Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Maybe you were already starting to get used to dying, because your anger didn’t last long. You calmed down quickly.

This death told you one thing: escaping through the window wasn’t going to work.

Of course, your thoughts went further than that. Why had the young woman on the fifth floor been home? Thinking back to the way your parents had been standing at the door before they should have even gotten off work, a thought flashed through your mind.

Maybe they had never truly left at all.

Powerless, you slumped back in your chair and looked at the yellowed poster.

You didn’t know if it was your imagination, but the person in it seemed to have… moved.

This death made you extremely cautious.

You didn’t leave your bedroom. You stayed there until your parents came back at [6:30]. After dinner, you did what you always did: turned on the radio, listened to one hour of crosstalk and two hours of an audio novel, then finally fell asleep to an online class.

The night was peaceful. You woke up early.

As you were getting dressed, your bedroom door opened. Your mother walked in, holding a carnation. Without a word, she went to your bedside, pulled the withered flower from the vase, and replaced it with the fresh stem. Throughout the entire process, you never once looked directly in her direction.

Likewise, throughout the entire process, her gaze never once left you.

Is she… watching me? you thought, though your face gave nothing away.

[7:30] in the morning was when your parents left for work. After a rushed breakfast, they said goodbye to you.

Sitting at the dining table, you said, “Be careful on your way out.”

When you heard the door close behind you, you set down your bowl and chopsticks, preparing to return to your bedroom. But the instant you turned around, cold sweat drenched your back.

They stood in front of the door like two stone statues, staring fixedly at you.

You didn’t dare make a sound. You clutched the white cane beside you, sweat from your palm sticking slickly to the handle, as if you were gripping a fish.

What should I do? What should I do? What should I do?

In that split second, countless thoughts raced through your mind.

In the end, you still did what you normally did. You went back to your bedroom, took your keys, and prepared to go downstairs to find Old Man Chen and listen to stories with him.

This was one of the things you often did in your daily life.

The residential compound had a basketball court, but hardly anyone played basketball there. So the place had become a gathering spot for old men and women to play chess, chat, and sun themselves. Compared with your home, you obviously preferred this place. Here, there were human voices. Here, there was life.

You got out the door easily. Your parents did not stop you. Instead, they stepped aside to make way.

They followed behind you like two shadows, utterly silent.

The farther down you went, the colder you felt all over.

In the old, dim stairwell, people stood in front of every door on every floor. They stood in the shadows, staring at you with empty eyes.

It was as if you had stumbled into a cave of bats. With every floor you descended, you came closer to hell.

Behind you were countless shadows.

Before you, there was no light.