Chapter 13

I'd placed all my hopes in Mr. Zhang.

But more and more, I was beginning to think he wasn't very dependable.

He added, “That man you saw is very suspicious.”

“There's a good chance he's behind all of this.”

A plan suddenly occurred to me.

I looked up.

“Mr. Zhang, I know what I have to do.”

He looked me up and down with a dismissive expression.

“What can a little girl like you do?”

I didn't like that belittling tone.

I answered seriously, emphasizing every word.

“I'm going to that man's house!”

17. The Ghost Who Saved Me

“I'll go to his house and look for clues!”

Mr. Zhang stared at me for a long time without answering.

I had to repeat myself louder.

He only curled his lip.

“Hmph.”

Then he brushed past me and headed outside.

I stamped my foot.

“What does that mean? Don't you believe me? Or do you just look down on me?”

I ran after him, determined to get an answer.

He grumbled as he walked.

“All right, all right. Why are you always so impatient? If you were my granddaughter, you'd take ten years off my life.”

I planted my hands on my hips.

“That's mean!”

“Mr. Zhang! When Grandma wakes up, I'll tell her. I'll make her stop talking to you!”

That was my trump card.

He scoffed.

“Ha! You think I'm afraid of a little brat threatening me?”

But his voice had lost its ease.

He dropped onto the sofa.

His leg jiggled, his hands gripped the edge of the seat, and his eyes darted everywhere except at me.

I raised an eyebrow.

“You are afraid. Because you like Grandma.”

He immediately began to stammer.

“W-who... who said I like your grandmother?”

I smiled triumphantly.

“She did. When she was younger, someone liked her very much. But her parents made her marry someone else. That man never married. Think about it. Isn't that you?”

He changed the subject at once.

“Right... You said you wanted to go to that man's house. How exactly do you plan to do that?”

I laughed inwardly.

Ha. Finally, a way to deal with this old man.

I sat beside him and narrowed my eyes, trying to look clever.

“I've thought it through. That ghost's never hurt me. She keeps trying to stay with me at all costs. They must be waiting for something. And that something probably involves the man. Today, 'Mom' came to Grandma's with me. From her reaction, she seemed to have no idea anything had happened to Grandma. If the man really did it, she'll definitely go to see him today.”

“I know where they meet. I can listen in.”

He sneered.

“You think the ghost will sit at home waiting for you before she goes to see him? They'll wait until you get there to discuss their plans for your benefit?”

He sighed.

“Children will be children.”

I protested immediately.

“But if we want the truth, we have to start with him! Mom's missing. Grandma's unconscious. I can't just sit and wait to die. I have to do something! I have to save them!”

Thinking of Mom and Grandma made me emotional again.

I didn't want to hide out of fear anymore.

I had to save them.

He looked at me for a long time.

“Of course we have to save them. But we need to think carefully. You can't act on impulse. Let me work something out. Be patient a little longer.”

I pouted.

“Mr. Zhang. I thought you were some enlightened master.”

He immediately turned away.

“Hmph! You're not cute at all!”

We sat on the sofa, each refusing to acknowledge the other.

After a long standoff, he finally gave in and stood.

“All right, all right. I'm not going to argue with a child. Come home with me first.”

“What... what about Grandma?”

I wasn't really angry with him.

I was just so frustrated I needed somewhere to let it out.

“She'll have to stay here for now. Until I find the cause, we can't move her carelessly. We need to act quickly. If she keeps going without food or water, her body won't hold out.”

He was right.

Her condition couldn't continue.

We had to resolve this as soon as possible.

For now, I had no choice but to rely on him.

After carefully locking Grandma's bedroom, we returned to his house.

He tossed me a few pieces of boiled corn to fill my stomach, then plunged into his room.

He drew the curtains and locked the door.

I had no idea what he was doing in there.

After eating, with nothing else to do, I wandered around the little courtyard.

I stopped in front of the room with the black-covered window.

Mr. Zhang had said the little ghost in here had saved me.

I was curious.

What did a little ghost look like?

I knew there was a ghost inside Mom, but I'd never actually seen a real ghost.

Perhaps he sensed that I wanted to meet him.

The door suddenly flew open with a bang.

I stood on the threshold, staring into the pitch-black room, unsure what to do.

I wanted to look inside.

I was also a little afraid.

But curiosity won. After a moment's hesitation, I went slowly in.

It was dim, but the open door let in enough light to see the general layout.

A table.

A chair.

A bed.

And sitting on the bed was a... very human-looking ghost?

“Oh! You're so cute!”

The words burst out when I saw him.

He looked about six or seven.

