The Painting That Watched

The auction house smelled of old wood and dust. Tom Hale walked slowly between the tables, looking for something special for the new house. His wife, Clara, held their daughter Maya's hand near the door. Maya was eight, and she was bored. She kept asking when they could go home.

"Just one more minute," Tom said. He liked old things. He liked the idea that an object had lived many lives before reaching him.

Then he saw the painting.