Unoccupied Room: Mysterious Noises at Night
There's something that I've been keeping to myself and haven't dared to say, but not expressing it makes me feel overwhelmed.
During the Spring Festival of that year, I was working in another city, and because things weren't going well at work, I felt too ashamed to go back home. I made up an excuse to tell my family that I wouldn't be returning, and even though I felt really bad upon hearing my parents' helpless sighs, I felt helpless as well, blaming myself for not being resilient.
The truth is, I'm a girl, and according to my parents, all I need to do is find a good man to marry, and not to worry about working. However, I don't think that way. I hope to achieve my own dreams through my own efforts; that's the meaning of life to me.
Xiao Li is a girl like me, she's my work partner, and we get along well. The difference is, Xiao Li is from a wealthy family, her family owns factories and is very rich. Sometimes, comparisons can be infuriating, yet Xiao Li isn't the kind of wealthy person who squanders money. She's just like an ordinary modern girl, enjoys making friends, and we speak about everything.
I had just told Xiao Li about my plans not to go home for the Spring Festival, she looked at me, pleasantly surprised, and said, "My parents and my younger brother are visiting relatives overseas for the Spring Festival, leaving me alone at home. How about you spend the Spring Festival at my place?"
"Really?" I was very happy, as I had been wondering where to stay during the Spring Festival. If I stayed at Xiao Li's house, I would have company at least.
The next day, Xiao Li took me to her house. I packed a few things, and upon arriving at Xiao Li's house, I was stunned. In front of me was a very stylish European-style two-story villa, truly beautiful, and I felt envious.
Xiao Li took me inside, the house was very spacious, and from the looks of the sofa, you could tell it was very expensive, and the other furniture was extremely delicate. Xiao Li could see what I was thinking and invited me to look around, smiling.
We had seen all the rooms on the first floor; each room was carefully designed. I was silently calculating how much all this decoration would cost but found it hard to keep track. The layout of the second floor was similar to the first, and Xiao Li still took me to see all the rooms. After going through them all, I suddenly caught sight of a room next to the staircase and asked Xiao Li, "Xiao Li, I don't think I've seen that room."
Xiao Li hesitated for a moment and then coaxed me, "That room is a storage room, with a bunch of messy things, it's chaotic, not much to see, let's go downstairs."
I noticed how uneasy Xiao Li appeared, as if there were some undisclosed secret hidden in that room.
I jokingly said, "Xiao Li, don't tease me, it's just a room; why are you so nervous? If we don't look, we don't look."
Xiao Li gave a wry smile and ushered me downstairs, "Let's go, I'll treat you to some good tea."
The difference between Xiao Li and me is that she's too timid, whereas I'm naturally bold. When she's alone at home, she doesn't sleep soundly, so when I came, she asked me to sleep with her.
That night, Xiao Li asked me to sleep with her. After a while, she started snoring, but I usually sleep alone, and having someone next to me made it hard to get used to, and I couldn't fall asleep for a while.
Even though my eyes were closed, my mind was filled with thoughts about that room; what could be inside it? Xiao Li's nervousness implied that there might be some secret inside, and that room didn't look like a storage room.
I was lost in thought when a sound drifted into my ears. The sound seemed like someone moving furniture, now loud, now soft. I recalled a story I had read about the sound of marbles dropping from the ceiling, and I felt the sound might be from the same cause. After all, there were only the two of us in the house, so it wasn't possible for someone else to be making the sound by moving furniture.
Yet, the sound kept coming intermittently, and I started listening carefully. I realized that the sound was clear and seemed to be coming from upstairs. I was shocked, thinking there might be a thief in the house.
Just as I opened my eyes, I noticed Xiao Li was tightly holding me, trembling, looking fearful. However, shortly thereafter, the sound stopped. I could tell that Xiao Li hadn't fallen asleep but was disturbed by the sound, so I decided to hold her as well, and we spent the night together.
The next morning, I asked Xiao Li if she was woken up by the sound last night, and she looked pale, appearing deeply troubled. After hesitating for a while, she slowly began, "Do you remember the rooms we visited yesterday? There's one room that I said was a storage room and didn’t let you enter."
Of course, I remembered; after all, I had been deeply concerned about this matter.
"I remember, is there some secret in that room?"
"That room, right above the room we are staying in, the sound we heard last night, it came from the room upstairs!"
I was surprised, "But didn't you say that it's just the two of us at home? Could there be someone else living upstairs?"
"No!" Little Lily shouted excitedly, "But I don't know why that room feels so eerie, I'm really scared!"
Little Lily told me that the room often makes the sound of furniture being moved. She had mentioned it to her parents several times, and they didn't take it seriously.
To comfort Little Lily, I suggested, "Why don't you take me up there to have a look?"
"Aren't you scared?" Little Lily asked in concern.
I patted my chest like a brave man and assured her, "Not at all!"
Little Lily took me to that room, and when we opened the door, I was still a little scared, but I had to appear brave to bolster Little Lily. I glanced at the room and found it was just an ordinary room, with a bed, a coffee table, sofa, and some delicate furniture, not much different from the other rooms upstairs.
Little Lily said nobody has been living in that room, then she anxiously asked me, "Don't you feel that something is off?"
I looked at Little Lily, then at the room, and found everything normal.
Little Lily hesitated and said, "That room has been empty, but don't you find it too clean?"
I looked again and noticed the room was spotless, as if someone regularly cleaned it. I suggested that her parents might clean it when she's not around, but Little Lily insisted otherwise.
Then Little Lily whispered to me, "Not only that, I've noticed that every time I enter this room, something about it changes!"
"Changes? How so?"
"It's like... for example, the position of the sofa changes, as if this room has always been occupied!"
Little Lily's words gave me goosebumps; the room did seem quite eerie. I was curious about what might be happening. So, I made a bold decision, one of the bravest I've made. I said, "I'll stay in that room tonight. I want to see if it's true, if something or someone is living in that room, as you said."
Little Lily vehemently shook her head and firmly refused.
I remembered that I had a video camera and shared my idea with Little Lily, proposing to leave the video camera running in a corner of the room to see what happens at night.
That night, we both slept restlessly, and it seemed to me that I heard strange sounds coming from upstairs. But, not wanting to alert anything, I remained silent. The next day, Little Lily woke me up with puffy eyes; she didn't seem to have slept at all that night.
We hurried upstairs to retrieve the video camera. As I picked it up, something felt off, and Little Lily urged me to play the video. I fast-forwarded through it for a few minutes. When the recording ended, there was nothing remarkable, and Little Lily breathed a sigh of relief.
Later, Little Lily's parents returned home, and I had to return to celebrate the New Year with my own family, which felt really good. However, later, I remembered something that still gives me chills to this day. That night, the video camera had been on but when I held it, the recording function had been turned off. This meant that someone or something in the room had turned off my video camera.
I've never dared to tell Little Lily about this. However, I later heard that the previous owner of the villa was a woman who later fell ill and died. She used to live in that room, maybe she still considered it her home, which is why she refused to leave and took such good care of the room.
Originally posted 2024-04-06 12:26:52.