Meili had long fallen asleep, the entire house quietly sinking into darkness.
A faint and unclear moon hid behind the clouds. Julian couldn’t see the surroundings clearly, and only after a long while did he grope his way to the front door.
His breathing was heavy, and he wasn’t holding the knife very steadily.
The door was wooden, inner and outer layers, both bolted from the inside.
Julian tried to pry it open with the knife. Because he had no experience and couldn’t see clearly, after prying for a while he still couldn’t pry open the first layer.
Just as he was hesitating whether he should give up, suddenly, with a click, the bolt was opened from inside.
Julian was startled. He thought he had been discovered, and in panic he turned around to run.
He ran too fast, in the blink of an eye he was already in the courtyard. He was about to climb the wall, when he unconsciously turned his head and looked. He saw a woman in a white nightdress standing by the door, her upper body hidden in the shadow, unclear to the eye. She seemed to be quietly watching him, and a pair of eyes glowing in the darkness were like the owl that had previously peeped at him in the woods.
Julian suddenly fell into a trance, and stopped moving.
As if bewitched, he actually turned around and walked back.
The woman standing by the door reached out and opened her arms toward him. The slightly dazed young boy only felt he was seeing his mother—his mother had not died; his mother was standing at the door calling him home.
He had never been an obedient child, always liking to run around and play, impatient to stay at home listening to his mother nag, and often disliking her.
But at this moment, looking at the “mother” standing at the door, his heart was full of tenderness. No matter what “mother” wanted him to do, he was willing.
Step by step he walked toward the door. His expression grew increasingly blank, his movements more and more sluggish. With halting steps he walked toward those thin, pale arms, walking into the darkness.
Thud—
The knife in his hand slipped and fell to the ground, making a muffled, heavy sound.
The door gently closed, concealing his silhouette.
Thud—
Meili was startled awake by a boom like thunder. She listened in confusion for a moment, uncertain whether the sound she had just heard was real or part of a dream.
She turned over, wanting to continue sleeping, but her chest felt like something heavy was pressing on it, making her uncomfortable.
She got up and walked to the table to drink some water, casually glancing out the window.
The moon hung on the edge of the clouds, a bit clearer than before she slept, illuminating the garden below. A large cluster of broom flowers seemed to have been stepped on, crushed and broken to one side.
Meili: “???” Why were my perfectly fine broom flowers stepped on? Did an animal from the forest get into the courtyard?
Thinking of that thudding noise she had heard in her half-dreaming state, Meili became alert. Could it be… a thief?
She had lived here for almost a year. At first she had been vigilant, but later realized there was a ghost in the house, fairies everywhere in the forest outside, and from time to time a swamp monster wandering around the house. Gradually she stopped paying much attention to guarding against humans.
Because no one ever came by at all.
Cursing herself for being careless, she grabbed the shovel kept in the house and pushed the door open.
Mrs. Pegg’s room door was open, and she was not inside.
Discovering this made Meili even more nervous than the possibility that a thief had entered the house.
Did Mrs. Pegg go out? Why? Where did she go?
She held the shovel and went downstairs. The first floor was pitch-black, without a single sound. She walked through the rooms and the kitchen, but didn’t find anyone hiding in the dark.
When she reached the corner of the hall, Meili noticed that the small cupboard had been moved aside, revealing the door leading to the basement.
She stared at that door, not knowing what she should do.
Could Mrs. Pegg have gone into the basement?
As for what was in the basement, Meili had had several nightmares about it, so she kept a respectful distance from the basement and didn’t dare to explore. Too much curiosity would definitely get her killed.
Holding the shovel, she silently prepared to go back upstairs to sleep. Just then, she heard two groans of pain, the voice a little distorted.
Meili’s footsteps stopped again. Hesitating, she turned her head to look at that door. She took off her shoes and quietly approached, noticing a faint light seeping through the crack. She bent down to listen closely, and soft fragmented sounds came from within.
“…please… spare me…”
Hearing that vague plea, Meili felt her brow twitch.
Damn, no way, is some criminal activity happening in there?
Although she didn’t want to get involved in Mrs. Pegg’s secrets, it sounded like someone was being killed in there?!
Because Aunt Maggie had already made her suspicious of Mrs. Pegg, Meili’s mind instantly conjured up horrible images.
She didn’t hesitate anymore and yanked open the basement door—
Completely different from the dark and gloomy basement she imagined, what lay below looked like another world. Hundreds of golden pillars stretched outward, shimmering with a soft golden glow, like a forest growing underground.
The ground was paved with many white pebbles. A clear and transparent pool was in the center of the pillars, and Mrs. Pegg sat naked by the poolside, her nightdress placed to one side. Her long red hair was damp, as if she had been bathing, and she held a red apple in one hand, having taken a bite.
A group of sun fairies, moon fairies, and other fairies she didn’t recognize fluttered around her, friendly in manner, the scene so beautiful it looked like an illustration from a fairy tale.
Caught in a moment of impulsiveness, Meili stood there, seeing the fairies and Mrs. Pegg turn their heads toward her. She couldn’t help feeling awkward and confused by the situation.
