5

August 9th, Tuesday

It was getting colder and colder at home, so I was wearing a coat while having breakfast.

Porridge with Beef Bourguignon.

The beef was getting more and more smelly and less tasty.

I kind of missed the breakfast my mom used to make and her nagging.

When I left for work, I said goodbye to my mom on purpose, but her face was hidden under a big hat and she still ignored me.

It's okay. As long as my mom is still with me and my dad, it's good.

When I arrived at the company, my colleague Irene looked at me with strange and helpless eyes.

She asked me why I had come alone again and where was my sister.

Sister?

I don't have a sister!

My parents only have me as their only daughter!

Did my colleague have some kind of delusion?

I wanted to share my lunch with her, but she still despised my Beef Bourguignon.

When I went home, I met Benny again downstairs, and he still barked at me fiercely.

Did I steal his bone?

Another day that I couldn't figure it out.

6

August 10th, Wednesday

Someone knocked on the door early in the morning.

My dad was accompanying my mom, so I went to open the door.

It was Caleb Stalder, a handsome guy who moved nearby recently. He played the piano and had a special temperament.

Before my mom got married, she liked music very much and learned to play the piano for a while. She and Caleb shared the same piano teacher, but my mom stopped learning after getting married and seemed to have lost contact with Caleb.

Who knew that Caleb would move here?

When he saw me, his gaze was kind and his voice was gentle. He asked me why my mom and my sister hadn't come to his place to learn the piano recently.

I became even more confused.

I don't have a sister!

My dad suddenly came over and saw Caleb. His usually honest face instantly became ferocious, and he yelled at Caleb to get lost.

Caleb was a refined person and couldn't argue with my dad. In the end, he could only leave in anger.

Then my dad dragged me into the house.

He didn't say a word and just hit me.

And he locked me in a narrow place.

He repeated like a madman that it was for my good so that I wouldn't make mistakes.

He said that our family could not fall apart because of Caleb anymore!

I begged for mercy for a long while, but he refused to let me out.

I curled up in a small space where even turning over was difficult for me and slept there for a long time.

7

August 11th, Thursday

I opened my eyes and saw my dad combing my mom's hair through the gaps.

My mom's ridiculously big hat was taken off, and her long hair was stuck together because of some black liquid.

My dad patiently combed it for her.

I saw my dad grab something from my mom's hair, squeeze it, and throw it in the trash can.

My mom had been quiet all the time.

I felt wronged and couldn't help calling her.

My mom still ignored me.

She hadn't paid any attention to me for days.

I knew my mom was sick. When she was sick, she wouldn't pay attention to anyone, but she wouldn't leave us.

I knew all of that.

But I still wanted her to respond to me.

The doorbell rang again.

My dad put the hat back on my mom's head and went to open the door.

He closed the door as soon as he went out.

It was Caleb again.

I heard his voice.

He seemed to say that the fees of my mom's previous piano lessons had not been settled, demanding my mom to settle accounts with him.

My dad wanted to transfer him the money directly, but he refused, saying that he needed to talk to my mom for some lessons.

He also asked if my dad was afraid of something as he didn't even allow him to see my mom.

Compared to being scolded and driven away by my dad yesterday, Caleb was going all out to confront my dad today.

My dad's temper flared up again, and the two of them argued at the door.

The door was pushed open, and although my dad quickly closed it again, Caleb and I exchanged a glance.

He saw that I was locked up by my dad.

But I didn't hear Caleb mention me until my dad drove him away.

My dad came back and bent down in front of me.

"That guy surnamed Stalder wants to take your mom away again," my dad said.

8

August 12th, Friday

My dad let me out.

He still prepared lunch for me.

I took the lunch box to the office, and my colleague Irene was happy to see me and wanted to come over and say hello.

Just as she approached, she stepped back.

She asked me why I smelled worse and worse and if I had taken a shower.

I was excluded by everyone and stayed in a corner of the office.

When I got off work, a colleague asked me, "Is your sister really not coming?"

I angrily shouted at her, "I don't have a sister!"

The colleague waved at me with a smile and left, ignoring my words.

When I got home, I saw Caleb pacing back and forth downstairs.

