Elder Sister's Home 6

Xu Si stood before the dilapidated villa, her heart heavy with complex emotions. This was a place she had not stepped foot in for a long time—her sister's home. Her sister was the person closest to her in this world, yet now, the villa was shrouded in an eerie aura.

Taking a deep breath, Xu Si pushed open the half-ajar gate. The hinges emitted a screeching sound, piercingly sharp in the silent courtyard. As she entered, she saw that the fountain had long since run dry, and the surrounding flowers and plants had withered away. Beside the fountain stood a weathered wooden sign that read: "Welcome to sister's home. Please follow these rules, or suffer the consequences."

Xu Si leaned in to read the sign carefully. The first rule stated: "After entering the villa, no matter what sounds you hear, do not look back; proceed directly to the living room." She frowned, a sense of unease rising within her, but she decided to follow the instruction.

She walked slowly toward the villa's main entrance. Just as her hand touched the door handle, a faint, muffled sound of crying drifted from behind her. Xu Si froze. Her instinct was to turn and look, but remembering the rule on the sign, she gritted her teeth, shoved the door open, and hurried into the living room.

The living room was dim, the curtains drawn tight, and the air thick with a musty, stagnant scent. Xu Si’s gaze landed on the coffee table, where a diary lay open. She walked over to find the pages yellowed and the handwriting crooked: "When night falls, all rooms will plunge into darkness. Do not attempt to seek the light; stay where you are and wait for dawn." Before she could process this, a heavy, rhythmic thudding sounded from upstairs, each step landing like a weight upon her heart.

Recalling the rule against looking back, she suppressed her terror and turned toward the corner of the living room. A massive wardrobe stood there, its door slightly ajar, revealing a narrow slit. On the wall beside it hung a painting of a woman with a blurred face, wearing a strange, unsettling smile. Xu Si’s heart raced; she felt as if a pair of eyes were staring at her from the shadows.

Suddenly, the landline in the living room rang, the sound jarring in the silence. Xu Si hesitated before approaching the phone. She picked up the receiver, and a low, raspy voice whispered, "Do not trust your reflection in the mirror. Remember, the one in the mirror is not you." The line went dead with a busy signal. Xu Si hung up, her hand instinctively touching her face as her gaze drifted to the mirror in the living room. Her reflection looked blurred, as if shrouded in mist. Not daring to look longer, she quickly averted her eyes.

Determined to find traces of her sister, Xu Si began to climb the stairs. The wooden boards creaked under her weight, sounding as if they might snap at any moment. At the landing, she saw a framed photo of her and her sister as children, both smiling radiantly. For some reason, the sight now sent a chill down her spine. A sticky note beside the photo read: "Bedroom doors can only be opened during the day; do not approach them at night."

She continued up to the second floor. The corridor was dark and sinister, with doors on either side tightly shut. She tried to push one open, but it would not budge. Then, she heard her sister's voice from one of the rooms: "Little Si, come and save me." Xu Si was frantic, desperate to locate the source, but every room looked identical. Suddenly, she saw a door at the end of the hall left slightly open, with a faint light spilling out. Just as she was about to approach, she remembered the note and, after a moment of hesitation, stopped in her tracks.

At that moment, all the lights in the villa flickered out, plunging the building into total darkness. Xu Si stood frozen in terror, hearing strange sounds around her—some like soft weeping, others like hushed whispers. She hugged herself tightly, struggling to stay calm. Remembering the diary, she knew she had to stay put and wait for dawn.

In the long darkness, time seemed to stand still. Every second was an agonizing ordeal, her own heartbeat echoing in her ears with painful intensity. Finally, a glimmer of light appeared on the horizon. Dawn was coming, and the lights in the villa gradually flickered back to life.

Xu Si sighed in relief and continued her search. In the kitchen, she found a note on the table: "The food in the refrigerator is safe to eat, but never consume anything from the black box in the corner." She looked at the fridge, the door slightly ajar, emitting a strange odor. She cautiously peered inside and saw the black box in the corner. She did not touch it and quickly shut the door.

Leaving the kitchen, she headed to the basement. The door was unlocked. Pushing it open, she was met with a wave of damp, moldy air. Inside, amidst various pieces of clutter, she found a hidden compartment in the wall. She opened it to reveal a weathered photo album. Most of the pictures were yellowed or blurred, and she noticed several people she had never seen before, all wearing eerie, unnatural expressions.

Tucked into the final page was a note: "If you are reading this, you are close to the truth. Remember, sister's soul is trapped in this villa. You must find the way to break the curse to save her." A spark of hope ignited in Xu Si; she was determined to find the solution.

Returning upstairs, she went back to the room where she had heard her sister’s voice. Mustering her courage, she pushed the door open. The room was sparse, containing only a bed and a wardrobe. On the bed lay a doll that bore a striking resemblance to her sister. Xu Si approached and noticed several silver needles stuck into the doll. She carefully pulled them out, and the doll dissolved into a wisp of smoke.

Suddenly, a violent wind whipped through the room, lifting the curtains. Xu Si saw a dark shadow reflected in the window, slowly closing in on her. She spun around in terror, only to find the room empty. Her eyes darted to the wall mirror, where a woman with a hideous, twisted face stood behind her, reaching out with both hands. Xu Si tried to flee, but her body wouldn't move.

As the woman’s hands were about to touch her, Xu Si remembered the warning: do not trust the reflection. She closed her eyes and silently repeated her sister's name. When she opened them again, the woman was gone, and the wind had died down.

Xu Si searched the attic, finding an ancient book buried under dust and debris. With great effort, she deciphered the archaic text: the villa was the site of a tragedy where an evil witch had been sealed away. Her sister’s soul was trapped by the witch's curse. To break it, she had to find and destroy the witch's magical gemstone.

Following the book’s instructions, she found the gemstone hidden beneath a boulder in the garden. It pulsed with a malevolent light that made her skin crawl. As she picked it up, a piercing shriek echoed through the villa, and the entire building began to shake violently.

Clutching the stone, Xu Si ran to the grand hall. A massive black hole had opened in the center of the room, emitting terrifying roars. She knew the witch was trying to stop her. Without hesitation, she hurled the gemstone into the void. With a deafening boom, the hole vanished, and the villa fell into silence.

Xu Si searched for her sister and finally found her on the sofa in the living room, pale and eyes closed. She approached and whispered her name. Her sister slowly opened her eyes, a look of relief washing over her face.

"Little Si, you finally came," she said weakly.

"Sister, I found the way to break the curse," Xu Si said, overcome with emotion.

Her sister sat up and hugged her tightly. "Thank you, Little Si. If not for you, I would have been trapped forever."

They stepped out of the villa into the warm, bright sunlight. Through this harrowing experience, Xu Si understood that some secrets, once unearthed, could never be forgotten. But for her sister, it was all worth it.

As they left, Xu Si glanced back one last time. It seemed as though the eerie scenes of the villa were fading, replaced by memories of happier times. From this day forward, a new life awaited them, and the secrets of the villa would remain buried in the depths of time.