What… what is this? And the voice she heard just now? She secretly glanced around again but still didn’t see anything wrong.
A bunch of little fairies gathered around Mrs. Pegg, whispering and pointing at the intruder. The unclothed Mrs. Pegg stared at her indifferently, her gaze like she was looking at some pervert who barged into someone else’s bathhouse.
Meili: “…Sorry, I heard a strange sound. Please continue your bath.”
What was wrong with Mrs. Pegg, bathing in the basement in the middle of the night, not eating anything during the day, secretly eating apples at night… and how were there so many little fairies living in the basement and she never knew?
Was she actually a witch?
There were apparently too many things in this world she didn’t know.
Meili silently turned around and walked back, closing the door to the basement.
After she closed the basement door, the beautiful fairy-tale scene slowly faded and changed.
The “apple” in Mrs. Pegg’s hand turned into a bright red heart;
The clear pool turned into a pool of blood giving off a bloody stench;
And the nightdress hanging to the side was Julian’s corpse with his chest cut open;
And those lively fairies had all now become shriveled specimens with miserable deathly appearances, strung up by threads and hanging in the air, their bulging, resentful eyes full of unwilling hatred glaring at Mrs. Pegg.
Julian’s corpse hanging to the side dripped blood, drop by drop falling into the pool. As the blood drained away, Julian’s youthful appearance slowly aged.
Mrs. Pegg casually lifted the bright red pool water, using it to wash her hair. Her gradually withering hair slowly regained its former luster.
She finished the “apple” in her hand, her lips dyed red, and her frail, thin body that was almost turning into paper became slightly fuller.
At dusk, the evening sun dyed the sky golden, and a figure hurried down the small road.
Standing before the slope at her doorstep, Meili saw from afar. After watching for a moment and seeing that figure wave at her, she finally confirmed it was Hesha.
Night was about to fall—she shouldn’t be coming here at this time.
“What’s wrong, Hesha? Why did you come over now?” Meili asked in confusion, feeling a bad premonition.
“Julian is missing, Meili, did you know?” Hesha’s tone was anxious.
“What?” Meili clutched at the apron in her hand, guessing, “Julian is missing? You’re searching for him? I’ll go with you to see.”
It seemed the situation was urgent—otherwise Hesha would not have come here at this hour.
Hesha quickly stopped her, her expression anxious. “Meili… you’d better not go over there.”
Meili’s heart sank, and she suddenly understood. She and Julian had just quarreled, and now the Julian who kept calling her a witch had disappeared—this was very bad for her. This was not a world that relied on evidence and law.
“Is he really missing? Could he have gone hiding somewhere?” Meili’s first thought was that the brat Julian was deliberately hiding to frame her, but then she remembered that cry for mercy last night, like an illusion.
She had thought she was hallucinating then, but the more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed, yet she couldn’t find any explanation.
Now, a jolt shot through her mind, and she suddenly realized that voice seemed a bit like Julian’s.
She was not familiar with Julian, and couldn’t be sure, but she felt increasingly uneasy.
Seeing her expression turn grim, Hesha grabbed her hand, speaking quickly: “Uncle Bruce searched for Julian all day today without finding him, and thinking about Aunt Maggie’s situation, he and many people in the market have agreed that if Julian is still not found tonight, tomorrow they’ll bring people here to search!”
“They’re too agitated, who knows what excessive things they might do.”
Meili’s eyelid twitched. If things were really as she suspected, that there was something wrong in the basement, then her fate was almost predictable—she might be burned alive, or beaten to death on the spot.
“I came to warn you to be prepared. You must be very careful.” Hesha was still sincerely worried for her.
Meili glanced at the house behind her. The sun was about to set, the last bit of afterglow shining on the walls. The gold faded, leaving behind a trace like blood—full of ominous meaning.
She grabbed Hesha and pulled her away from the house, placing her hands on her shoulders. “Hesha, listen—go back immediately. Don’t go out tonight, and absolutely don’t come looking for me again!”
Seeing her solemn expression, Hesha was frightened by the gravity of it and had no choice but to nod.
Meili patted her head. “Good girl, hurry home. Be careful on the way, remember what I said—don’t ever come looking for me again. I will definitely be fine!”
Hesha lifted her skirt and ran. Meili stood on the slope, watching her figure chase the last rays of the sun, feeling a heavy weight in her heart.
She didn’t return to the garden, but instead headed toward the swamp in the forest. She wanted to check the basement again, but before that, she needed to find the swamp monster. With him there, at least she would feel a bit more at ease.
Hesha walked quickly forward, about to pass over the low wall of white stone, when suddenly someone called to her from behind.
It was “Meili”, chasing after her again.
“Meili? What’s wrong?” Hesha saw her beckoning, asking her to come over. She paused, but still turned and ran back.
“Hesha, I’m scared… can you stay with me tonight?” “Meili” looked at her pleadingly. “We’re friends, you’ll stay with me, right?”
The last sunset completely disappeared.
Hesha walked beside “Meili”, holding hands, entering that garden house, and vanished into the pitch-black doorway.
