soul stone

When people die, their marks are left on everything they owned.

It's like...fingerprints.

·

In the autumn of 1989, an island country south of the Batokia Republic.

When the last rays of the setting sun faded below the horizon, stars began to twinkle under the oriental blue sky.The black-haired and fair-skinned boy was wearing a loose white T-shirt and denim trousers, standing in the middle of the road, listening with his eyes closed.

Although it was time to get off work, there were no vehicles passing by on the road, nor passers-by walking in a hurry.The irritating chirping of cicadas during the day fades away, and only the chirping of birds and the rustling of the lush branches and leaves of the trees at night can be heard.

One word sums up the environment here, that is——

quiet.Extreme stillness.

The boy slowly opened his eyes.Looking up, it turned out that what I heard was true.There was no car, no one on the road.On both sides of the road, there is a street lamp every five meters. The light is not a soft yellow like the usual street lamps, but pale radiating from a point.Due to disrepair for a long time, some lamps flicker on and off. From a distance, they look like twinkling stars under the night.

"Outside my house, there is a road with street lights on both sides. One night, my mother took me for a walk with him, and he pointed to the two rows of street lights and called them 'stars'..."

The young man exhaled lightly and raised the corners of his lips.

If you remember correctly, it's here.

Many details are very clear, but if you try to connect those fragments and try to get a whole picture, it will slip through your fingers like sand... Such things are what people call "memory", which comes from reality, moves towards False spiritual relics.

"That... I'm sorry."

Voices interrupted thoughts.The boy turned around and found that it was a girl of similar age, wearing black-rimmed glasses, and her long black hair was tied into a thin bundle behind her back.She was wearing loose clothes like a sports suit, carrying a huge backpack that was disproportionate to her figure, and holding a booklet in her hand—looking at the cover, it seemed to be something like a self-guided travel guide.

"There is no way to go any further," the girl looked down at the booklet, moving her index finger over the pages. "The guidebook says that there is only one abandoned villa ahead." After closing the book, the girl raised her right hand and touched the lower part of the mirror frame. Looking at him seriously: "If you are here for tourism, it's better to turn back."

The black-haired boy blinked and smiled, "Excuse me, may I ask who you are, Miss?"

"Ah, I'm sorry!" The girl suddenly bowed with an exaggerated angle, and when she straightened up, she touched the frame of her glasses again, "I said it in a patronizing manner, regardless of whether I knew someone... really, how come I always So frizzy! Ah, I’m sorry, I digressed again. In fact, I’m here for tourism just like you. Ah, sorry, are you here for tourism?”

The boy didn't answer.He thought the girl in front of him was a little funny.

"Ah, I'm sorry! This is your privacy, I shouldn't ask more..." The girl started to touch the lower edge of her glasses frequently when she got nervous, "But it's better not to go forward. According to rumors, the building in front The house will be haunted..."

"Haunted?" The boy seemed to be a little interested, "Is there any allusion in it?"

"Yes, yes. But I'm also hearsay, there is no real evidence."

"It's okay, please tell me."

"Well, that's right." The girl pushed down her glasses again, "It is said that there used to be a family of four living here. About ten years ago, all four members of the family disappeared overnight and never came back. Later, With the passage of time, this villa has gradually become overgrown with weeds and dust. It is said that anyone who approaches this house at night will hear the low cry of a woman from inside, and none of the people who entered the villa came back. ..." As she spoke, the girl trembled with her arms folded with a look of fear on her face.

The boy almost laughed out loud—someone would be frightened by the stories he told... This was the first time he had seen it.

"The strange thing is that this incident did not cause a big sensation at the time. At most, it only occupied a small piece of tofu block-sized space in the lace news. It may be because the family rarely shows up in public, and there are no people who have close contacts with them in the local area. But I always feel that things are not that simple... After all, four living people have disappeared! Our country has always been proud of its good law and order and low crime rate. The forces murdered, but did not take away the property in the house, which means that it is likely to be a vendetta...Huh? Ah, wait! What, what do you want to do?" The girl said to herself, and suddenly raised her head, only to find that the audience had already It's come a long way.

"Thank you for your story, it's very interesting." The boy said without looking back, "And...your guess is very likely to be correct."

"...Ah?" The girl was stunned for a moment, and then shouted, "Wait a minute! Really, thanks to me talking so much, it's like a chicken talking to a duck!" She stomped her feet angrily, and chased after the boy's back.

When they caught up, the two had already arrived in front of the villa.The girl bent down, pressed her hands to her knees, and was out of breath.In stark contrast to the girl, the boy's breathing seemed to be as calm as a mirror lake, without any disorder.

"'Great Yagi Mansion'..."

