Chapter 7

The incident with Una Wash was like a thorn stuck deep in Evelyn’s heart, keeping her in a low mood. What should have been a pleasant shopping experience became dull and uninteresting. Seeing her sad, I felt very distressed and decided to pull her along to distract her.

“Evelyn, stop thinking about those unhappy things,” I said, gently shaking her shoulder and smiling. “Didn’t you say yesterday that you wanted to go to our old house with me? Let’s go now. Maybe we’ll find some traces of our parents there.”

Hearing the words “old house,” Evelyn’s mood improved slightly. She nodded and said, “Okay, let’s go now.”

At that moment, Serena Doyle also returned from her shopping trip, carrying a large bag full of snacks and specialties that we loved as children. When she learned that we were heading to the old house, she had no objections. She carried her purchases and walked with us toward the old house.

My family’s old house is a simple two-story building, completely different from Evelyn’s spacious, multi-story house. It still has its original, simple, and unadorned interior design. Yet, it holds all my childhood memories. Logically speaking, the house had been vacant for several years, with no one taking care of it. The exterior walls would likely be covered in ivy, and the yard would be overgrown with weeds. But when we arrived at the old house, we were completely stunned.

The exterior walls of the old house were spotless, with no weeds or traces of ivy in sight. Even the glass in the windows and doors was clean and free of dust. It didn’t seem like the house had been vacant for several years at all. Instead, it appeared as though someone lived there regularly.

Evelyn and I exchanged glances, both seeing shock and confusion in each other’s eyes. Evelyn leaned closer to me and whispered, “Madison, something’s not right. You haven’t been back in years, and no one has taken care of this place. How come it’s so clean? Could someone be living here secretly?”

I also started to feel uneasy, remembering the news reports about people taking over others’ vacant homes and living there secretly. I quickly pulled the key to the front door from my bag. When I left, I had casually put the key in my bag, thinking I might return someday. I never expected it to come in handy today.

I took a deep breath, inserted the key, and turned it gently. With a “click”, the door opened. I clenched my fists and stepped inside carefully, preparing for the worst. But when I entered the yard, what I saw only increased my confusion—the yard was spotless, not a speck of dust to be seen. The roses in the corner were in full bloom, clearly someone had taken great care to maintain them.

“What… what’s going on here?” I swallowed hard, feeling increasingly uneasy. Could it be that my parents had returned? Or was someone actually living here secretly?

Evelyn followed behind me, also looking around warily. “Madison, be careful. Let’s check the area around us. Maybe someone’s hiding here.”

Selena Doyle also wanted to come in with us, but at that moment, her phone rang. After answering the call and saying a few words, she said to us, “You go in ahead. I need to take care of something. I’ll be back soon.”

I nodded, watching his retreating figure. More doubts arose in my mind. His call seemed too convenient, didn’t it?

Evelyn and I went inside. The inside of the house was just as clean as the yard. The tables and chairs were neatly arranged. Even the dolls from my room back then were still in their original places, with not a speck of dust on them. I searched every room on the second floor, but found no signs of anyone being there. There was no evidence that my parents had been back at all.

Just as I was about to go downstairs to search on the first floor, Evelyn’s shocked cry suddenly came from the living room on the first floor: “Madison! Come quickly! I’ve found something!”

My heart tightened in fear, thinking she had discovered something dangerous. I rushed downstairs, looking around anxiously. “Evelyn, what’s wrong? What have you found?”

Evelyn pointed to a wooden box in the corner of the living room, saying innocently, “I just found a box. I got a little excited, and I scared you, didn’t I?”

A box? Upon hearing those words, I instinctively took a few steps back, my body freezing. The eerie embroidered shoes I received last time flashed through my mind. All the events I’ve gone through lately have made me much more fearful. Whenever I see an unfamiliar box, I can’t help but think of those terrifying incidents.

Evelyn noticed my fear and patted my shoulder with a smile. “Don’t be scared. These aren’t embroidered shoes. Look, it seems like there are talismans drawn inside. I’ve seen these before. My uncle and aunt gave my family similar yellow talismans.”

