"I'm sorry, but I need to use the restroom," Rebecca said suddenly, clutching her stomach. She rushed outside.
"Me too," Kwan added quickly, following her.
The moment they stepped outside, their fangs had already extended, ready to bite. But as the cool morning air hit their faces, their breathing slowed, and their fangs retracted.
"That was close," Kwan exhaled, wiping the sweat from his brow.
Rebecca nodded, still catching her breath. "We have to be more careful next time. Even if Lucille’s been gone for a while… she’s still my friend, and I don’t want to hurt them."
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Patrick rushed to Lucille’s side. Without thinking, he took her bleeding finger and put it in his mouth.
"Patrick! What are you doing?" Lucille cried out, pulling her hand away.
"I'm helping! Trying to stop the bleeding," he said, confused.
"You're gross. You shouldn't suck my finger like that!"
"Come on, don’t be so dramatic. It’s not like I bit it. I was just helping," he replied, trying to lighten the mood.
"Well, you’re acting like a vampire—and I hate vampires," Lucille snapped.
Patrick sighed and gave a sulky smile. "Alright, alright. I won’t do it again."
Lucille rolled her eyes, but after a moment, she softened. She stepped closer and hugged him tightly. "Just don’t scare me like that again."
After a few moments, Kwan and Rebecca came back to the kitchen, feeling refreshed.
"Are you guys done?" Lucille asked.
"Yup," Rebecca replied with a smile. "Please leave the rest to us. You are guests here, so you should sit back and relax. You've just arrived from a long trip, so you must be tired."
"You really get us. Thanks!" Lucille said, leaving the rest to them as she and Patrick went to the living room, sat on the couch, and scrolled through their phones.
Kwan prepared the pot, while Rebecca continued chopping the vegetables. Half an hour later, everything was finally ready. Rebecca went to the living room to call Lucille and Patrick for breakfast.
Patrick and Lucille were watching the news about an insane man who escaped the mental hospital and were very surprised when they saw Kwan's face on their screens.
"What? He is insane?" Patrick asked in shock.
Rebecca was confused when she entered the living room, as Patrick and Lucille were staring at her as if she had murdered someone, when she really had.
"Why didn't you tell us about this, Rebecca?" Lucille asked.
"About what?" Rebecca asked, confused.
"The news," Lucille replied simply.
"What news?" Rebecca asked.
"Stop playing dumb. Here, watch this." Lucille handed her smartphone to Rebecca.
Rebecca looked at it and was surprised to find Kwan's face there. The journalist reported that he was some insane man who escaped the madhouse and the authorities had been searching for him.
"I was about to, but you've just arrived," Rebecca replied. She had no reason to deny it anymore. "The truth is, a lot of things had happened when you were gone, and I can't just tell them all to you in a minute."
"So did you help Kwan escape from the madhouse?" Lucille asked, standing up from the couch. "Is he insane?"
"No, he's obviously not," Rebecca responded. "Why won't you come to the dining room and hear him?"
Lucille looked at Patrick, and then they followed Rebecca inside the dining room. They stared at Kwan and realized that Rebecca was telling the truth. He didn't show any sign of insanity, but what was that news about?
"Kwan, can you explain to us why you were in the news?" Rebecca asked.
Kwan looked at them, but he had no reason to hide it, so he told them the truth. "When I woke up, I found myself in the hospital bed. I heard that they were going to put me into prison once I recovered, so I decided to act insane to be brought to a madhouse instead," he said.
Lucille was confused even more. "What happened when you woke up from the hospital bed?" she asked.
"The truth is, I and Rebecca had done it. We both jumped from a cliff, but we both survived death," Kwan said, scratching the back of his head as he knew how foolish it was to talk about it.
"And why did you jump off the cliff?" Lucille asked, worried. "Were you two planning to kill yourselves?"
"The truth is, we did," Rebecca replied. "But we didn't succeed, and now we're here, both alive."
