by thetwofullmoons

Writing is not an easy job. Being a writer is dedicating one’s own life to those thoughts embodied in pieces of paper for everyone to read. There’s nothing sure about this job either; you can succeed, but you can as well as become the biggest failure in the literary world. I can assure you this profession is very risky and extreme, you bet your all to something so volatile, risking losing it all in a heartbeat. But I love this. I don’t see myself as anything else. I think about words way more than any regular human being should. Being a writer is about making people think, dream, smile, and cry with your words; yet sadly, it seems that lately I can no longer do that. I

I’ve been struggling with writer’s block for a while now, even before Sehun and I got married past July 9th; the best night of my life, by the way. It feels like having a tiny pebble on the tip of your shoes, disturbing every step you try to take. I guess at some point it happens to every writer, but it’s not healthy, nor reassuring; it consumes your mind, but it’s inevitable. I’ve been stuck with my new book for about three months now. Much as I try, nothing comes out of my head. I have vague ideas, yet when it’s time to start writing them, I seem to have forgotten even how to create a proper sentence.

On recommendation of my publishing house, I’ve assigned myself the task of trying to find a new place far away from the busy life of Seoul; somewhere full of country life, no pollution and not loud sounds of honking cars. A place where I could clear my mind and get inspiration from. After looking for weeks, we've stumbled upon Fowltown, a cozy village in Georgia; United States.

Some might wonder why flying away from everything? Your family, friends, the life you’re used to. But in my point of view, Fowltown was the perfect place for us to settle temporally, it was small, quiet and full of history. Us? Yes, he came with me. Sehun has always been beside me helping me through it all and making it all in my life better, happier, simpler. I can’t remember a time he hadn’t been a solid rock in my life, always providing me assurance and comfort I’ve needed. He even encouraged me to move in to this little town in Georgia so I could deal with my block issue. And now that I think of it clearly, moving to Fowltown was one of the best decisions we could’ve ever made as a couple. We’ve been here for two weeks now and I’ve never felt more at ease. I’ve started writing again; I have my best friend and husband with me; living in an old, but at the same time, lovely house located in a peaceful town, away from distractions and with enough privacy for him and I, and that’s all I could have ever asked for.

*

I was on my way back home from the convenience store nearby; the bags containing the groceries for the following week were secured in the trunk of the car. It was barely 10 am but the sun was shining bright up in the sky, and there was no wind so that the leaves scattered on the sand floor could play with. Sehun had found a part-time job at the little gallery in the center of village three days after we settled. It wasn’t necessary, since we had enough money to last us for the time we were staying in Fowltown, but he insisted, so who I am to deny him such thing? And as he wasn’t home, it leaves me with no choice but to make us lunch for the day.

“Why is it so hot today? Damn it!” I got in the car and the engine. “I think these will be the longest 15 minutes of my life.”

Even with the windows down I was sweating like a pig; food could balls right now. First, I was going to take a cool shower and then I would start cooking. It should be prohibited to leave the house in such heated days. In times like this is when I miss Seoul delivery services.

As I was approaching the path that would lead me straight home, I was asked to pull over by a local police officer. He ordered me to make a detour and take the adjacent road. There were cops surrounding the area with caution tape and their patrol was parked in the middle of the street. From what I could see from my seat, it seemed like an accident had just happened. The road I had to go through now will take me home too, yet it’d take me a bit longer to get to my destination, but I couldn’t do anything about it; I had to leave my fatigue aside and comply with his command, since he represented some sort of authority in the village.

This path was a bit rockier than the one I usually choose to get back, I noticed that the weather had changed and it was becoming darker as I was getting deeper into the street. I really wish it would rain in the afternoon, so maybe this heat would calm down and who knows? Maybe my hair could go back to normal again, it’s been getting frizzier within every day after we arrived to this town.

I was so immersed in thoughts of bubble baths and air conditioner waiting for me at home that only the sound of something crashing hard against the hood of the car made me hit the brakes forcefully and get out of the car in a hurry, not even caring that I had stopped in the middle of the street.

Once I was out of the automobile, I walked to the front and knelt down to find out what the source that caused that sound had been or if I had made any damage to any living creature of this town. I wouldn’t forgive myself if somehow I ran over a puppy or a cat. Yet what I was thinking was very far from reality, I have never imagined I would be in a situation like this. What I saw was so chocking that it made me lose my balance; I fell on my . The unwelcoming sight of the blood-covered body of the biggest crow in the world was lying still on the sandy road, no sign of any life. Its sharp claws pointing straight at me as if blaming me for what had happened.

