I collapsed onto my bed, disoriented and exhausted. Just as I was about to close my eyes, a sudden, urgent knocking echoed at my door. After the events of the day, I didn't feel like seeing anyone and decided to pretend I was asleep.
Whoever was outside seemed to sense my intention and kept knocking. Reluctantly, I got out of bed and opened the door, only to find no one there.
Thinking someone might have been in a rush and left, I waited at the doorway for a moment, but no one appeared. An unsettling fear crept over me. As I turned back toward my room, the lights abruptly went out.
I groped my way to the bed. The funeral home was already in a remote area, and with the lights off, the darkness was suffocating. It was so dark that I couldn't see my own hand in front of me. Outside, faint rustling sounds added to the eerie atmosphere.
Swallowing hard, I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, as if it might burst out at any moment.
Recalling the fortune-teller's advice, I tried to trust his words. Sitting upright for a while, I found nothing happened. Feeling slightly calmer, I pulled the blanket over myself. But then, the knocking started again.
I sat bolt upright, holding my breath. Outside, a crashing sound followed, and I caught a glimpse of a shadow passing by the window. A chill ran through me; cold sweat soaked through my clothes. I curled up in a corner, my eyes glued to the window. The branches swaying in the wind explained the noise, easing my nerves a little.
I put on my shoes and grabbed a jacket, stepping out into the corridor. Old Zhao's warning had completely slipped my mind. The funeral home was pitch dark at night, and the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves filled the air. I instinctively tightened my collar as a cold draft seeped in.
Knock, knock, knock…
A series of knocks interrupted my thoughts and halted my steps. It was the same knocking I had heard earlier. I stood still, holding my breath, straining to locate the source.
Knock, knock, knock…
This time, the sound was clear. My ears led me to the cold storage room. The knocking was coming from inside one of the freezers.
Those freezers were full of corpses. How could there be knocking from inside? Could someone still be alive? I immediately dismissed the thought—those bodies had been there for at least three days. Even if someone had been alive initially, they would have frozen to death by now.
Summoning my courage, I approached the cold storage room. The sound seemed to be coming from one specific freezer. Taking a deep breath, I opened it. Everything inside appeared perfectly normal.
Scratching my head, I wondered where the knocking could have come from. Could someone be playing tricks?
I headed to the surveillance room, slipping the attendant some money to access the footage. Watching the recordings repeatedly, I found no one had passed by my room.
After a sleepless night, my head throbbed. The events of the past few days had completely upended my understanding of reality. I sat dazed in a chair.
The attendant, a man in his fifties named Uncle Wu, walked in and saw my blank expression. "Didn't find anything, huh?"
I shook my head silently. Uncle Wu sat down beside me with a conspiratorial grin. "Are you sure you're here just because you lost something?"
Caught off guard by his question, I hesitated before nodding. Who would believe the truth, anyway?
Uncle Wu clearly didn't buy it. Waving his hand dismissively, he leaned closer. "I heard the last guy who worked here kept saying ghosts were knocking on his door."
His words sent a chill down my spine. "Really?"
Uncle Wu's expression turned serious, but then he burst into laughter. "Nah, I'm just messing with you."
I glared at him, annoyed by his poor sense of humor. Noticing my displeasure, he quickly apologized. "I was just trying to lighten the mood. But seriously, the people who had your job before didn't end well."
"Didn't end well?"
"Yeah, either dead or insane," he replied, echoing what I'd overheard from the two workers earlier.
"What's going on here, Uncle Wu?"
He avoided my gaze, clearly reluctant to explain. I handed him a pack of cigarettes I'd recently bought. Being a chain smoker, Uncle Wu accepted them with a grin.
"I'm not too sure myself," he admitted. "The people who had your job before either died or went mad, spouting nonsense."
"What kind of nonsense?"
He shook his head. "That, I don't know. It's just what I heard. The director doesn't let anyone talk about it anymore, so don't go spreading this around."
I nodded, but his words left me deeply unsettled. After thanking him absentmindedly, I stumbled back to my dormitory.
The lights in my room were on when I returned, but I had no energy to investigate further. Lying on my bed, my mind replayed the bizarre events of the past two days.
First, waking up outside inexplicably. Then, the relentless knocking and the cold storage room freezer. It all felt like scenes from a horror movie.
As I glanced at the time, it was already past midnight. Exhausted, I fell into a fitful sleep. Just before closing my eyes, I thought I saw a shadow pass by the window. But my foggy mind couldn't process it, and I quickly drifted off.
The next morning, I woke to the sound of chattering voices. Squinting against the sunlight, I realized I was outside again.
Old Zhao was among the crowd. He walked over as I scrambled to my feet, my body aching all over.
"Sleepwalking again?" he asked.
I nodded. It was the only explanation I could think of to placate him.
"Really?" He didn't seem convinced. I met his doubtful gaze and replied firmly, "Of course."
Old Zhao didn't press further. Turning to the crowd, he waved them off. "Alright, show's over. Get back to work."
As the crowd dispersed, I headed back to my room, bewildered. Even I wasn't sure if I had truly been sleepwalking.
Back in my dorm, I cleaned up the incense ash from the previous night and got ready for the day. Despite the bright sunlight outside, I couldn't shake the lingering cold.
Ignoring the aches in my body, I forced myself to focus on work. Grandpa still needed money for his treatment. As I walked away, I failed to notice Old Zhao watching me intently from the shadows.