wrong Martin Baker. He didn't have any siblings and his parents died when he was very young. He was adopted."
"Ma'am, take a good look at this picture and tell me if this looks like your husband," he said as he held up the picture.
She quickly looked at it and she couldn't believe her eyes. That was him. Martin. But it wasn't. It was his twin brother, Tommy, according to the detectives. He didn't tell her anything about having a brother, or just any siblings in general! How could this be? "That looks just like him. Are you sure it's not him?"
"Positive. This picture is actually a cutout and the original has Martin standing next to him. It was taken in 1960 and the location is unknown," he stated.
It took her a minute to think it all through. Was he lying about having a twin brother the whole time? She wanted to get to the bottom of this. And she was going to.
"Detective, on the container was a sticky note with 'the real truth' written on it. It has to mean something," she said curiously.
"Amelie, just leave everything up to us. We're doing everything we can do right now. All you need to worry about is getting home safe tonight and you can leave the rest to us. We'll give you a call soon," concluded the detective.
"Okay. Thanks so much for your help, detective," she replied as she walked out the door.
When she got home, all she could think about was the whole situation. She thought of every possibility there was and knew there was no way any of them could be true. Minutes later, she got a call.
"Hello?" she answered.
"Amelie, it's Detective from downtown headquarters. I think we may have found something. Can you meet me at the cemetery?" he asked.
"I'm on my way now," she murmured without hesitation.
She pulled up to the rusty gates of Memory Row Cemetery, and it made her think back to the last time she was here: her husband's burial. The reason she hadn't gone to see him since was because it was just simply too hard. She knew she didn't have the strength to visit his beloved grave without realizing that his body was actually right there beneath her in the tomb, a dead soul and only she was left. After seven years, though, it was time.
She pulled through the gates and into the place. She saw Detective and got out of her car. "So what's the big discovery?"
"This," he said as he pointed his flashlight to a small engraved stone next to Martin's grave. It read:
Thomas Edgar Givens
Beloved brother of Martin Givens
1935-1990
Was Martin keeping this from her this whole time? There had to be a legitimate reason as to why, or maybe he just really had no idea at all about this long lost brother of his. This was all brand new to her, and she was taking it all in at once.
"Why don't you sit down. I know this is probably very stressful for you," he said.
"Just a tad, Detec--," she interrupted herself, "what did you say was your name again?"
He chuckled, "Well now that you ask..." He peeled off what had been the whole time a face mask, and pulled out a knife from his pocket.
"Who are you...?" Amelie mumbled under her breath, shaken with fear.
"My name's Johnny. I'm Martin and Tommy's younger brother. The unwanted child. The one no one ever cared about."
She backed away slowly, trying not to faint. Another brother? Why was Martin hiding this from me? Why is he trying to hurt me? My entire marriage has been a lie...
He moved closer to her, holding the knife. "I was always the neglected child, the one who didn't get any attention. I got tired of hearing, 'You need to get into sports. You need this. You need that. You need to be more like your brothers, Johnny.' We were triplets. Brothers. Except they were golden and I wasn't worth anything to my parents. To put an end to this, I finally did what I needed to do. It's done. Finished." Amelie was shocked and began to pant as she grew overwhelmed by the second.
"And I won't let you reveal the truth!" he screamed as he drew back the knife, getting ready to plunge it into Amelie's heart, until the knife was coming at her, point first, ready to pierce her chest. She screamed for her life.
Then, she woke up to her radio alarm. She awoke hyperventilating then began to cry from the horror of her terrible nightmare. She eventually caught her breath and felt utter relief. It all happened so fast, but it wasn't real. Just a dream.
Amelie got out of bed, made coffee, and headed towards the door to get the newspaper. When she opened the door, a cardboard box was sitting on her doorstep.