The dim light was not stinging to the eyes. It fell softly on the old furniture, giving the place a feeling of warmth. The house was not big. At first glance, it felt normal, but upon closer inspection, one might discover many strange details.
Luo Dong froze at the door. He looked beyond the man who opened the door and into the room. All the walls were fitted with sound-absorption paint and material. Even if a murder occurred inside this house, the neighbours would be none the wiser. There was a giant fan-modelled fridge in the living room. This kind of fridge produced low temperatures by blowing cold air into the interior using fans. This way, the meat preserved inside would not rot easily and emit a horrible smell.
A lot of ziplock bags were strewn across the kitchen floor. They were just about the right size to store fist-sized meat blocks. Heat-producing agents were stored under the counter. After this thing was mixed with water, it could speed up the decaying process of meat.
These were perfect for the transportation and destruction of meat. Luo Dong turned to look into the toilet. A large plastic tarp was spread over the bathroom floor and walls. Dirty stains like fat were stuck to parts of it.
“There’s even a place to handle the meat…” Luo Dong’s heart pounded. The place was well-decorated, but his heart chilled.
“Have you seen enough?” The man in the raincoat suddenly spoke. The rim of the coat covered half of his face so Luo Dong couldn’t see his expression.
“I…” Luo Dong didn’t know what to say. He saw at least two Gao Mings enter this place. Therefore, Gao Ming’s disappearance definitely had to do with the man before him.
“This is not a place where you should be. Leave.” The middle-aged man didn’t harm Luo Dong. Before he closed the door, he even warned Luo Dong, “Be careful when you head downstairs. If you hear footsteps, you have to hide. Do not be seen by a male student in a school uniform.” The man lowered his voice, “He is not human.”
“Wait!” Luo Dong grabbed the door before it was slammed close. Perhaps he was also a father, or perhaps Luo Dong resonated with the earlier memories. He didn’t choose to leave. After a long hesitation, he decided to communicate with the man openly.
The middle-aged man didn’t expect Luo Dong to say Gao Ming’s name and even defend him. It moved something inside him.
The man removed the coat’s cap to reveal his face. He looked mature but tired. There’s a trace of stubbornness in his eyes. “I am Gao Ming’s father. I know you are right, but the things you saw are not the real Gao Mings.”
“Not the real Gao Mings?” Even though Luo Dong had guessed this before, he was still surprised when he had confirmation.
“It’s Gao Ming’s good luck to have a friend like you. Come in.” After ensuring there was no one outside, he invited Luo Dong into the house. “We’ve been trapped here for a long time already. You’re the first human we’ve seen other than Gao Ming.” The man poured a glass of water for Luo Dong and locked the door. “What day is it now? How many days ago was it the Hungry Ghost Festival?”
“It has been weeks since then. Have you been trapped here for that long?”
The man didn’t say anything in response. He sat on the other side of the couch and lit a cigarette.
“Can you tell me more about Gao Ming? Who trapped you here?” Luo Dong probed cautiously. He was curious and scared. His heart jumped rapidly as if urging him to do something.
“Gao Ming’s mother and I placed a lot of hope in Gao Ming. We registered him in a lot of extracurricular classes. We discovered the only good thing about this child is that he’s not good at everything.” The man didn’t seem angry when he mentioned these ‘troubles’. If anything, his expression softened like those days were happy for him. “We were very anxious… until he went to high school and his class went on a field trip…”
“Did something happen?”
“Nothing happened, but Gao Ming had a tremendous change. He seemed to have hidden something very painful inside his heart. It was like… he lost a part of his soul somewhere and was being tortured for it. It was from that day onwards that he started mentioning a student who shouldn’t be in his class in his diary. The name is Gao Yun.” The man sighed. “As parents, we want to help him. We tried many things but to no avail. Eventually, we gave up on our earlier dreams. We just wanted him to return back to normal. We just wanted to be a normal family.”
“Everything becomes precious after you lose it.” Luo Dong could understand that very well.
“Gao Ming probably didn’t even notice the changes he was undergoing. The child often screamed, cried and hissed out Gao Yun’s name in his nightmares. However, he was perfectly normal during the day. He didn’t want to talk about it, and we didn’t ask.” The man’s voice was low and fatigued. “We encouraged him to study psychiatry, not to push him to be a psychiatrist but for him to heal himself.” Ɽ𝒶₦Ô𝐁Èṡ
Luo Dong didn’t think Gao Ming would have such a past. Gao Ming’s every day was filled with his parent’s love. The couple didn’t want to harm Gao Ming’s heart, so they showed their love in the most reserved and careful way.
“Isn’t Gao Yun from his class?” Luo Dong felt the name sounded familiar. He seemed to have heard Gao Ming mention it before.
“This person didn’t exist in their class. We finally waited for him to graduate from university. His earlier symptoms disappeared. We thought our child could finally start a new, normal life. But… strange things started to happen around him.” The sound of chopping meat resumed in the kitchen. The man slowly lowered his head. “Gao Ming had to work late on the night of the Hungry Ghost Festival. His mother and I were worried about him, so we called him multiple times.”
The man shook his head. “Every call was answered, but none of them was Gao Ming. Therefore, his mother and I came to his rental home to find him…”