The story of Tara and Eric’s marriage is a haunting tale of love intertwined with mystery and fear, encapsulated in a mysterious oil painting that has more than just artistic value. Their life together, seemingly idyllic in its early stages, began to unravel when the painting became a source of tension and an ominous presence in their home. This painting, a seemingly innocuous sale acquisition, soon revealed its dark influence, not just aesthetically, but as a foreshadowing of hidden truths that would ultimately threaten Tara’s safety and sanity.
As the couple navigated the daily challenges of married life, the image began to exert an unsettling power, disrupting the peace and turning their domestic bliss into a psychological battlefield. Tara, initially disturbed by the mysterious allure of the artwork, became increasingly tormented by its presence, feeling watched and uneasy, especially in the vulnerability of the night. The subject of the portrait, a young woman with piercing eyes, seemed to have a silent narrative that was both captivating and menacing.
A young woman took to Reddit to share her experience with something that kept her up at night. When she finally discovered the truth, she realized that the same cause of her insomnia also contributed to saving her life.
The honeymoon phase that Tara and her husband, Eric, experienced when they were first married was interspersed with the usual problems that plague young marriages: arguments over personal space, conflicts over household duties, and most importantly, arguments over home decor. One particular bone of contention among these domestic conflicts was a mysterious oil painting of a woman that Tara’s husband vehemently insisted on keeping.
The artwork, which had no known history and was said to have been purchased at a yard sale before Eric and Tara met, showed a young lady in a plain white cotton dress with blonde hair falling over her shoulders like a waterfall.
Since oil was used to make the painting, it took on a life of its own when it caught the light. However, Tara felt that despite its beauty, the painting had an unsettling air to it, especially since her husband had hung it prominently above their bed.
It was obvious that Tara did not like the image. His presence in their bedroom was menacing, and she often woke up in the middle of the night with the impression that a woman’s piercing gray eyes were watching her. Her confusion was so great that she begged her husband, Eric, to move the painting.
When Tara tried to explain to Eric that the painting didn’t go with their current bedroom, Eric replied that neither did Tara’s FunkoPops. Eric was allowed to keep the painting in the bedroom when Tara succumbed to his request. She threatened to move her FunkoPops if Eric moved the painting out of their bedroom because she was still having trouble falling asleep.
He reluctantly moved it to the stairwell, which only made Tara nervous as the image seemed to be staring at her. One restless night, as Tara sneaks out of bed for a midnight snack, she is startled by a drawing, thinking it is an intruder in a poorly lit house. This was the turning point in the script.
Tara told Eric that she was afraid of the picture, which was why she had so vehemently pleaded with her to have it removed completely. The painting was then moved to Eric’s office, which provided some respite, but also signaled the beginning of a deeper mystery.
Tara noticed that Eric was often holed up in his office with artwork and spent an inordinate amount of time there. She figured she was spending her time finishing up a big project at work because she knew she had one. She quickly saw that a darker force was at work.
When Eric doesn’t show up for dinner one evening, Tara follows her curiosity to his office, where she finds him staring at a picture in a trance. Eric informed Tara that he had just turned in his project, that everyone was happy with it, and that he was heading down to dinner when she arrived at the office.
Tara decided to keep her feelings about Eric’s view of the painting to herself. Later in the week, however, she lost her ability to remain silent. She storms into Eric’s office demanding to know why he is lying after overhearing him in a work interview during which he claims he didn’t finish his work because he had to take Tara to the hospital after she fell down the stairs.
Eric picked up the phone with a pale face and told Tara that his work was on the line and that he needed an excuse for missing the deadline. When he told Tara he had done it earlier that week, she asked if it was the same date. Tara told him that she had a feeling that they hadn’t spent any time together that week, but he confirmed that they had, which is why she thought his job was his business.
