text: A family sat at a round kitchen table awaiting their meals to be served by the servants. This family was neither rich nor poor and consisted of four members; a father, a mother, a son, and a daughter who've been birthed recently. "How's school been?" the mother said to the son. The son replied with pleasure and tried to please his father with his accomplishments but the father simply looked passed his son, to the wall which had a new portrait that the servants had hung about almost a year and a half ago. The portrait was of the family in their best attire as the background was a dark hue which made it appear sinister. "What's wrong?" the mother asked. There was a brief silence and then father mutter "nothing" without ever breaking eye contact from the painting. He knew something was off with that portrait, but he didn't have an explanation why. Maybe, from where he was sitting at made the painting distorted he assumed but, he will always reject that idea since it would always look wrong, despite where he stood or what angle he gazed on it. The servants came out of the kitchen with a silver dome over the food. Once they set it down before each member, they began to show the food they've requested. Before they could eat, they first had to eat this pill that was issued to them from so long ago. Each member swallowed the pill and began their meal except for the father who only stared at the pill with bewildered eyes. "Aren't you going to take the pill papa." the son asked after he swallowed his pill. What exactly do we need this pill for? He wondered. "Silly father, you know you have to take the pill in order to keep living right?" Oh yeah that's right but... when exactly did I start taking these pills? And how come, my pill is a different color then everybody else's pill? The son sighed and got up from his chair. He walked towards the father. Why are we taking these pills for anyways? How come, nobody here ever questioned its purpose. Will something terrible happen if I don't eat it before the hand Strikes twelve? What will happen, then... will anything happen? The son picked up his father's pills and began to put it near his mouth, but the father grabbed his son's arms with a strong force and pushed it away from him. "I don't want to eat it!" the father yelled. Everybody was in shock. " father you need this pill or else you will become miserable." The father looked around the kitchen table to see his wife's upset face as she cradled the now crying toddler. Out of guilt, he took the pill from his sons hand and observed it. " it's for your own good." The mother responded. The pill inches closer to the father lips, but the closer it got the more anguish he became. He put the pill in his mouth and the mother and son's response became relieved. "Was that so hard father?" the son says. The father locked his eyes with his son for the first time and the son can see the rage that laid within him. He spat his pill out towards his son's face. "I don't want to eat this pill! I must know what will happen!" the son picks up the pill hastily and battles his father onto the floor. "You must!" he screams. The father fought back even though his son was more powerful than he was. He tilted his head towards the portrait and realized the painting became more distorted every passing second, which gave the father the strength to overpower his son. He ran towards the portrait and began to laugh hysterically as the painting presumed to show a twisted hallucinogenic scene that can only be found in someone's worst nightmares. The second hand on the clock began to tick louder when it started itching closer to twelve, but this didn't bother the father's curiosity and his pleas for rationality. A sudden silence fell over the family when The old fashioned clock rang, which the father knew he was free and he looked back to his son who was on the marble floor. The son wiped his now bloody lip and says in a soft and concerned voice, " we were only trying to protect you." And in that instant the father knew the deed he committed. His son became transparent and the father extended his hand out to the son for the first time where he has shown sincerity but the connection their newly found bound was short lived when the son vanished. The father looked at his wife who was covering her mouth as her other hand held the toddler who was screaming. The father went towards the wife and grabbed the child before she fell on the floor. "This hurts so much," she cried. "Why couldn't you have taken the pill." she slowly grown transpicuous. " Because, I had to see the truth." The wife's eyes widen in fear then she closes them, so she doesn't have to show the pain and disappointment she felt at that moment. She vanished into thin air when her tears began to fall from her chin. The father cradled the baby who was in a small thin blue blanket and turned back to the portrait which was now only a plain folded piece of paper that is taped loosely on the white wall. He walked somewhat slowly towards it because he was terrified to see it but, at the same time he was eager. After he hesitated to take his last step, he traced his index finger behind the paper and set his thumb on the paper and peeled off the paper off the wall slowly. Once it was off the wall he examined the folded paper and started to open it until he saw what it contained inside; There were words that seemed to have been written hurriedly on a Typewriter. He read the contents of that letter and when he read that last sentence his jaw dropped open as his hands began to tremble. "No...this can't be." tears began to flow out his eyes. He looked down to his arms to realize his precious daughter was no longer there and shortly a strong throbbing sensation in his head began to deteriorate the way he's perceived things. One moment he would see them huddled around laughing, and the next moment he would see himself alone in that depressing room. He was going mad, and he knew that. He at first hit his head with the palm of his hands but he kept on remembering so he then resorted to banging his head against the wall but all that did was with a worsen the splitting headache. He fell onto his side and presumed the unwanted memories but, he saw that there was something he didn't notice in the room. Where the kitchen was supposed to be was replaced by a somewhat large porcelain bowl located in the middle of the room that was under white fluorescent lights. He pushed himself up and began to stumble towards it but he kept on falling out of revelation and fear. He instead began to crawl as memories of the accident flooded his head.the sounds of screeching tires was the only thing that kept him from passing out from the horror he felt. He reached to the bowl and found thousands of those pills in the bowl. With shaky hands, he managed to pick a singular pill and examined its vibrant turquoise color. He began to put the pill near his mouth but stopped when it touched his lips. I've already seen what I longed for but now I am thinking should I eat it. If I don't eat this pill I would only be stuck here in this desolate place stuck with my thoughts. But... if I do eat this pill I will be reunited with my family and be loved by them but I will always know that deep inside that they are not real.