Chapter 23: Female Madwoman?

The morning after that night passed was a Sunday. The three siblings did not need to go to school, and that morning my mother unexpectedly made shredded pork noodles for breakfast. In short, the moment I saw it, I was drooling with envy.

That morning, my father also did not go out to work. Instead, he waited until around nine o’clock, when we all got up, and ate breakfast with us.

Everything seemed very normal, yet everything also felt a little unusual. Unfortunately, I was too young at the time to care at all. I just focused on eating my noodles noisily. Halfway through eating, I heard my mother’s somewhat urgent voice ring out. “Second daughter, why are you eating so little again?”

Her voice was so anxious it nearly cracked, impossible to tell whether it came from anger or worry. In any case, it made me lift my head to see what was going on, with two strands of noodles still hanging from my mouth.

“I am full.” My second sister answered directly, her voice as soft and gentle as always, but for some reason it carried a trace of weakness.

Normally, my gentle second sister would at least explain a couple of sentences to my mother, but today she clearly did not want to talk.

Even more unbelievable was my mother. She suddenly threw her chopsticks down, looked at my father, and cried out, “Old Chen...” before bursting into tears.

Now even my eldest sister was stunned. What kind of scene was this at home? How did a happy bowl of shredded pork noodles turn into this? It did not seem like my second sister eating less was such a big deal, so why was my mother crying?

Strangely, my father also put down his chopsticks with a heavy expression. He had barely touched his bowl, clearly not in the mood to eat either. Rolling a cigarette, he lit it and looked at my second sister. “Second daughter, no matter how big the problem is, your parents are here. Just tell us everything, alright.”

My second sister remained silent. My mother tried several times to speak beside her, but my father stopped her each time. Only after my father finished one cigarette and was about to roll another did my second sister finally speak. “Dad, do not smoke anymore.”

My mother often nagged my father about smoking too much and getting lung disease, and unexpectedly, my second sister, usually so quiet and observant, had remembered it too. She who rarely spoke finally opened her mouth because of my father wanting another cigarette.

My father immediately put the cigarette away when he heard her speak. His eyes were red, though it was unclear whether from emotion or worry.

“Second daughter, Dad is worried about you. Tell me everything properly. If I am reassured, I will also stop smoking so much.”

Hearing him say that, my second sister nodded.

My mother nervously asked from the side, “Should Big Sister and Third Child go somewhere else?”

My father was silent for a moment, then said, “No. Let this be a family chat together, we will help Second Daughter.” Clearly, he wanted to ease her tension, and perhaps he also felt that some things would eventually come, and it was better to prepare the children in advance.

With my eldest sister and me present, my second sister did seem slightly more relaxed. She tucked her hair behind her ear and began speaking softly.

“It was the day my younger brother was sick. Eldest Sister and I came back to see him. On the way near our house, we saw a strange woman standing under the old pagoda tree not far from our home. I did not see her clearly at first, I just felt her clothes were strange, like opera costumes.”

As she said this, my eldest sister immediately remembered. With her fiery personality, she could not hold back. “Yes, yes, Second Sister mentioned it that day. I did not pay attention because I really did not see her.”

My father’s hand trembled slightly when he heard this. He turned to my eldest sister. “You did not see her, or you just did not notice?”

“I...” My eldest sister thought carefully, then said, “I really did not see her. If there had been a woman wearing opera clothes, I could not have missed it. It was so obvious, how could I not see her?”

My father’s hand trembled again after hearing her answer. He forced himself to control it, but my mother was already unable to stay calm, nervously tugging at her clothes.

“It is nothing, I think Eldest Sister just did not notice. Second Daughter, continue,” my father said. At that moment, he clearly wanted to calm my second sister. But unexpectedly, the moment he said this, my second sister became agitated instead.

“Dad, it is not like that. Eldest Sister did not lie. I feel like I was the only one who could see her!”

Seeing her get emotional, my mother could no longer hold back. She stepped forward and hugged my second sister tightly, saying heartbrokenly, “Then maybe it was just a madwoman. With Mom here, do not be afraid of anything. Worst case, I will fight her myself. Just tell us clearly.”

As my mother spoke, she stroked my second sister’s face. A mother’s presence always carried a strange power that could calm people down. Under her comfort, my second sister finally steadied herself and leaned into her arms, continuing.

“At that time I thought her clothes were strange, so I looked at her a couple more times. Who would have thought she also looked back at me, and her expression was terrifying. I do not know how to describe it, I just remember her eyes were extremely frightening.”

My second sister tried hard to describe it, but she simply could not find the words. Even recalling it seemed painful.

“At that time I did not dare look at her anymore. I thought Eldest Sister had noticed too, so I pulled her and quickly went home. Later, when we went to see my younger brother, I thought about that woman again and felt very scared. I wanted to ask Eldest Sister, but she said she did not see anything. That night I kept having nightmares, always dreaming of that woman’s eyes. I was too scared to tell anyone, I just cried alone under the blanket.”

At this point, my mother hugged her even tighter. My father also gently stroked her hair.

As for me and my eldest sister, we were completely stunned, our faces turning ugly with fear. Especially me, I suddenly thought of my own experience that night, and for some reason I also remembered that red light that had followed me, and how it seemed to turn into a sinister woman. I got goosebumps all over.

“Two days later, I saw her again on my way home from school, under that old pagoda tree. I saw her from far away and did not dare look at her at all. I just ran home. I felt like she liked standing there, so every time I passed that place, I would run. But... but...”

At this point my second sister started crying. She did not cry out loud, only large tears kept falling as she said in a choked voice, “But I found that I could see her everywhere these past few days. At noon in school during rest time, when I turned my head, I saw her standing under a tree on the school playground. It happened many times... she was far away so I could not see clearly, but I just felt she was staring at me.”

My second sister was speaking incoherently now, crying even harder, but we were family and blood-related, so we could understand what she meant and feel her emotions.

“I asked my classmates if they saw anyone standing on the playground. They all said no, every single one of them. At night when I sleep, I always feel like she is looking at me through the window. No, not just that, sometimes I feel like she is standing right at our door. I am so scared, but I do not dare say anything... I just want to get rid of her.”

My second sister finally finished speaking in fragments. By the end, she was barely forming sentences, but the entire family had fallen silent.

For some reason, I suddenly stood up from my chair and shouted, “Dad, I know who she is, I know! That night I saw a woman following us too, it must be her, definitely!”

My parents did not understand what I was saying at all, because I had never mentioned it before. But their expressions turned extremely grim, and no one knew what they were thinking.

At that moment my eldest sister stood up, walked to my second sister, and hugged her. “Second Sister, do not be afraid. Books say there are no ghosts or spirits in this world. It is all lies. From now on, I will stay with you. I want to see which madwoman dares to bully my sister!”

In truth, even my eldest sister did not realize that her words lacked confidence. She truly had not seen anything that day, and she did not even dare to think about the possibility that her sister might be losing her mind. That was a conclusion she absolutely did not want to face.