The husband did not let his wife into the barn for 35 years. After the funeral, she decided to come in and fainted when she saw it…

Sarah couldn’t come to terms with her solitude, no matter how hard she tried. She distracted herself with TV and cleaning. Sometimes, she picked up knitting needles to craft something.

But it all felt pointless, bringing her no joy. While wiping down shelves for the hundredth time, she avoided thinking about how her life would never be the same. But the moment she finished her chores, despair washed over her again.

Everything seemed meaningless, even the cleaning. The house was spotless; there was nothing left to tidy.

She couldn’t bear watching TV anymore. Knitting only strained her eyes and hands. There was only one place she hadn’t touched.

The shed. The one she’d been forbidden to enter. But now, no one could stop her.

It would be good to sort through it. She could give some tools to a neighbor. Maybe she’d find something useful.

The shed could store other items to free up space in the house. At the very least, it was something new to do. In 35 years, she’d never seen the inside of that shed.

Sarah felt no fear as she approached it. She’d never opened its doors or imagined what it looked like inside.

What could be waiting for her? Could David have hidden secrets there? “Maybe I’ll find gold bars,” she chuckled to herself, turning the key in the padlock. Why else would he guard this old shack so fiercely? She was just trying to keep her mind occupied. David had forbidden her from approaching the shed, even when he was bedridden and too weak to move.

Her joking wasn’t entirely baseless, though it seemed far-fetched. The lock was stubborn, but Sarah managed to open it. The door creaked so loudly it could’ve woken the neighbors.

For a moment, she wondered if Emily, ever curious, would come running at the sound. Sarah always knew when David entered the shed by that same creak. She’d often marveled at how much time he spent tinkering with his things.

Emily had been right—David sometimes stayed there at night. But everyone needs their own space. Sarah, for instance, could spend hours in the kitchen, while David only ventured there for the fridge. She regretted not bringing a flashlight, as the shed was pitch black, but she was certain there was a light bulb.

She’d seen rays of light slip through the wooden slats. Emily had mentioned seeing light at night, too. Running her hand along the wall, Sarah found the switch and squinted at the sudden brightness after the darkness.

“Let there be light!” she declared with a smile. But the smile faded quickly. She looked around.

There was nothing of interest to her, but the shed was a perfect reflection of David and his meticulous nature. Tools hung on the walls, arranged by size from smallest to largest, every nail in its place. Each screwdriver gleamed as if unused for decades.

Fishing rods and gear were neatly stacked, looking fresh from the store. A thin layer of dust coated everything, as David hadn’t been there in weeks. He loved order and enforced it in the house, too.

Sarah hated cleaning, but she scrubbed floors and windows to keep David happy. That habit lingered after his death. In that moment, she truly felt how much she missed him.

Yes, he could be unbearable, but she loved him. She was still grieving, her pain raw. But imagining him organizing this shed for hours, she realized she even missed his stern voice and his furrowed brow.

Sarah decided she wasn’t ready to disturb the shed and disrupt the order David had worked so hard to maintain. She’d wait a little longer. There was nothing interesting here anyway.

As she turned to leave, she froze. How had she missed that blue suitcase in the corner? That was odd.

What was strange about a suitcase? Nothing, except for the massive padlock securing it. It stood out in the orderly shed, as if tossed there in a hurry.

It didn’t belong. And it was dust-free, meaning David had touched it recently, even in his weakened state…