He wore a white T-shirt and white shorts.

His eyes were large and round, his little nose neatly shaped with a high bridge.

He was tilting his head, blinking at me.

What a beautiful little boy.

He looked no different from a normal person, except for his skin and the state of his body.

His skin was unnaturally white.

As white as the wall.

His body didn't have the solid quality of living flesh.

It was slightly translucent and glowed faintly.

As if someone had put LEDs inside him and wrapped him in a soft halo.

“Were you the one who saved me?”

His adorable blinking drove away all my fear.

Instead, I went closer and reached out to pinch his cheek.

Carefully, I extended one finger toward it.

How exciting.

What would touching a ghost feel like?

My hand drew closer.

Just before I touched him, something stopped me.

I looked down.

The little ghost had raised his hand in front of his cheek, blocking my fingertip with its back.

“Miss... what are you trying to do?”

He looked at me with wide, innocent eyes.

“Wow! So that's what touching a ghost feels like! And your voice is lovely too.”

His hand had been icy cold but very soft.

Completely unlike touching a living person.

Like a sponge that had been frozen for ages.

“You're... you're scaring me...”

He lowered his hand and quietly edged away on the bed.

“Oh... I'm scaring you? Hehe... Sorry. It's my first time seeing a real ghost, and I got a bit carried away... Ha ha...”

I stood there awkwardly and gave a couple of strained laughs.

“Why do you stay in this dark room all the time? Why don't you go out and play?”

I looked around.

It was so gloomy.

“I can't go out. If I go outside during the day, I'll disappear.”

“But that's not right. The 'ghost Mom' I lived with used to hang laundry on the balcony in bright sunshine, and she was fine.”

I thought back to those days.

She hadn't been afraid of daylight at all.

“That's because she was inside your mother's body. We can't do that when we're like this.”

“It's more like... we're ice cream. We can't be in the sun, or get too hot.”

No wonder the ghost Mom had worn so little in the middle of winter.

“So you can only stay in this dark room all day? That's so sad.”

“I'll come and visit you often and play with you. How's that?”

“Really? Wonderful!”

He beamed.

He'd been sitting far away a moment ago.

Now he shifted over to sit beside me.

“Mm... but I have to save Mom and Grandma first. Then I can play with you.”

Thinking of them made my heart heavy again.

“Don't be sad.”

“Grandpa will find a way to save them.”

The little ghost stood, came over, and gently patted my arm.

“Okay.”

“I can't stay and talk. I'll go and see how Mr. Zhang's doing.”

I left his room, closed the door, and headed for Mr. Zhang's.

“Mr. Zhang! Mr. Zhang! How's it going? Have you found a way?”

I called loudly through his door.

No answer.

“Mr. Zhang, say something! It's nearly dark!”

When he still didn't reply, I kept calling.

“Stop bothering me. Go to bed. I'll call you when I've found something.”

At last, his voice came from inside.

But how could I sleep?

How could anyone sleep in this situation?

I paced outside his door and knocked several more times.

He didn't answer.

Looking at the darkening sky, I knew Grandma had gone without food for at least a whole day.

Anxiety burned inside me.

I thought again of the mysterious man.

Only by finding him could I get closer to the truth.

Only then would I have a chance to save Mom and Grandma.

After thinking for a long time, I decided to go back tonight and investigate on my own.

I turned away from Mr. Zhang's door and crossed the courtyard.

Passing the little ghost's room, I opened the door and went in.

At the sight of me, his eyes filled with delight.

He jumped off the bed.

“You're back!”

“Little one, I have to find a way to save my mother and grandmother. I'll come and play another day.”

I gently pinched his cheek, then turned to leave.

As I reached the threshold, he called after me.

“Miss...”

I didn't stop.

I closed the door and left the courtyard.

I knew how dangerous it was to go to the man's house alone again.

But I had no choice.

To save my family, I had to go, no matter the danger.

It was still fairly early when I reached the alley entrance.

People crowded both sides of the road.

Traffic streamed past, and the shops were open.

Some had loudspeakers outside playing music to attract customers.

At others, staff stood at the entrance calling out.

It was an ordinary, lively scene.

Yet to me, it all felt unreal.

As though darkness and terror were the world I really belonged in.

I stood outside a general store at the alley entrance and checked the clock on the wall.

Eight forty-five.

What should I do?

The truth was, I had no plan.

I'd come here driven by one thought: I had to save Mom and Grandma, whatever it took.

I drew a deep breath, left the shop, and entered the alley.

The instant I stepped inside, tension gripped me.

With every step toward that house, my heart seemed to beat faster.

At the junction, I stopped for a long time.

