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Even empty, my throat felt clogged.
I rinsed my mouth, staring at the mirror. The woman there was pale, bloodless, her yellowed hair matted.
Compared to James, I looked like a ghost.
I splashed my face and stepped out. The kitchen clinked with dishwashing.
Watching his back, I couldn't fathom why he'd do this.
He had never done chores before. I cooked, cleaned, worked, and took his beatings when he wasn't satisfied. Now, dead, he seemed almost caring.
Did ghosts grow consciences?
I shook my head. None of that mattered—finding my ID and escaping did.
At 3:40 a.m., I woke up again.
The" thump, thump, thump" of chopping echoed outside.
I realized something I'd ignored: this old building, inherited from James's parents, was older than us, with terrible soundproofing. You could hear neighbors'cooking, showers, flushes. The downstairs neighbor, a nervous wreck, banged on our door at any night noise.
But James's chopping hadn't stirred anyone.
That wasn't right.
I dug up the downstairs neighbor's contact.
"Hi, has my husband's chopping disturbed you? Why haven't you knocked?"
No reply for ages.
Finally, three words:
"Who are you?"
"I'm your upstairs neighbor. You knock, I answer—you forgot"
Silence.
My next message got a red exclamation mark.
Blocked.
After breakfast, James left.
I frantically searched.
ID was too important—James wouldn't carry it. It'd be in a cabinet.
I had to find it before he returned and escape.
I rummaged desperately. Sarah appeared silently behind me.
"Laura."
Her beige coat had a dark stain, her face swollen.
"Come with me."
I screamed and threw a red paper packet of sticky rice at her.
She flinched and stepped back.
"Laura, it's me, Sarah.I'm not bad."
"I'll get you out."
I lost it."Stop lying! I saw the news—you're missing, probably dead!"
She sighed."I did have an incident, but not like they say. The media blows things up. That news was nonsense."
"Laura, forgot? We're like sisters. I stole candy for you, got whacked by Mom. We caught crickets in the fields, husked corn. When you moved here, I looked out for you."
"Laura, I'd never hurt you. Don't you trust me?"
She was right—she always protected me when Mom hit me. But the news nagged at me.
"Why haven't you changed clothes?"
She smiled." You're sharp. I rushed over this morning, forgot to change."
"I watched from the stairwell till James left."
I calmed down.
Sarah tucked my hair back fondly.
"Still like when we were kids."
I told her about finding my ID and cards. Her eyes teared."Don't bother—you won't need them."
"Come with me.I'll take you where you belong."
Something was off.