I glanced away from the mixture of black feathers, red blood and golden sand, to the front of my car, and noticed that there was a bump on the surface of its hood. I reached out to touch it and measure its depth, a little bit of blood stained my fingers.

I withdrew my hand and hopped on the vehicle as fast as I could, yet before I could turn on the engine, hundreds of crows began gathering on the wires that connected the light poles of this town. I could swear their eyes were set on me. They started cawing, nonstop, and that sound was becoming perturbing to my ears. I drove at full speed, leaving the scene with no intentions of ever looking back, but to no avail because that disgusting image was already engraved in my brain to last forever.

If I had spared a glance through the rearview mirror, I would had seen the dead crow coming back to life and posing itself in one of the electricity wires with the rest of the group. His blood still dripping from his body to pool on the floor and become one with the sand.

When I finally reach my porch, I got out of the car and look up, the sky was as clear as crystal water. The dent in the hood of the car was gone. There was no blood, no feathers, nothing. Am I crazy? No, but it was real. I saw it. I lived it. It was there. Maybe I’ll forget about it if I begin to occupy my mind on other things and wait for Sehun to come home.

*

“Baek, babe, I’m home. Where are you?” As soon as I heard him calling my name from the front door, I wiped my hands on the cooking apron to welcome him appropriately.

“I- I’m here. In the kitchen.” I started to think whether I should tell him what had happened had in the morning. What if he doesn’t believe me? I don’t want him thinking I’m out of my mind. It’s better if I just let it pass this time. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe it was just my imagination playing tricks on me due to the lack of sleep from staying up finishing my draft. It was impossible.

“How was work? Good?” I tiptoed to give him a quick peck on the lips and then took away his work bag and placed on the kitchen bar.

“Same old thing, but the good news is that today sold one of my own paintings! Can you believe it, Baek? The man was really rich and bought the portrait of Busan's beach skyline. He liked my job so he promised to come back for more in a few weeks." I could see how happy and eager he was, his eyes were sparkling with that glow that still got me head over heels for him.

"That's awesome news Hunnie, I've told you a million of times that you're very talented. I'm so proud of you." I kissed him once, twice, trice. “Now it's time for lunch, I even cooked spaghetti Bolognese!”

"As if you had known it all along.” He sat on the table and I brought his plate to the table along with mine and then took the seat opposite from him. “Sometimes I think I love your Bolognese a bit more than I love you." He said playfully, making me laugh at his foolishness.

“Stop that or no more spaghetti for you, Oh. Eat now.”

“You know I’m kidding, right?”

“Yes, like when I say I love Joseph Gordon-Levitt more than I love you.”

“Yah, Byun Baekhyun!” And we both laughed.

*

Sehun came home relatively late on a wednesday afternoon, he brought with him a toy that, according to him, was left abandoned by an old woman in front of the gallery he was working at. It was one of those really old musical boxes that after mulling over the handle for a little while, a doll clown comes up on top off the box and some random melody starts playing. It’s weird to see this kind of things now. I thought they didn’t even exist anymore.

I found it kind of odd that he had seen this toy thrown in the floor in the middle of nowhere, though, but he seemed to like it, and therefore I just forced myself to accept it and placed it a top off the bookshelf we had in the living room.

The clock hit 7pm when we finished eating dinner. I stood up and headed to the sink so I could do the dishes while Sehun cleaned the table. As I was turning around, I stopped in my tracks. The plates I was holding fell to the floor and broke in thousands of pieces with a loud clang that echoed throughout the kitchen. I stared into the distance at the shadow smiling back at me. There in the middle of our living room was the figure of a woman suspended in the air.

As much as I wanted, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from it. Her frightening appearance somehow got me hypnotized. Her face was distorted by the scar of a cut that went from the middle of to her left ear, allowing me to see her bloody gums and her yellowish teeth.

It was looking at me straight in the eyes with a cocky smirk, and then, as soon as it showed in front of me, she dissipated into thin air. What was that? WHAT WAS THAT?! I couldn’t process what I was witnessing. I must had been shaking because the next thing I knew Sehun was hugging me and running his hands on my back in an attempt to calm me down.

“Sehun, did you saw that?” I asked him.

“Saw what?” He took a look around and the fixed his gaze on me again. “Are you okay, babe? You’re pale. What is wrong?” I looked up at him and I could only notice the worry on his eyes.

