The Missing Adopted Daughter

Seeing how “that family” of mine was all acting and thinking in sync only made me even more curious about the locked cabinet.

If opening it would bring disaster upon our whole family…

Well, that didn’t really matter to me.

I was beginning to understand a female character from the film "The Three-Body Problem" and why she pressed that reply button without hesitation.

After calming my awful mood, I headed back to the butcher shop. “Sir, give me another two pounds and four ounces of pork,” I asked.

The shop owner paused when hearing this special quantity. He quickly realized I had begun to uncover the truth.  

“Did you smell the stench again? And the malice?” he asked.

I nodded in silence, too scared to say anything. My eyes darted behind me to signal to the shop owner that I was being followed and I urged him not to say anything more.

I had already noticed my brother was tailing me, not far behind and giving a report to my mom.

I tried calling my mom a few times to ask what vegetables I should buy, but her line was constantly busy. I called my brother, too and it was also busy. That’s when it hit me.

The butcher got the message. He weighed out two pounds and four ounces of pork for me and instructed me to come back every day for seven consecutive days.

My dad gave off a burnt odor, my mom reeked of rust, my brother had a blood scent and the cabinet in the kitchen gave off a foul stench...

The four smells mixed together until our home felt like literal hell on earth.

And yet none of them could smell a thing!

On the seventh day, when I bought the pork again, the butcher leaned in and whispered something to me, “Tonight’s the seventh day. After dinner, they’ll get drowsy and fall asleep. At midnight, when the yin energy is strongest, the hidden malice inside them will resurface. You must be extra careful.”

"Oh!" he continued. "During this time, you can open the locked cabinet, find a secluded spot and burn or smash the contents inside. Just make sure to damage them. The next day, expose them to sunlight and your issue with the foul odor will be resolved. This opportunity is rare, so you must seize it.”  

“If you fail, your memory might get tampered with again and you’ll have to start all over. You told me yourself that your childhood memories are fuzzy. So, I think whatever’s in that cabinet might be connected to that. They probably used some special method to erase your memories.”

As the truth began to unfold before my eyes, I fully trusted the butcher's words and prepared two pounds and four ounces of meat for them to eat.

They were unaware of anything and after dinner, they indeed began to feel sleepy. By ten o’clock, they were all asleep, leaving me the only one awake and waiting for midnight to arrive.

Perhaps because I was too nervous, I fell asleep. At midnight, I was suddenly awakened by a series of urgent knocks on the door.

When I opened the door, I saw my father, his eyes closed. He was sleepwalking. Using a kitchen knife in his hand, he banged it against the door hard.

I didn’t dare make a sound. I covered my mouth and crouched beside the door. Then I watched as my dad raised the knife and started slashing my bed like a madman!

The bed frame creaked with each blow and cotton stuffing flew everywhere, as my father, who was panting heavily, shouted through his gritted teeth over and over again, “Die! Die! Die!”

Hearing the commotion, my mother came running over. She also appeared to be sleepwalking.

She stopped my father and began searching the bed. Suddenly, she froze and tugged at my father's sleeve.

Both of them turned toward the door at the same time. Even with my eyes closed, I could still feel the icy chill emanating from their bodies, filled with murderous intent, their voices cold enough to send shivers down my spine.

"She ran out through the door!"