Chapter 23: A crazy woman?

The next day after that night was a Sunday, and we three siblings didn’t have to go to school. That morning, my mother made us breakfast for the first time ever, and I saw that she made us noodles with meat sauce.

That morning, my father didn’t go out to work either. Instead, he waited until after nine o’clock, when we all got up and had breakfast with us.

Everything seemed very ordinary, but everything was very unusual. Unfortunately, I was too young to care at the time, and I was too busy eating my noodles to notice. But as I was eating, I heard my mother’s somewhat anxious voice ring out: “Second sister, why are you eating so little again?”

The voice was so anxious that I couldn’t tell if she was angry or worried. Anyway, it made me look up and see what was going on, with two noodles still hanging from my mouth.

“I’m full,” my second sister replied directly, her voice as soft as usual, but somehow weak.

Besides, as usual, my gentle second sister would have explained things to my mother, but today she just didn’t want to talk.

What’s even more unbelievable is my mother. She suddenly threw down her chopsticks, looked at my father, and cried out, “Old Chen…”

Now, my eldest sister was also stunned. What was going on in this family? How could we have eaten such a happy meal of noodles with shredded pork and then ended up like this? It didn’t seem like a big deal that my second sister couldn’t eat, so why was my mother crying?

Strangely, my father also put down his chopsticks with a heavy face. He didn’t eat much of his bowl of noodles, and obviously he wasn’t in the mood to eat either. He rolled a cigarette, lit it for himself, and looked at my second sister and said, “Second sister, no matter what happens, your parents will be there for you. You can say whatever you want. Be good.”

My sister was silent, and my mother was so anxious that she wanted to say something several times, but my father stopped her. It wasn’t until my father finished smoking one cigarette and was about to light another that my sister finally spoke up: “Dad, don’t smoke anymore.”

My mother often complained about my father’s heavy smoking and how he would get tuberculosis in the future. I never imagined that my second sister, who was as meticulous as a hair, would remember this. She had never wanted to speak up, but finally spoke up because my father wanted to smoke another cigarette.

When my father heard that my second sister had finally spoken, he quickly took the cigarette away. His eyes were red, and I didn’t know if it was because he was moved or worried.

“Second sister, Dad is worried about you. If you tell me what happened, I’ll be relieved and won’t smoke so much.”

Hearing my father say this, my second sister nodded.

My mother, who was standing next to her, said anxiously, “Should we ask my eldest sister and third son to leave?”

My father was silent for a moment, then said, “No, let’s just think of it as a family gathering, helping our second sister together.” Obviously, my father was doing this to ease my sister’s nervousness, and perhaps he felt that some things would happen after all, and it was time to give the children a head start.

Obviously, with my sister and I there, my sister was a little more relaxed. She brushed her hair away from her face and began to speak quietly.

“It was the day my brother got sick. My sister and I came back to see him. When we were almost at our house, we saw a strange woman standing under the old locust tree not far from our door. I didn’t see her clearly at the time, but I thought her clothes were very strange, like the kind of clothes you would wear to a performance.”

When my second sister got to this point, my eldest sister immediately remembered. She couldn’t hold back her fiery temper and quickly said, “Yes, yes, my second sister mentioned it that day, but I didn’t pay attention because I really didn’t see it.”

When my father heard this, his hand trembled and he turned to my eldest sister and asked, “You didn’t see it? Or did you just not notice it?”

“I…” My sister thought about it carefully and then said, “I really didn’t see it. If there was a woman in a Chinese opera costume, I couldn’t have not noticed it. It was so obvious. How could I have missed it?”

My father got my sister’s answer, and his hand trembled again. He forced himself to control it, but my mother couldn’t help it. She was so anxious that she kept pulling at the hem of her clothes.

“No, I think it’s just that my eldest sister didn’t notice. Second sister, you continue.” At this point, my father thought he had to calm my second sister down, but he couldn’t have imagined that, by saying that, my second sister became even more agitated.

“Dad, it’s not true. My sister didn’t say anything. I think I’m the only one who can see her!”

Seeing that my sister was agitated, my mother finally couldn’t help but walk over and put her arms around her, saying with concern, “Maybe she’s just a crazy woman. As long as I’m here, you don’t have to be afraid of anything. If the worst comes to the worst, I’ll fight with her. Just tell me what happened clearly.”

My mother said this while stroking my sister’s face. My mother always had a magical power that calmed people. Under my mother’s reassurance, my sister finally calmed down and continued to tell the story in my mother’s arms.

“At the time, I thought her clothes were strange, so I stared at her for a second. I didn’t know how to describe the feeling of being scared, but I remember that her eyes were scary.” My sister tried to describe it, but she couldn’t describe how scary it was. I’m afraid that even this kind of memory is a painful thing.

“I didn’t dare to look at her. I thought my eldest sister had noticed it too, so I grabbed her hand and hurried home. Later, when the two of us went to see our younger brother, I thought of that woman again. I was so scared that I wanted to ask my eldest sister, but she said she hadn’t seen anything. Later, I had nightmares all night long, always dreaming of that woman’s eyes. I didn’t dare to say anything, and I cried in my bed.”

At this point, my mother hugged my second sister even tighter, and my father also patted my second sister’s hair tenderly.

As for my sister and I, we were stunned and our faces were not looking good. We felt very scared, especially me, who thought of that night’s experience again. I don’t know why, but I also thought of the red light that followed and the red light that turned into a sinister woman. I got goosebumps.

“Two days later, I saw her a second time on my way home from school under the old locust tree. I saw her from afar, and I didn’t dare to look at her. I ran home. I thought she loved to stand there, and I ran every time I passed by. But… but…” At this point, the second sister burst into tears. She didn’t cry out, but her tears fell in big drops. She said in a voice with a hint of a sob, “But I’ve noticed that these days I can see her everywhere. During the school lunch break, I turn around and find her standing under the tree in our school playground. It’s been several times… it’s far away and I can’t see clearly, but I just feel that she’s staring at me.”

My sister was a little incoherent, and her tears fell even harder. But we are a family, connected by blood, and we all understood what she was saying and could empathize with her feelings.

“I asked my classmates if they had seen anyone standing on the playground, and they all said no. Every one of them said the same thing. When I went to bed at night, I always felt like she was watching me from the window. No, that’s not it. Sometimes, I felt like she was standing at the door of my house. I was so scared, and I didn’t dare to say it… I felt like I wanted to get rid of her.”

My sister finally finished her rambling speech, but by the end she was just putting words together.

I don’t know where the impulse came from, but suddenly I stood up from my stool and shouted, “Dad, I know who she is. I know. I saw a woman following us one night. It must be her! It must be!”

My parents didn’t understand what I was talking about because I hadn’t mentioned it before, but their faces were extremely ugly, and I didn’t know what they were thinking.

At this point, my eldest sister stood up and walked over to my second sister, putting her arm around her. “Don’t be afraid, little sister. It says in the book that there are no ghosts or gods in this world. They’re all lies. From now on, I’ll be with you, and I’ll see which crazy woman dares to bully my little sister!”

In fact, my eldest sister herself didn’t realize that her words were particularly weak, because she really didn’t see anything that day. She didn’t even dare to think that her younger sister might be crazy, and she absolutely didn’t want to face that outcome.

If that was the case, she would rather believe that there are ghosts in the world!