These past few days, I've had this constant feeling that someone is behind me, especially when I finish my night shift.
I work at a car factory, and this month I'm on the afternoon shift.
You know, the one from 4 PM to midnight.
Every day, the factory provides a shuttle bus to pick us up and drop us off.
But my place is about three hundred meters from the shuttle stop, and I have to walk that stretch of road at night.
It was fine before.
Until early this month, while I was waiting at the intersection for the factory shuttle to work, I witnessed a traffic accident.
A woman on an electric bike was dragged under a large truck.
Her head was crushed, and there was blood and brain matter everywhere. The scene was absolutely horrifying.
It terrified all the bystanders and shopkeepers nearby.
I was there, and it made my scalp tingle. I was distracted all the way to work.
Now, whenever I see a large truck go by, I get scared.
These days, every time I walk past that intersection after work, I feel a chill. The accident scene, those bloody images, keep flashing through my mind.
It's okay during the day because there are people around.
But when I get off work at night, I basically have to run, not daring to stop for a moment.
Yet, the more I try to rush, the more scared I become.
I don't know if I'm just being overly sensitive or if it's lingering trauma.
Even after I pass the intersection, I always feel like someone is following me.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
It feels like every step I take echoes.
I walk, they follow. I stop, they stop.
My neck feels cold.
When I look back, all I see are the dim streetlights, a dark alley, and nothing else.
If I keep walking, that synchronized pace and the cold sensation return.
Even when I get home, I get this unsettling feeling of being watched.
When I lie down in bed, my back feels cold, and being wrapped in the blanket doesn't help.
When I lie on my back, my chest feels heavy, like there's a stone pressing down on it.
Several nights I've woken up suddenly, startled by nothing.
It's made my rest terrible and left me exhausted.
I keep making mistakes at work. My group leader, that idiot, has yelled at me several times.
He said if I make another mistake, I'm out of the car factory, and I won't get any bonuses.
I've considered moving into the employee dormitory or finding somewhere else to live.
But the factory dorms are too smelly, and I don't get along too well with my colleagues. I also don't like sharing a place with others.
Plus, I've already paid two months' rent for my current place, and there's still a month left on the lease.
If I break the lease now, the landlord won't return my deposit or the remaining rent.
I don't earn much throughout the year, so I just want to stick it out a bit longer.
With that thought in mind, I managed to hold on for a few more days.
But the feeling intensified, making me paranoid.
This morning, when I was washing my face, I saw my face and the basin were covered in blood.
I was terrified at first, but upon closer inspection,
I realized the towel I bought at the night market was of poor quality and was bleeding color.
However, there were two heavy dark circles under my eyes, and my mental state was terrible.
Carrying this state, I went through another night shift.
Nothing unusual happened, except that I was targeted by that idiotic group leader, and he yelled at me again during the meeting.
Sitting on the shuttle bus after work, I counted the days until my shift change.
Only three days left.
Once these three days are over, I won't have to work the night shift anymore, and this paranoid feeling should disappear.
Dragging my exhausted body, I got off at the same intersection where the accident happened.
The sky was dim, and the night breeze carried a hint of cold.
As the shuttle bus started moving away, I had to walk the night road back alone.
But tonight, I noticed a woman in white standing under the streetlight across the intersection.
The woman was wearing a white nightgown.
She stood there, completely still, and I had no idea what she was doing.
But the spot she was standing in was exactly where the accident happened at the beginning of the month. I had to pass through there to get home.
Looking at the woman, my heart pounded, and I didn't want to go any closer.
But there was no other way around to get back to my place.
Finally, I mustered up my courage and crossed the road.
As I got closer to the woman, I instinctively glanced at her.
Her hands and feet were very white. She looked like a white-collar worker who spent most of her time in an office and rarely went out in the sun.
She lowered her head slightly, just standing there, unmoving.
The streetlight above flickered on and off,
emitting a "crackle" of electrical current.
I wasn't curious why she was standing there.
I hunched my shoulders and clasped my hands tightly.
Holding my breath inexplicably, I quickened my pace, wanting to leave quickly.
But as I passed the woman in white, she suddenly spoke:
"Young man, can you help me change some money?"
Her voice was soft, tinged with a mournful tone.
Why would anyone want to change money this late at night?
Besides, I didn't know this woman.
I pretended not to hear and hurried away.
After I had walked a distance, I glanced back subtly.
To my surprise, I saw the woman following me.
Her steps were slow, and there was a significant distance between us.
But I noticed she was staring at me and smiling, a very eerie smile.
The sight sent a chill down my spine.
Already on edge, I became even more terrified.
I swallowed hard and started running!
Once I was inside, I slammed the door shut with a bang.
I sat on the sofa, holding my head.
I gasped for air, filled with an unexplainable fear.
I wondered if it was my own psychological pressure, making me paranoid.
Or had I really encountered something… unclean?
But just then, a knock suddenly sounded at the door:
"Dong, dong-dong-dong-dong, dong, dong-dong-dong-dong..."
It was rhythmic, one knock, then four consecutive ones.
Hearing that sound, my scalp went numb.
When I was a child, I heard the elders in my village say:
Humans knock three times, ghosts knock four times.
Who was knocking at the door? Man, or…