Chapter 1

Chapter 1

You were startled by the voice in your head, but you didn’t take it to heart. You simply dismissed it as an auditory hallucination brought on by sheer joy.

The setting sun shone through the window, bathing the room in a dim yellow glow. Your gaze greedily licked over the faded posters on the wall, the neatly arranged books on the desk, and the fresh flower sitting on the nightstand. Only now did you realize that everything in the world looked so lovely to you. You wished you could stuff it all into your eyes.

“Ring-ring-ring-”

After a long while, your joy was interrupted by the sound of a bell. The alarm clock on the desk reminded you that it was now 6:00 p.m. The sky would soon grow dark.

You decided to go downstairs for a walk, to take in the beautiful dusk beneath the setting sun, to look at the pedestrians coming and going on the street.

Before leaving, you glanced at the white cane in the corner of the room, but chose not to bring it.

Yet before you could open the door, your parents pushed it open and came in. You found it a little strange that they had gotten off work earlier than usual, but you didn’t say anything. Instead, you excitedly told them your eyesight had returned. They were happy too, and even made you a lavish dinner.

You enjoyed that meal immensely. You even told your parents many things you were usually too embarrassed to say.

They only listened and nodded silently, without saying much.

Maybe it was because you were so happy, but even when you went to sleep that night, there was a smile on your lips.

In the haze of drifting consciousness, it felt as if a very long time had passed, and yet as if it had only been an instant.

When you opened your eyes again, gentle orange light filled your vision. You were sitting in the chair at your desk, staring blankly into space.

A voice suddenly rang out in your mind: “Don’t tell them you can see.”

You stared dazedly at the alarm clock. The time displayed was 5:45 p.m.

This was your first death.

This time, you heard That Voice clearly. You were stunned for a moment, then hurriedly asked, “Who are you?”

There was no response.

Your gaze swept across the room, and a strange feeling rose within you.

For example, the poster on the wall showed the instant Kobe Bryant took a shot. You distinctly remembered Kobe Bryant holding the ball with both hands, but in the poster, he was using only one. And the books on the desk were open, filled with blurry handwriting, along with large stretches of blank space and misspelled words.

Just as you began to feel that something was wrong, the alarm clock on the desk rang.

The ringing echoed through the empty room. The window was clearly shut, yet you felt an unbearable chill.

It was as if an invisible wind were blowing in through the window.

The time had reached 6:00 again.

This time, you chose not to go out. By the time you had calmed down a little, another ten minutes had passed.

Strangely, during that time, your parents did not come home.

You began to suspect that perhaps you were overthinking things. Maybe everything that had happened before was only a dream. So you decided to go downstairs for a walk.

But the moment you gripped the doorknob, the door opened.

Your parents pushed the door open and walked in. You looked at one another, and everything that followed happened naturally. You told them your eyesight had recovered. They made a lavish dinner. Yet under their fervent gazes, you were listless, silently finishing the meal without knowing what you were thinking.

Chaotic thoughts tangled again and again in your mind, leaving you mentally exhausted.

That night, you tossed and turned, unable to sleep. When the moon climbed high into the middle of the sky, somewhere between dreaming and waking, you heard the sound of your bedroom door opening.

You cracked your eyes open. In the haze, you saw a dark figure walking toward you against the light.

Your throat hurt. Then came the agony of suffocation. You struggled and writhed as your consciousness gradually sank into darkness.

…

Your eyes flew open. You gasped for breath, both hands clutching your throat as your heart pounded.

The violent beating of your heart told you that you were anything but calm.

A voice suddenly rang out in your mind: “Don’t tell them you can see.”

In a panic, you looked at the alarm clock. The time displayed was still 5:45 p.m.

This was your second death.