“Did you-” I stopped. I closed my eyes for a moment and breathed in. “Yes, I am fine. I just- I just felt a bit dizzy. I think it must have been the sun from the morning shopping.”

I knew he didn’t believe me, yet he didn’t push the matter. He helped me stand up and took me to the closest chair and gave me a glass of water.

“Go upstairs and rest. Don’t you worry, I’ll take care of everything.” He placed a sweet kiss on my forehead and bent down to pick up the mess I had made.

*

Something has changed. I don’t exactly know what, but I’m certain something has changed since the incident in the kitchen. I can feel it in the air.

Our house has become colder. Many Crows have begun to position themselves in different parts of the house at all times. It’s creeping me out. I can’t even look out my window without seeing one somewhere, little black eyes fixed on me. The weather is no longer dry and sunny but a gray scale paints the streets of the town. The moods of the villagers have dropped notoriously in the last days, and the aura surrounding this town has become sickly depressing.

*

I took a look at the tiny clock that I kept on my side of the nightstand. It was about 2:00 AM on a saturday morning. I rolled about in bed trying to find the perfect position so Morpheus could come to me and take me away to dreamland, but I felt uncomfortable, suffocated. I couldn’t sleep. I glanced at the figure on my left over the dim light in the room; Sehun was sleeping peacefully next to me, and I was glad he was. I his hair gently, being careful not to wake him up, and removed a few strands that were blocking me the view of his angelic face. I couldn’t help but thinking about the events of the last week. I seemed to not know what was real and what was not anymore. But there was one thing I knew for sure, and that was I didn't want him involved in this. As long as I could protect Sehun and leave him out of this, everything would be fine.

I stood up and entered the bathroom barefoot. I shivered when the soles of my feet made contact with the cold floor. If I wasn’t going to get any sleep tonight, then why would I not use it to finish the final draft of my book? The deadline was hot on my heels, fortunately I just had to give the final arrangements, like, complete some scenes I left hanging in the air and proofread. I needed to have it done by the end of the month else my boss would throw me off a bridge or something.

I placed myself in front of the sink and examined my appearance for the first time in weeks. The bags under my eyes were so prominent, and any color had left my face, my lips were pale and my eyes seemed lifeless. I looked like a living white sheet. I sighed. I opened the tap and let the water flow before putting my hands and taking some into my face. I washed my face with the cold water and spun to look for the towel to dry myself. When I turned around to return to the bed, my eyes caught the sight of a red spot the words “leave this house” were written in blood across the mirror. And through it I could see over my shoulder was the girl, looking straight at me, with the same smirk and then it disappeared.

She had the exact terrifying look as I could barely remember front the first time she appeared in front of me, the only difference was that this time, her eyes seemed to glow with the brightest shade of black.

I was startled. In that moment, I lost conscience of my surroundings. I came to my senses when I heard a subtle tune similar to one of a piano playing in the distance. The musical box. Those unmistakable melodies you can recognize right away. My head was spinning and when my gaze fell on the little window of the bathroom, I saw the dead crow, tousled feathers with stains of blood on its body, standing behind the frame.

I started backing away until I could feel my back against the cold tiles. I slid until I was on the floor hugging my knees. I brought my hands to my ears and started to rock myself back and forth hitting the wall each time. My sobs must have been loud enough to have woken him up because I heard Sehun’s hurried footsteps entering the room.

“Baekhyun, what happened? Are you okay?” He was checking me out, looking for any kind of physical damage. “Talk to me, please, goddamn it!” I calmed down, a feeling of relief washing over my body, when I felt familiar arms get a hold around my waist, yet I couldn’t find my voice to tell him what I had seen a few minutes ago. I still couldn’t believe it. The only thing I managed to do was pointing in the direction of the mirror.

I heard him gasp.

*

“Baek, what was that? What happened in the bathroom?”

“I don’t know, Sehun.”

“You’re lying and I know it.” “

Please, just forget about it.”

I heard the sound of our bedroom’s door being thrown with force resonating through the walls and I couldn’t stop the tears from falling out again, yet for another different reason.

*

I decided to take care of the matter on my own. I grabbed my umbrella and left home with only one purpose in mind, I wanted that thing out of my life. I headed to the police station located downtown in search of any kind of information that would lead me to know how to put a halt to this madness.