After a struggle with myself, I finally turned into the passage leading to the mysterious man's house.

It stood at the very end.

The front door was at the far right.

As I passed, it was shut, but light spilled through a window in the wall.

I pressed myself carefully against the wall, edged toward the window, and peeked inside.

The same familiar scene.

The table.

The dolls.

Dad's photograph on the wall.

Nothing else.

Beside the table was a closed door.

Maybe this was only one room of the house.

I had no idea what lay beyond that door.

As I wondered what to do, a sound came from the front entrance on the right.

A cabinet opening.

Shoes dropping to the floor.

The person inside was about to go out.

I hurried deeper into the passage and squeezed into the narrow space between the house's far-left wall and the alley wall.

Sure enough, I'd barely hidden when I heard the front door open.

Then footsteps headed in the opposite direction.

I carefully came out.

The man was walking toward the alley entrance.

He was quite strongly built.

After his back disappeared around the corner, I crept after him.

I intended to see where he went.

But as I passed his house, I noticed the door wasn't properly closed.

It was only ajar.

That narrow opening seemed to exert an invisible pull.

I stopped.

Staring at it, I swallowed and stepped closer.

I knew it was dangerous.

I knew he could return at any moment.

I didn't even know what I could do once I was inside.

And yet, I pushed the door open and went in.

The house was pitch-black.

He'd switched off all the lights before leaving.

I felt along the wall by the door until I found a switch and turned it on.

The moment the light came on, I scanned the entire house.

It wasn't large.

A single glance took it all in.

A small two-room apartment.

It looked as though it had barely ever been renovated.

Cement floors.

White walls.

Only a shabby fabric sofa and a wooden table in the living room.

To the left, not far from the entrance, was a door.

That must lead to the room I'd seen through the window, with the dolls and Dad's photograph.

There was another closed door on the right.

Probably the bedroom.

A third door was straight ahead.

It was obviously the bathroom.

After memorizing the basic layout, I turned off the light.

Following the left wall, I went to the room with the dolls and Dad's picture and opened the door.

This room faced the alley directly.

I didn't dare switch on the light again.

But moonlight through the window let me see roughly where everything was.

I approached the row of dolls and examined each one.

I picked up the one with the nail in its forehead.

Its face had been made incredibly ugly.

Distorted, even.

Whoever had made it had clearly done so with intense hatred.

Remembering Mr. Zhang's words, I thought Dad's soul might be sealed inside.

My heart grew heavy.

I looked up at the photograph.

Dad's face was empty.

His eyes stared straight ahead.

Last time, those eyes had clearly turned toward me.

Had I imagined it?

Or had Dad sensed danger and deliberately warned me to leave?

“...”

I sighed softly, lowered my gaze, and looked back at the doll.

I ran my fingers over the nail in its forehead, intending to pull it out.

The moment I touched it, the doll seemed to come alive.

It wrenched itself from my hand and fell to the floor.

Startled, I hurried to pick it up and put it back.

Instinct told me I couldn't remove the nail yet.

The doll hadn't fallen because I was holding it loosely.

It had pulled away.

Perhaps Dad was warning me not to take it out.

I looked at the other dolls.

The two in the middle were very familiar.

I picked them both up and brought them close to my face.

Wasn't this the doll from Mom's room?

In the dream, just before “Mom” disappeared, two more characters had appeared on its clothes.

I took it to the window, hoping the moonlight would let me read them.

Still nothing.

The writing was too small.

Helplessly, I put it down and lifted the other one.

I held it close.

Perfect features.

Beauty so exquisite it took my breath away.

Wait...

Wasn't this the doll I'd seen at Mr. Zhang's after waking from the dream?

After we'd taken it to the hospital, he'd apparently arranged for someone to bring it back to his house.

He'd said things like this shouldn't be left carelessly near the living.

Then it should have been at his house.

Why was it here?

Could Mr. Zhang...

At that moment, I sensed something wrong.

Someone was watching me.

I stood motionless, not daring to make a sound.

My eyes moved from left to right.

No one on either side.

But the feeling was unmistakable.

Of course.

The window.

There were no curtains in this room.

No curtains.

My back was to the window.

My scalp tingled and my legs began to shake.

Slowly, I turned.

Outside the window, there was no one.

“Whew...”

I let out a long breath.

If no one was outside, there was only one possibility left.

Slowly, I turned back to the dolls and looked up at Dad's photograph.

Sure enough.

The eyes that should have stared straight ahead now looked down.

At me.

It was eerie and horrifying, but I felt certain Dad meant me no harm.

A sense of foreboding rose inside me.