He saw me and walked towards me.

He asked me what happened to my mom and if something went wrong.

"Did your dad do something to your mom?"

I looked at him and saw the anxiety and concern in his eyes, as well as his determination to seek the truth.

I didn't really understand my dad's anxiety before.

But at that moment, I suddenly understood a little.

Caleb might really take my mom away.

9

August 13th, Saturday

I had a dream last night.

I dreamt that I killed someone.

It was a beautiful girl.

I dreamt that I killed her. I scraped meat off the beef bones, hid it in the fridge, and put the beef bones in the suitcase, then dragged the suitcase out of the house and found a piece of land to bury them all.

At the end of the dream, I heard the sound of a dog barking miserably.

When I woke up, I found myself not at home.

I was standing at Caleb's door, and there was a knife beside my feet, which was very familiar, just like the one in my dream.

Why am I here?

Whose knife is this?

I stumbled back home. It was still dark.

I couldn't remember who the woman in my dream was.

I returned home.

My dad actually got up, wearing a coat and staring at my mom.

My mom wore a sleeveless dress that she used to like, except for the big hat on her head. The several "bruises" on her arms were exposed to the cold air.

My dad sighed when he saw me coming back.

"The meat in the fridge is almost used up."

10

August 14th, Sunday

Early morning.

I dreamed that I was dragging a suitcase and kept walking and walking, covering a long distance.

When I suddenly opened my eyes, I was really dragging a suitcase.

The bottom of the suitcase was covered with blood, and when I opened it, it was empty.

I was confused and couldn't figure out why I would drag an empty suitcase.

I dragged the empty suitcase back home.

When passing by Caleb's house, his front door was half open.

Why doesn't he close the doors and windows at such a late hour?

When I got home, the air conditioning was too strong, making my nose uncomfortable and unable to smell anything.

I fell back asleep and when I woke up in the morning, I saw my dad happily cooking in the kitchen while humming a song.

He said I had fresh meat to eat again.

I looked in the fridge. Besides what was left before, there was a lot more meat, stuffing the fridge so full that nothing else could be put inside.

My dad's previously loved beer was nowhere to be seen now.

Even the air conditioning couldn't stop the greasy meat smell. I felt familiar yet uncomfortable, and I wanted to throw up when I smelled it.

I forcefully closed the fridge door.

My dad quickly cooked a plate of Beef Bourguignon, and it was indeed much fresher.

But I felt sick and didn't want to eat.

My dad's smiling face disappeared. He muttered that I had become more particular about food when I had a better life. He said he didn't know what I was going to eat if I didn't eat the fresh meat.

To avoid his continuous nagging, I forced myself to eat two more pieces of beef.

I didn't know when I could stop eating Beef Bourguignon.

While my dad was taking care of my mom, I quickly slipped out to take a walk, so as not to be forced to eat Beef Bourguignon again.

When I went out, I passed by Caleb's door again.

The front door was still open, and several people seemed to be anxiously discussing something inside.

I instinctively wanted to avoid it, but I was stopped by a familiar neighbor who forcibly pulled me to chat with her.

She took the initiative to tell me that Caleb had disappeared.

Last night, his family woke up in the middle of the night and found that the front door was open, and Caleb was not home. It was already noon, but he hadn't come back yet. His phone was also unreachable. They didn't know where he was. His family was extremely worried and even called the relatives over.

"Is it true that Caleb had a thing with your mom?"

The woman laughed cunningly and asked me.

I didn't know how someone could have the audacity to ask such a question in front of a daughter.

I turned around to leave, but the woman grabbed me by my back and dragged me back.

"Do you get angry too? I'm just asking. Maybe your mom knows where he went. By the way, it seems like I haven't seen your mom and your sister taking you out for a walk for a long time. No, I haven't seen anyone in your house for several days. Where did your mom, dad, and sister go? Have they disappeared too? Hahaha."

My heart trembled, and I didn't want her to know about my mother's illness, so I told her to shut up.

"Why are you getting angry? Can't I ask?"

This woman is really annoying.

I struggled free from her grasp and quickly ran back home, not giving her another chance to catch me.

Today is really frustrating.