The warm water worked miracles on Huang Yin’s tensed nerves. He calmed down and recovered some of his stamina. He minimized the video window and pulled it to the side. Then he pulled up videos of comedy and cartoons instead. Watching the gags, listening to the canned laughter, he finally felt ready enough to continue with the video. He pressed play and the man in the video turned his phone around to look behind him. The fear on his face was palpable. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. “They have entered my home?”
Picking up the glass ashtray from the table, the man swung around to take a good shot of his home. The person taking the video had been so quiet that it felt like the man was talking to himself. “Can a phone really capture their existence?” The man carefully checked all the rooms through the lens of his phone camera. He found nothing. Huang Yin examined every corner of the video, and he too found nothing.
“In that case, why would my neighbour say those things?” The man fidgeted, “Or was that not my neighbour? He’s been colluding with them? The ghosts haven’t really entered my home but he wanted me to open the door to let them in?!” The man slowly convinced himself, “Yes, my neighbour was trying to scare me. If I really open the door, the ghosts outside will jump in!” The man rubbed his arms nervously, “Thankfully, I didn’t listen to him…”
The phone which was filming suddenly buzzed. The man had to quit filming mode. He glanced at the caller id and his expression slowly softened. “Honey? Why are you calling me at this hour? Why aren’t you in bed?”
“There are so many bugs here in the countryside, I can’t even sleep.” The woman groaned resentfully. “When can our son and I return home? Are you sure you saw a ghost in our building?”
“Do you think I will lie about something as serious as that?!” The man suddenly raised his voice, but then quickly lowered it as if worried that he might be overheard. “Just stay there for a few more days. We just need to find someone to buy this house from us and then we can move. Haven’t you and our son been meaning to move to the intelligent city?”
“Do we have the money? Stop dreaming! If you ask me, you should take a few days break and go see a doctor. Too much stress and you’ll fall sick.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll think about it.” Hearing the comforting nagging from his wife, the man’s fear slowly dissipated. He placed the ashtray on the shoe rack that was visible at the corner of the screen. “By the way, you need to hear this! The sound has returned today! And there is more than one of them!” While the man was focused on talking with his wife, something appeared from the edge of the screen. A single arm reached out from inside the shoe rack and silently reached for the ashtray. “I’m telling you, even our neighbour has been possessed! He just came over to knock on our door, saying our house is haunted. But think about it, if he has really seen a ghost, will he stay to warn us about it?” The man walked out from the shot while talking on his phone. His reflection could be seen on the floor tiles. “He wanted to trick me to open the door but of course I didn’t fall for it.”
The ashtray on the shoe rack slowly moved until it disappeared from view.
“Honey, just stay there for a few more days, I promise…” At this point, another reflection could be seen on the tiles. It was incredibly blurry like the figure had no body. The man on the phone did not notice it but Huang Yin outside the video saw clearly the blurry figure raise the ashtray and bring it down heavily on the man’s head.
The attack was relentless. Blood splattered on the tiles and the shoe rack. Then the man’s bloody face dropped right in the middle of the shot. His eyes were wide with fear. The angle froze but the video was not yet over. The man’s phone dropped to the ground. His wife’s voice kept coming from it. After a while, Huang Yin saw the arm reach out from beyond the screen again. It picked up the phone from the ground and said in the man’s voice. “It was nothing, honey. I just killed a rat. It was probably the thing behind the noises I’ve been hearing lately.”
“Then does that mean we can go back home? This place is so dirty and bug-infested.”
“If you really want to, then come back home tomorrow.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I’m sure this has been tough on you. I’ll prepare a scrumptious meal to welcome you and our son home.”
After the call ended, one after another bloody footprint appeared on the tiles. The previously closed front door eased open and then knocking came from the neighbour’s front door.
The video suddenly went black. When it returned, the image was so much darker. The video was no longer taken at the same place, instead this time it featured a very luxurious bedroom. Two fair ladies sat by the edge of a large bed. One of them had on a facial mask and the other was recommending her friend some kind of skin product. Both of them were in their pyjamas that showed off their curves. They chatted about female topics when one of them suddenly turned to the wall. The clock showed that it was 3 am. The girl’s expression changed slightly before she turned to hold the other girl’s hand.
“Thank you for coming to be my company, Ah Xing. After my husband’s disappearance, it’s quite scary to live in such a large house alone.”
“Xiao Jie, there’s no need for thanks.” Ah Xing was not a looker but she had a kind heart. She could see the distress on Liu Jie’s face so she tried for a joke. “If not for you, I wouldn’t have a chance to enjoy such a soft bed in my life.”
“If you like it, you can come over more often.” Xiao Jie hugged Ah Xing, “I’m so glad that you’re my friend.”
“We better go to bed or else these expensive skin lotions will go to waste.” Ah Xing crawled under the bed. She reached to close the light but was stopped by Xiao Jie. “Can we keep the lights on? I’m afraid of the dark.”
“Alright, you’re the boss.”
“There’s one more thing that I need to tell you, Ah Xing.” Xiao Jie turned to look at Ah Xing seriously, “I seem to have the habit of sleep-walking. If I suddenly move around with my eyes closed, you have to stop me.”
“Sleep-walking?”
“Yes, but that was what my husband told me. I haven’t got the chance to confirm it myself.”
“I promise to wake you if that happens. Don’t worry.” The two girls pulled up the cover. The bedroom lights were left open. The video suddenly dimmed. When the image returned, the lights in the lavish bedroom were already closed. The clock on the wall showed that it was 3.30 am.
A strange sound came from the video. It was hard to tell what originated it. In any case, Ah Xing, who was a light sleeper, was woken up by it. She rubbed her eyes and called Xiao Jie’s name softly but there was no reply. When she reached towards the other side of the bed, she realized Xiao Jie’s side was empty.
“Xiao Jie?” Sitting up in bed, Ah Xing noticed someone had switched off the lights. She tried the switch but the lights refused to come on. “Did the fuse burn?” Taking out her phone, Ah Xing activated the flashlight function. Ah Xing got down from bed and called Xiao Jie’s name. She followed the strange noise out from the bedroom and came to the living room. The noise appeared to come from the kitchen. Ah Xing slowly eased the kitchen door open.
“Xiao Jie?” Xiao Jie, who wore an apron, was standing before a cutting board. Her eyes were closed but she held table knives in both hands. She chopped repeatedly against the chopping block but strangely enough, there was nothing sitting on it.
