Drew had waited until the sun had risen before going back into the house. There was no creepy sound anymore, and the painting looked normal again. He had dressed quickly, grabbed his phone, and called his friend AJ.
"My new painting is haunted."
Of course AJ hadn't believed him at first but the panic in Drew's voice had made AJ get in his car and drive straight to Drew. Now both men were standing in the hallway, looking at the painting of Leinani Māhoe.
"Have you tried googling her name?" AJ asked.
"After I called you," Drew sighed. "I found nothing."
"Let's try this then," AJ said.
AJ took out his phone and took a picture of the painting. He put it into google image search and started scrolling.
"I think I got a hit," AJ said.
Drew moved over to AJ and looked at the website on the other man's phone. There were a lot of paintings of women looking a lot like Leinani. They were all hanging in a home. There was an empty spot where a painting once was.
"They all share the same surname," AJ said. "Apparently her husband killed her after learning she and several of her family members were into witchcraft. He then took the painting and swore to burn it to break the family curse. Clearly he didn't succeed since the painting is hanging here."
Drew tilted his head and studied the painting.
"Maybe the family curse protects the paintings from being destroyed," Drew said. "Only one way to find out."
Drew took the painting down from the wall and tried stomping on it to make a hole through it. Nothing happened.
"Guess I'm right," Drew said.
"Is it wise to do that to a cursed painting?" AJ asked.
"I just keep fucking up, don't I?" Drew asked.
Drew hung the painting back on the wall.
"Does it say anything else? How to lift the curse maybe?" Drew asked.
"After her husband killed her, her soul then went into the painting. She won't rest until she's back home where she belongs," AJ said.
"Great. I'm fucked," Drew said. "I got a pissed off ghost in my house, trying to punish me for what someone else did to her. I'm so fucking dead."
"Unless you bring her home," AJ said. "There's an e-mail for the person running the website. It says her name is Keanna Māhoe. Let's reach out and leave your phone number so she can call you."
"Attach the picture of the painting as proof," Drew said. "She'll call really fucking fast after she sees that."