He reached out and touched an old board on the brick wall next to the gate.On the wooden board is a row of strong calligraphy, each the size of a matchbox.The practice of writing one's surname on the wooden board next to the door to reveal one's identity seems to be a custom handed down in this island country since ancient times.If it was him, he would definitely not hang a sign reading "Lu Xilu Mansion" in front of his house.

"'Oyagi,'" the girl repeated, "is a rare surname."

"Oh?"

"Before I came here, I did some research out of curiosity." She nodded her chin and said, "There are only three families with the surname 'Da Yagi' in the country, two of which are apartments, and this is the only one with a detached house. But only a detached house can become a haunted house." Well. Hey, it’s a haunted house, why do you want to go in? Your curiosity is really strong.”

"A friend of mine used to live here."

The girl let out a cry, and was too shocked to speak for a while.

When he was about to lose his patience and was about to push the door open, the girl seemed to have finally regained her sanity, and asked cautiously, "Is... a very important person?"

The boy's slender fingers paused for five seconds at the sunken ink spot on the board.

"Yeah." He nodded, "She... took away my sun."

The girl let out another ah, Yuan opened her mouth and remained motionless, like a still life painting.After a while, the girl blushed, bent her right index finger and pushed down her glasses.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked... just out of curiosity..."

"It's okay." The boy smiled gently.

The girl's face became more and more red, the color was like the fire cloud he saw in the sky not long ago.

"I'm so sorry," she said, "but I have a kind request."

"what is it then?"

"If you insist on going in, can you take me with you? In fact, I have wanted to explore the haunted house for a long time. I have been wandering in this area, but I still can't get up the courage... If someone goes with me, that would be great. That...it doesn't matter if you don't agree, just now I advised you not to go in...I'm so sorry, that..." The girl lowered her head nervously, staring at her feet.

"It's okay." The boy kept a gentle smile and walked towards the girl.

This time, the girl fell to the ground before she even had time to shout.

Withdrawing the knife in his hand, the boy turned around expressionlessly, and pushed open the rusty iron gate covered with vines of the Oyagi Mansion.

·

In early 1980, the Oyagi Mansion.

(knocking)

Girl: "Mom, are you there?"

Mom: "Huh? What's the matter, can't you sleep?"

Girl: "Mom, when is Daddy coming back?"

Mom: "Soon. Maybe tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, I can't tell. Dad is busy recently."

girl:"……"

Mom: "Go to bed. Mom assures you that Dad will be back soon."

Girl: "Mom lied! That's what she said last week...last month!"

Mom: "Snowy night..."

Girl: "Daddy isn't coming back, is he?"

Mom: "Xue Ye, come here. Lift your eyes."

Girl: "It's so beautiful... Mom's soul stone is so beautiful."

Mom: "Okay, tell Mom, what do you see now?"

Girl: "Mom's eyes. Purple..."

Mom: "Yes. When people tell lies, the soul stone will be cloudy. Being able to see mother's eyes through it proves that mother is not lying."

girl:"……"

Mom: "Daddy will be back soon. I promise you. Come on, go back to your room."

(door closing, door opening)

Girl: "Mom, can you tell me a story tonight?"

Mom: "Huh?"

Girl: "I want to hear the story of the Soul Stone again."

Mom: "Okay. But you have to promise mom, and go to bed obediently after listening."

Girl: "Yeah!"

Mom: "Xue Ye, do you remember what I told you, why is it called the 'soul stone'?"

Girl: "Because there is a soul on it?"

Mom: "That's right. When people die, they leave their marks on everything they owned. It's like...fingerprints."

Girl: "Fingerprints?"

Mom: "Oyagi's soul is immortal. When our body dies, the soul will leave the body and live in the soul stone that we carry with us. No matter how many times the sun and the moon change, how many times the seasons change... People live in the stone. Now, stones are broken and people die; the dead don't die, but the soul lives forever."

Girl: "The dead...don't die..."

Mom: "When you are ten years old, you and Xia Tian will have your own Soul Stone."

Girl: "My soul stone?"

Mom: "Yes. Your Soul Stone."

Girl: "Mom, can you lend me your soul stone tonight?"

Mom: "Huh?"

Girl: "With it, it's like my mother is by my side... Please, mother, just once tonight, just once!"

Mom: "...Okay. With it, I will be able to sleep well on a snowy night tonight."

Girl: "Yeah! Thanks mom!"

(even breathing, the sound of closing the door, the sound of footsteps gradually going away)

"Perhaps... we won't be able to wait until then."

(footsteps suddenly stop)

"You are?!"

"Since Madam is unwilling to hand over even one...the two children, we will accept them together."

(boom!)