“I wanna live, girl. Why wouldn’t your grandpa lend me a hand one last time?”

  “I was just tryin’ to make some dough. I did the blind man a solid. It ain’t that big of a deal, right?”

  These shameless words spilled out of his mouth.

  I sorta figured out what had gone down.

  He took the cash and snatched the blind man’s wife, then pinned it all on my grandpa!

  The blind man’s wife was out for revenge on him this time, not my family.

  He must’ve pulled some strings to sic this disaster on us.

  My parents’ vanishing act?

  Probably his handiwork too.

  Grandpa.2 was babbling while prying my fingers open, his grin creepier than a haunted house clown’s.

  “I’m really not in the same league as your grandpa. I couldn’t keep that young woman in check no more. But then you waltzed back at just the right moment. Since you call me Grandpa.2, do me a solid and go down there to keep her company, tamp down her grudge.”

  I was fuming mad.

  One of my hands was already pried open by him, and with the other I was clinging to the tree trunk for dear life.

  My fingernails were almost peeling off, it hurt so bad tears sprang to my eyes.

  That’s when my brother showed up.

  I don’t know what Grandpa.2 said to slow him down.

  He was only getting here now.

  Anbay saw the hand yanking me and his face went ashen.

  He hollered and charged over.

  Looking at Grandpa.2’s mug, I got a real bad feeling.

  “Don’t come over!” I screeched.

  Too late. Anbay was so gung-ho to save me he barreled in and grabbed me.

  Right away, there was a dull thud.

  A few warm drops of blood splattered on my face.

  “Brother,”

  I screamed my lungs out, my eye sockets feeling like they’d split open.

  The bloodstained rock rolled to Grandpa.2’s feet. He’d offed my brother too.

  Next thing I knew, he kicked my hand hard.

  The pain hit me like a freight train, and I just couldn’t hold on any longer.

  Without my resistance, that hand went berserk.

  My body scraped along the ground, then suddenly I felt my feet go airborne and I plunged into a hole.

  The hole was pretty deep, and I hit bottom with a grunt.

  After a bit, the pain in my body backed off a smidge.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  I looked around.

  But I quickly realized it was a waste of time.

  It was pitch-black in there, not a glimmer of light.

  There was a musty, rotten stench that made me woozy.

  Right, where was my brother?

  I remembered I was clutching him tight when I fell.

  Where was he?

  “Brother? Brother!”

  I hollered, feeling around on the ground with my hands.

  I guessed I’d tumbled into the blind man’s wife’s grave.

  But why was it so darn big inside?

  I searched high and low, my fingers getting all scraped up, but no sign of him.

  I was hurting and scared out of my wits.

  The damp smell in the grave had me feeling like I was back on that awful, rainy night when I was six.

  I knew it was chicken of me, but tears just streamed down my face like a leaky faucet.

  In the dark, I heard a faint woman’s sigh.

  All of a sudden, someone grabbed my hand.

  I’d never forget that icy, pale feel.

  When I was six, it was this same cold hand that led me to the graveyard.

  Goosebumps covered me like a rash, and my legs were so wobbly I couldn’t budge.

  She was here again.

  In the darkness, a deathly pale face loomed before my eyes.

  It was the blind man’s wife.

  She didn’t say boo, just sighed.

  I started to lose control of my body, stood up, and let her lead me forward.

  Where was she taking me?

  I wanted to hightail it out of there, but ever since she locked eyes with me, my body was on autopilot and I could only follow.

  I’d heard folks talk about this kinda thing.

  It was like being possessed by a demon.

  My rational side screamed that I couldn’t go with her.

  If I did, I’d be a goner!

  But I didn’t have the strength to fight back.

  I was so frantic tears kept falling.

  When that gentle breeze blew past my ear, my eyes were already red from crying.

  The finger with the grass ring on it felt a bit warm.

  A man’s voice, soft and muffled, came with a chuckle.

  “Crying again, Anna. This ain’t like you.”

  Who was it?! I shuddered all over.

  I was dead sure I’d heard that voice before.

  Was it him?!

  Moli! I called out his name in my head.

  A tiny glimmer of fluorescence popped up before my eyes.

  I stared, bug-eyed. It really was him!

  Moli’s hair hung down to the ground, his pair of peach blossom eyes seemed to be smiling but not really, and he reached out his hand to me and called my name,

  “Anna.”

  He looked just like he did twelve years ago.

  No, he seemed a tad different.

  At this moment, Moli’s body was see-through and looked like it was floating ever so slightly, like it could vanish in a puff of smoke.

  He must’ve come to save me.

  I wanted to run to him, but the woman was gripping my hand like a vise and I couldn’t move a muscle.

  The woman was glaring at Moli, her bugged-out eyeballs full of resentment and hate, blood-red.

  She wasn’t about to let me go without a fight.

  She’d been set up, married to a stranger and suffered.

  She’d rather die than leave empty-handed.

  Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to rest in peace!

  All those unspoken words were hiding in her bloodshot eyes.

  Moli took a step forward.

  “She’s mine. You can’t take her away.”

  The woman didn’t budge, but her resentment shot through the roof.

  I was so crushed by it I couldn’t move and felt like I was gonna pass out any second.

  Moli didn’t flinch either, just stared her down.

  He seemed to notice something.

  “Your eyes have been mucked up, I see. So that’s it.”

  Moli whipped out his hand, put two fingers together, and zipped them in front of the woman’s eyes.

  The blind man’s wife let go of me, staggered a few steps, wailed, and then suddenly got her bearings.

  In the blink of an eye, Moli had yanked me behind him.

  I watched the woman, petrified she’d lose it and do something crazy.

  But there was just a strange look on her face.

  The gunk on her eyeballs was gone, and her blood-red eyes were clear.

  Moli stood there, hands at his sides,

  “The guilty has his guilt, the debtor his debt. Go find the person you should find.”

  The blind man’s wife glanced at Moli, and there seemed to be a smidgen of gratitude in her eyes.

  Next second, a gust of putrid wind blew by and the woman was gone.

  She... just up and left like that?

  I was still in shock.

  Moli turned around and I froze.

  I knew he’d come to bail me out, but I was still spooked of him.

  People are like animals.

  Whenever we face something way more powerful than us, we instinctively get the jitters.

  He reached out like he wanted to touch my face.

  My heart skipped a beat and I took a half-step back without thinking.

  “You weren’t so skittish around me before,” he smiled, a bit of loneliness in his eyes.

  I suddenly felt I should say something.

  At least I shouldn’t treat my savior like I just had.

  “I’m not scared of you. I’m...”

  As soon as I opened my mouth, my face went red.

  I was lousy at talking.

  This was just a lame cover-up, wasn’t it?

  But I had to suck it up and chat with him.

  After all, there were still people counting on me to save.

  “Mo...”

  I wanted to be more polite, but after mulling it over, I didn’t know how.

  So I just blurted out his name,

  “Moli.”