She asked if he had spent the whole week working on the project or if he was just sitting in the office looking at the painting. Tara caught Eric’s eye and he commented, “You’re jealous of her.” When Tara asked what Eric was talking about, he reassured her, “Tara, you shouldn’t be. She looks more beautiful than the picture.”
Tara, surprised by her husband’s comments, asked if he was implying that the painting depicted a person she knew. He reminded her that he didn’t know the woman in the artwork and apologized. However, Tara wasn’t sure if her husband was being completely honest with her.
One night, while Eric slept, a combination of curiosity and tears drove Tara to begin a covert investigation. She sneaked out of their bedroom, entered his office, and used her phone to snap a picture. She discovered surprising information by using a reverse image search to match the image to Anya Kelsing, a missing art student who disappeared under suspicious circumstances while walking with her lover.
After encountering a bear on their journey, Anya and her friend are separated, and Anya seems to have disappeared from sight. Anya’s backpack was discovered a mile from the bear sighting, but her corpse was never found.
Tara was certain that Eric was her lover, even though none of the stories mentioned his name.
Tara found out that Anya was an art student and that she was the one who painted the self-portrait that was currently hanging in Eric’s office.
When Tara heard footsteps approaching the office while reading about Anya, she felt compelled to run away from Eric. She went under the table and began to wonder why she hadn’t made up a story for her visit to the workplace.
When Eric entered the office, he called Tara’s name and asked if she was present. Tara screamed as he finally knelt down and saw her under the table. Offering a lame explanation, Tara said she forgot she needed to make a grocery list and came looking for a pen.
Tara tried to jump out from under the table when Eric told her he didn’t think it was true. Eric grabbed her wrist and held her as she did. He then asked Tara whether or not she had identified the woman in the artwork and if that was why she was running away from him.
“What did you do to her?” Tara asked.
Eric laughed and jokingly told Tara that it was admirable that her original assumption was that her husband was a murderer. In her defense, Tara said that she doesn’t believe that Eric killed Anya, but that she is wondering what happened and if the bear really did kill her.
Eric apologized to Tara for having to find out this way but said she should have left well enough on her own. Then he jumped on her and pulled her out from under the table. The artwork fell as Tara struggled to get out of Eric’s grip and he turned to examine it. Tara was running all this time.
Tara screamed for help as she ran out of their house and into the street.
After neighbors called 911, police took Eric into custody on an assault charge. After Tara notified the police, they began searching for Eric and eventually discovered a pair of gold earrings hidden in his desk drawer.
Anya was wearing the same earrings the day she disappeared. When Tara posted, she said that the evidence against Eric was mounting and that she hoped Anya would get the punishment she deserved. She also revealed that she sensed Anya’s heavenly intervention that saved her from a similar fate as the artwork fell off the wall at that moment.
In the end, Tara’s harrowing discovery about her husband and Anya Kelsing’s mysterious oil painting turn what began as discomfort and uneasiness into a life-saving revelation. As Tara unravels the layers of mystery surrounding the painting, she is driven into a chilling reality that shakes the foundations of her marriage and security. A painting that was once a mere subject of dispute over aesthetic preferences has become a silent witness to hidden truths and a past marked by tragedy.
The sequence of events that led Tara to uncover the truth about Eric and Anya underscored the profound impact of intuition and the courage to assert uncomfortable truths, even within the confines of one’s own household. As Tara worked through her doubts and fears, her story became one of survival and justice, mirroring the larger story of many people who found themselves unwittingly connected to unsolved mysteries and crimes.
Ultimately, this experience not only changed Tara’s life but also served as a solemn reminder of Anya Kelsing’s unresolved fate. The ramifications of Tara’s discoveries have brought crucial evidence to light that could potentially offer closure to a long-running mystery and bring justice for Anya. Tara’s ordeal highlights the importance of listening to your instincts and the sometimes hidden meaning of the objects around you. A painting of Anya that once ominously hung in their home proved to be the catalyst for uncovering the hidden past and possibly preventing history from repeating itself.