Lucille couldn't believe the two of them. She slapped her forehead in disbelief as she didn't know what had gotten into their heads to jump off the cliff. Did they find their lives meaningless already?
"I think that's enough already," Patrick said. "Now we understand what happened, although I'm still confused, but we'll stop asking more questions."
"Thanks for trying to understand, Patrick," Rebecca said. "So, how long are you guys going to stay here?"
"We'll stay here for a week if that's okay with you. We're actually planning to stay here for a month, but unfortunately, our kids would be left alone," Lucille replied.
"So you have kids already?" Rebecca asked.
"Yes, a boy and a girl. Our son is studying in high school, while our daughter is in primary school," Lucille replied. "We left them with Patrick's parents for a while."
"That's nice; if only our daughter were here, we could also introduce her to you," Rebecca said.
"So, you also have a daughter?" Lucille asked.
"It was actually my daughter, not ours, but you know, she's dead already; someone killed her," Rebecca said in a sad tone.
"Oh, that's another sad story. If only I were here when you were struggling, but did you already report that to the police?" Lucille asked.
"Yes, we did," Rebecca lied. "But there wasn't any improvement to the case yet. It's been a year already."
"Don't worry about it, Rebecca. I'm sure you two can still have another child; you're both still young, so don't lose hope. Anyway, can we exchange numbers so that you can call me when you're in trouble again?" Lucille said.
"I'm sorry, Lucille, but we don't have phones," Rebecca replied.
"Um, why?" Lucille asked, confused.
"It's been a long time, and we, we just decided to have a low-key life, you know, away from chaos," Rebecca replied. "But you can always come here whenever you want. Our home is always open for you."
Lucille wasn't satisfied by Rebecca's response. She's been feeling weird and uneasy since the first day they arrived here, but she thought that was normal because they haven't talked for a while, and a lot of things happened.
After having breakfast, Kwan and Rebecca showed Lucille and Patrick around the house, except for the garden, since they knew it was stinky there. They also brought them to their rooms.
It was already night, and Lucille was lying on her bed. The surroundings were eerily quiet, except for the sounds of insects. She was confused why there wasn't any electricity around the house. She didn't know how Rebecca and Kwan could live in a place like this.
"This is like a haunted house," Lucille said. The hair on her skin stood up when she saw a shadow through the glass window, moving in the hallway beside her room.
"No!" she shouted when someone suddenly jumped over her.
"Shh... Why are you shouting?" Patrick asked. "It's just me."
"Patrick? What are you doing in my room?"
"Isn't it normal for a husband and wife to sleep together? Besides, I can't sleep in my room. I don't feel at ease, as if someone's secretly watching me," Patrick replied.
"I think we're the same. I feel like someone's watching me through the window," Lucille said.
"Ha!" They both screamed when someone opened the door.
"Are you guys okay?" Rebecca asked, her face as pale as a ghost. "Did I scare you?"
"Rebecca?" Lucille asked. "No, we're clearly not okay."
"Why? What's wrong?" Rebecca walked towards them.
"Don't you have electricity?" Lucille asked. "Why are the surroundings so dark?"
"I'm sorry, but we don't use electricity here. You can use candles or lamps," Rebecca replied, handing them three sticks of candles.
"Thanks for this, Rebecca," Lucille said, taking the candles. The hair on her skin stood up again as he touched Rebecca's hand that was so cold, like the hand of a dead person.
"By the way, here's the lighter." Rebecca gave them the lighter before going out of the room.
"Are you okay?" Patrick asked, staring at Lucille.
"Rebecca," Lucille said.
"What about her?" Patrick asked, confused.
"Nevermind," Lucille said. "Let's just talk about this tomorrow. We'll clear something out."
"Alright, let's light the candle first," Patrick said, standing up. He lit up the candle and went back to bed. He wrapped his arms around Lucille and said, "Don't worry, I won't leave you here alone, so don't be scared."