The floorboards groaned beneath her footfalls. Kicking up the dust, Emily watched the particles glimmer and flicker in the low light beaming from the greasy window. She hadn't been home in years, and its appearance hadn't changed in that time... with the exception of the dust and grime.

Stopping in the hall outside the sitting room, a tall and once handsome portrait hung on its fixture. Three bright, cheerful faces looked down at her. It wasn't even her mother's or father's that surprised her most, it was her own young and deceptive smile. Even in estrangement, their lie lived on.