Chapter 4

After leaving the orphanage, Agatha told someone to throw out the gift that I'd brought for her.

"Monsters like you will get your comeuppance sooner or later."

I couldn't be bothered to explain anything to her anymore and just called Tony again, arranging to meet up with him instead.

…

Tony finished his mug of beer and touched a hand to his chin. "That ghost looked exactly like your wife. It's so cursed to think that she wouldn't have a sister."

I smiled bitterly and downed my alcohol as well.

"Caden, why don't you go back for the night tonight?" he suddenly said, explaining that he'd installed a surveillance camera in the room.

"I'll record everything that happens. It's just that the surveillance will be connected to my phone instead of yours. You don't mind, right?"

I shook my head. Tony then tossed me an amulet that was covered in scribbles that I couldn't make heads or tails of. It also smelled rather nice.

He told me that this was an amulet that he'd gotten from a holy shrine in Tessiden, which was famous for these. The amulet was supposed to ward ghosts and spirits away, so I didn't have to be afraid of them anymore as long as I kept the amulet on me at all times.

We continued drinking until late at night. After seeing Tony off, I began walking home timidly.

I kept muttering prayers under my breath as I pushed the door open.

"You're back, honey."

I still saw the same familiar face as I did the day before after opening the door. The lights weren't on either, but this time, I took a good look at her face.

It was probably due to the alcohol, but I realized that I wasn't as afraid as I was the last time I saw her. I could even muster enough courage to look her in the eyes.

"Mabel" was still wearing no makeup like before, but I could see an unnatural blush on her cheeks. It was eerie and looked like the type of makeup that morticians would usually apply to corpses to make them more presentable, even in death.

"What are you looking at, Caden?" she asked, cocking her head to the side until her head nearly touched her shoulder.

I stared at her weird, unnatural pose and gulped. "Nothing. Why didn't you turn on the lights again today?"

"The electricity still isn't working, honey," she said, slowly making her way toward the candles. Her joints would creak loudly with every step she took and every move she made.

I felt my heart leap into my throat. I just kept patting the amulet I wore around my neck to comfort myself.

"T-There's no need for that," I said, stopping her. "This is fine."

"Is it?" she asked, stopping her tracks and turning around to look at me without moving her body. "Is it really fine like this, honey? Can you see me well?"

She kept repeating her question to me, her voice getting louder and louder as bloody tears fell from her eyes.

"Honey, it hurts… It hurts so much… It really, really hurts…"

She suddenly turned around, trying to walk toward me. The closer she got, the louder the creaks in her joints sounded. She then began showing me all the bruises on her arms and legs.

"It hurts, honey! It hurts so much!" she screamed, louder and louder each time. "Ahh!"

I couldn't take it anymore and blacked out, collapsing onto the floor.

A long time later, my consciousness finally returned to me in a blur. Someone was lightly slapping me on the cheeks. I narrowed my eyes and squinted at the person, realizing that it was Tony. He was standing next to me, trying to wake me up.

I sat up with a jolt. It was already the middle of the afternoon the next day. I had ended up sleeping on the floor in that position last night.

I didn't even bother saying anything else. I grabbed Tony fearfully and exclaimed, "She came back! She came back last night!"

Tony patted my hand and told me to calm down. When he saw that I'd calmed down a little, he said slowly, "I believe you, Caden," he said rather hesitantly. "Take a look at this."

He then showed me the surveillance footage from last night.

I was alone. There was nobody else in the video except for me.