I entered the station with the slightest idea of what to do, or who to talk to. Once of the office rookies approached me, asking me about the reason behind my visit. I nodded and dialed something on the phone. After minutes standing there in the middle of the room, feeling as if I was in some sort of exhibition show where all the eyes would be set on me, I saw a door at the end of the hall being opened and a man in a suit coming out. He passed by me and left the office without saying a word. What a rude douche without manners.

The apparently desk clerk of the place told me that the best person to assist me would see me in a moment and showed me the way to the same office that the man from minutes ago had get out from.

I heard the door being open and in came Detective Miller, as it read on the golden plaque hanging on his white dress shirt’s pocket. He introduced himself and asked me to tell everything him about the events I've been experiencing lately. I spit it all for him, from the crow I saw on the road to the situation on the bathroom a couple of nights before. He stood up and politely demanded me to wait for him while he made more research about the case on their database.

He came back approximately 15 or 20 minutes later, I was so nervous I didn’t notice I was biting my nails all the time. He took the seat behind the desk and placed the envelope he was holding on the woody surface. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and spoke.

“I’m afraid I don’t have many good things to inform you concerning your situation. We are sorrowful to let you know, Mr. Byun, but we have found out that the house you are occupying at this moment was the main scenario of a homicide scene 25 years ago, on October 29th. The victim, Ruth Jones was murdered by her partner, Jason Thompson when he arrived home in a drunken state. Criminologists of our department were responsible for the removal of the body. The autopsy stratified abuse of the body from the stabs provided in many parts of the body, and facial disfigurement made with a pair of scissors and a butcher’s knife. Our specialists found the corpse in their shared room holding onto a toy.”

The police officer handed me a file. I couldn’t read clearly since I felt like my head was spinning around from what I was hearing. I could only make out words like murder, blood, woman, pain, scars.

A man had murdered his wife with 10 stabs to the chest. 10 stabs to the chest in total. How can a person do that? And to their loved one? It just does not fit in my head. Just looking at this makes me sick. My eyes fell on the last in the package of pictures attached of the crime scene, it was a close up of the dead body. I felt like throwing up. The man had not only stabbed her to death but also gave the woman a deformation in the face, to be more specific, a cut that goes from the mouth to the cheek.

“I- This is it.” I pointed to the picture. “This- I have- It’s her. I’ve seen her. This is the spirit disturbing my home. My- My husband brought home this thing one day and since then the ghost of that woman has been haunting my house.” I raised my head to look at the detective and I saw him nod at my words.

“It thought so. I can only recommend you, Sir, to go to the church a few blocks from here and talk to Monsignor Perez, the head of the congregation. It’s out of my hands working with spirits, I’m only in charge of investigation of crimes in this town. So as you could see, we are not of much help in this case, yet I’m sure he’ll be able to help you and understand you more than what I’ll ever be able to. He’ll give you a professional point of view and hopefully you both can work on a solution.”

“I understand. Thank you nonetheless, Sir. I’m grateful for your time.” I was about to leave the place when something crossed my mind.

“Officer, would it be okay if I can have a copy of this document? I know it is confidential information, but I am in need of this image.”

“Sure. This way, Mr. Byun.”

When I left the police office, I did not notice the line of crows at the top of the building across the station.

*

Monsignor Perez was probably the humblest person I’ve ever crossed paths with. He welcomed me with open arms as soon as I set foot inside the sacred temple. He took me to a small room where he spends most of the time when there are no Christians looking for him. He offered me a cup of tea as I took a seat on a small couch he kept there.

I took a deep breath, and with a shaky voice, I began narrating the history for a second time that day, trying hard to be more concise and leaving no detail aside of how this ghost was attacking me at home. I handed him the image of the deceased women I got from the detective and then I proceeded to tell him I desperately needed his help.

He grabbed my hands and tell me not to worry, he was going to do all he could so me and Sehun could live freely again. He got up from his seat and headed to the phone hanging on one of the walls of the room. He called his superior addressing my case as an emergency. He asked for the permission to execute the expulsion of an evil spirit. And at the mentions of those simple words I could feel as if someone was lifting a weight off my shoulders for the first time in months.

He hung up several minutes later and I was looking at him expectantly. He started packing some supplies in an old bag and grabbed the Bible resting on his desk. “

I’m ready to go.”

*

It was a 20 minutes ride before we could reach the entrance of the neighborhood I lived in. My house was getting visible within each second that passed.

I stopped the car and when we got off, I flinched. Lines of giant crows were scattered everywhere. On the ceiling, the picket fence, on the grass. Suddenly, everything turned cold and the crows started cawing as if announcing our arrival.

