"How dare that witch run away from home without telling me?" the guy with baby blue eyes cried. He had fluffy black hair, and he sniffed as tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Please don't cry, Karl. It hurts to see you like this. We're fine without that witch," another guy said. He had bright blue hair and green eyes, calm as a lake. He hugged the shorter guy, offering comfort.

Karl glanced at Julian and then towards the window where villagers stood, sneakily observing him. He pinched his thighs, and two more tears squeezed out of his eyes.

"Fine without her? How should we live? Do you know, in this ruthless world, only witches are respected. Us male ghosts with just a little ability, how should we survive?" Karl said as crocodile tears rolled down his cheeks. His hands were shaking in happiness, but he tried to show he was sad.

"Please, Karl, don't cry. We'll beg for food on the streets and live our own lives better than being beaten by a wife," Julian said, rubbing Karl's back gently with his delicate facial features and soft lips uttering those comforting words.

"But, brother Julian, I don't even have a bowl to beg with on the streets," Karl replied, squeezing out more crocodile tears. "We only have one pot at home, and all our bowls were stolen by thieves! What should we do? I'm afraid even beggars will look down on us."

Hearing him, everyone outside the windows looked at them with pity.

Their drunken witch wife, Ruby, had gone crazy and run away. Ruby used to be wealthy because of her family, but after her parents passed away, her aunt seized all her property. She ended up marrying four male ghosts without any background.

Now they lived in slum houses without food or furniture. Ruby had money, but she spent it all on alcohol, leaving her ghostly husbands without even a bed to sleep on.

During the monsoon, their house had washed away, leaving them feeling abandoned like animals out in the rain. In their village, the spooky atmosphere offered no shade other than tree branches, and the rain-soaked ground burned slightly upon contact, adding to their daily struggles.

"If not for the kind old witch letting us stay in her abandoned room, we wouldn't have shelter," Julian lamented softly. "But sadly, the old witch passed away, and her sons sold her house. Now, no one cares about us."

"Should we ask the villagers for help? Maybe they'll assist us," Julian suggested gently, and Karl nodded, wiping his tears.

"Yeah, we should. We could even ask for a spare empty house if there's one available!" Karl exclaimed. Some villagers nearby, overhearing their conversation, hurried away, avoiding them.

Buying anything was tough, and earning money was even harder.

Watching the villagers flee, Karl wiped his tears and scowled. "Poor cowards," he muttered, glancing at Julian. "I don't think that witch will come back. I fear her life force and remaining spiritual energy have been drained dry because of alcohol."

"I hope she never returns. It's better to live a poor life than have a witch wife like her," Julian agreed with a solemn nod as he looked at Karl.

***

Ruby, the woman they spoke of, had fallen into a deep ditch. She struggled to crawl out.

She had clearly fallen from a building, but how she ended up in the ditch was a perplexing question for Ruby.

"Help!" she shouted, but her cries seemed to go unheard.

Looking around, her hair stood on end as goosebumps covered her arms. The land around her was a dark brown-red, with mountains towering so high their peaks nearly touched the sky. Everything appeared deserted, as if no soul had ever set foot there.

She attempted to climb out, each breath coming fast and shallow as she struggled to reach solid ground.

"Hmm..." Ruby took a deep breath as she sat up on the ground, her body muddy and covered in water-soaked earth. Her clothes dripped with the remnants of the ditch she had fallen into.

Ruby was a famous computer genius and the CEO of her own self-made software company. Her name graced the list of the world's wealthiest people, ranking third.

With her immense wealth, she had decided to construct the tallest skyscraper in the world, aiming to break records. However, during the construction, an issue with the office windows arose. While standing near one of the windows, the section she was on suddenly gave way, causing her to plummet from the high building.

And who knows if she would survive. When Ruby opened her eyes, she found herself falling into a strange-smelling ditch with a peculiar dark red color.

With no time to ponder, she felt the sun scorching her head, threatening to burn her. Disgusted by her muddy clothes, she stood up and brushed herself off, though she couldn't shake the feeling of countless bacteria and germs clinging to her body. She began walking, looking around in search of any signs of life.

After ten minutes of walking, her brows furrowed in concern. There was no greenery, and the trees looked barren, devoid of life.

Lost and unsure of her location, she realized she was stuck in a mountain canyon. Following a dirt road marked with footprints, she continued walking.

"Red river," she muttered to herself as she approached a thin river with crimson water flowing through it. The grass around the riverbank was also a strange shade of red, appearing almost translucent.

Everything seemed so bizarre.

Her face was covered with dirt, and her clothes clung to her skin in the oppressive heat. Ruby hesitated as she approached the red river.

Despite knowing it might not be safe, she felt her face itching from the grime and decided to crouch down near the small river. Carefully, she scooped a handful of water into her palm.

"What the heck are you doing, you crazy witch?"

—To be continued...🪄