I am a Bone Demon, trapped for countless years within that cold, desolate graveyard.
No one can see me, and no one can hear me. I have spent centuries in solitary silence.
Until one midsummer, when the sun was shining just right.
A young girl came to sweep the graves, but she mistakenly offered her tributes to me.
I took a bite of a crisp peach and said, “Truly sweet.”
She froze for a moment, then covered her mouth and stifled a giggle.
“Next year, I’ll come again.”
True to her word, she returned year after year, bringing me crisp peaches every time.
Later, she died, and her remains were carelessly tossed into the graveyard.
Her five-year-old daughter, clutching the hand of a younger brother who had only just learned to walk, came to the graveyard day and night to wail for their mother.
I couldn’t stand the noise.
I possessed her body, crawled out from the straw mat, and clumsily gathered those two little brats into my arms.
“Keep crying, and Mother will eat you.”