My parents’ talismans? My heart stirred, and I quickly stepped forward, carefully examining the wooden box. It was an old-fashioned box, with simple carvings on it. There was no lock, and it opened easily when pulled.

In the box, stacks of yellow talismans were neatly arranged, along with various tools used for drawing talismans. These were things I had seen since I was a child—they felt familiar and comforting to me. I picked up one of the stacks of talismans. The moment my fingertips touched the paper, a sense of sadness filled my heart. I remembered how my parents used to draw talismans back then.

Just then, I noticed that there was a letter pressed underneath the talisman. On the envelope, there was a line of familiar handwriting: “For my daughter, Madison LeClair.”

“Madison! It’s a letter from Uncle and Auntie!” Evelyn said excitedly, taking my hand. “That’s great! Finally, we have news from them!”

With trembling hands, I picked up the letter. I felt both excited and nervous as I carefully opened the envelope. But when I read the contents of the letter, all my hopes were instantly shattered.

The letter contained only a few words, written in a hurried hand. It was clear that my parents were in a hurry when they wrote it: “Madison, we’re fine. Don’t worry about us. Take care of yourself, and protect the jade pendant. Don’t trust anyone easily.”

Just these few sentences? No explanation as to where they went, no mention of when they’d return. Not a single word of concern for me at all. As I stared at the handwriting in the letter, tears welled up in my eyes. I felt both hurt and sad. How can parents act like this? Years of no news from them, and when they finally write, it’s just a few brief sentences like this.

Evelyn also saw the contents of the letter. The excitement on her face disappeared instantly. She looked at me with pity, said nothing, and simply patted my shoulder, gesturing for me to lean on her shoulder and vent my emotions.

I couldn’t hold back any longer. I leaned my head on Evelyn’s shoulder and burst into tears. As I cried, I kept talking about my grievances and worries: “Evelyn, how can they do this? They have no idea how worried I am about them. I’ve been searching for them for years. Finally, I got some news from them, but it was nothing more than a few words…”

Evelyn didn’t interrupt me. She simply patted my back gently and comforted me softly, allowing me to vent all the emotions buried in my heart. I don’t know how long I cried. Then, I heard footsteps outside. It was then that I realized that Serena Doyle had returned.

“Madison, Evelyn, when are you two planning to go back?” Serena Doyle’s voice came from the doorway.

I quickly wiped away my tears and tried to compose myself. Thankfully, we were facing away from the door, so he couldn’t see my red eyes. I cleared my throat and said, with a slight nasal tone, “Wait for us a moment. We’ll be leaving soon.”

“Are you okay?” Evelyn looked at me worriedly, reaching out to touch my cheek.

“I’m fine,” I said with a forced smile. “Let’s go. It’ll be difficult to travel at night, and we still need to go to work tomorrow.”

I stood up, carefully placed the letter and the talisman in my bag, then left the old house with Evelyn. I locked the front door and glanced back at the building filled with memories. My heart was filled with mixed feelings. What were my parents doing? Why were they treating me like this?

Selena Doyle had already driven the car over. She had also placed our luggage in the car earlier. After we got in, the car started moving slowly, heading towards the city.

After driving for a short distance, Evelyn suddenly tapped me on the shoulder, looking worried. “Oh no! I left my necklace at home. It was a birthday gift from Serena Doyle. I have to go back and get it!”

Selina Doyle smiled helplessly, then turned around and drove towards Evelyn’s house. Evelyn said she’d be back soon and asked us to wait for her in the car. Selina Doyle and I nodded and didn’t go inside with her.

I was sitting in the back row. I just sneezed, and instinctively reached for the tissues in the front row. My gaze accidentally fell on the floor beside the driver’s seat, where I noticed a neatly folded piece of paper. At first, I didn’t pay it much attention. But then I thought again: Selina Doyle is usually very careful and rarely leaves things on the floor.

I didn’t pick it up. I planned to remind Serena Doyle when she noticed it. Soon after, Evelyn rushed into the car with the necklace in her hand. Serena Doyle also got in the car. Since he didn’t seem to notice the note on the ground, I quietly said, “Serena Doyle, you’ve lost something. It’s under the driver’s seat.”