“Don’t be scared.” He took a rosary out of bag and placed it around my neck. I couldn’t promise him anything, but I’d try, so I nodded.

I opened the door and let him in first. Everything was a disaster, as if a sneaky tornado had took place inside my house. The furniture was upside down, there were plates and papers all over the wooden floor. When did this happen? The soft tone of a background melody reached my ears and my eyes fell on the shelf placed in the living room. The toy was resting on the floor; the cap of the box was open and the clown had fallen out. The sound was getting on my nerves so I ran to it and closed it, then threw it somewhere else in the room.

Everything went silent.

“Ok. This is what we are going to do.” He opened his Bible and looked around the house as if examining the surroundings expecting something else to happen. “Baekhyun, son, please begin by mediating and protect your house. Close your eyes and image a bright light covering this house and protecting you and your husband. Think of God, ask him for protection, grab that light and spread it throughout every corner of this house.”

I did as I was told. I closed my eyes and started praying for God’s kindness. I asked for his protection over me and Sehun while visualizing the golden light charged with positive energy. I opened my eyes when I felt a chilly breeze behind me.

I turned around and there she was, in the corner of the living room, holding the musical box to her chest. I took a step back. “Leave this house for good and don’t ever come back.” I heard her say.

“Father…” I voiced out in the slightest of whimpers. Somehow, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from those deep black orbs. I was petrified.

“You don’t belong here.”

“He’s human, and you are a monster. You belong with the dead.” I could see how her expression turned angry. I could see that what the father was telling was getting the effect that we wanted. With each word I could hear a low growl coming from here becoming louder and louder.

I didn’t see the moment she launched herself at me. I just felt. I felt a throbbing pain on my left shoulder. I heard myself screaming from the sensation of something sharp cutting through my skin.

I took my hand to the part that ached and felt something thick running through my fingers. Blood. I clutched at my arm wound to prevent the bloodshed being worst. Her eyes were burning with anger and hatred.

A maniac laugh could be heard and I winced. I dared to look up, and her black eyes were set on me, and she had in her hold a pair of scissors as if she was ready to attack me again. And she did. A piercing cry escaped my throat and everything hurt.

“With the power which was conferred upon me, and in the name of God, our Lord, I command you to leave this home forever and go back to the world of the dead.” Monsignor Perez spread holy water on her. As if it was something she had been burned with, her screams were piercing my soul and tearing me apart, but I couldn’t look away from the sight. As soon as the Father stopped reciting words from the Bible, she disappeared into the air.

“It over, Baekhyun.” Monsignor Perez kneeled down beside me.

My eyelids were feeling kind of heavy and I was sure I was ready to pass out in any minute, but I managed to smile. A feeling of numbness spreading to every part of my body, yet at the same time a wave of happiness hit me as I was certain now that that thing was gone from our lives forever. My head was facing the direction of the front door when I heard someone came in.

All I saw was black as Sehun was coming to me, the image of the spirit’s eyes the last thing I remembered before blacking out.

*

I set fire to the clown musical box in the backyard of the house. I watched it burn intently, fervent flames dancing in a kaleidoscope of colors. I looked at the picture of Ruth Jones’ body for the last time before ripping it in pieces and throwing them at the fire for it to become nothing more than simply ashes.

“It’s okay now.” He hugged me tighter. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

And I felt peace.

*

I breathed in the welcoming sight of home, and squeezed Sehun’s hand tighter in reassurance that everything we lived for the last couple of months stayed in the past and now we could finally move on. The air had this familiar chill but it made you feel at ease. I can’t believe it was over. It was finally over. Everything was alright again. We make it out of hell just fine and I have my scars to prove it.

“Welcome home, man.” Jongin hugged Sehun and then hit his head with the back of his hand. “I’ve missed you.”

“Sure.” Deep down I knew that Jongin knew how much he had missed him too.

I snorted at the interactions between the two of them and then went straight to the man waiting for me to accept the embrace. I look at him and spread my arms too as a sign that I wanted him to come to me, and he did.

He gave me a bone-crashing hug, and it felt as it suddenly all the air on my lungs was constricted.

“Kyungsoo, I can’t- I can’t breathe. Didn’t you hate me, though?” Yet I didn’t pull away.

“Shut up or I’ll give you a black-eye.”

“I missed you too.”

*

Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Fear cannot drive out fear, only love can do that.

In this world full of mysteries, cold-blooded murder, and deeply disturbing stories, devil does exist and lurks in the darkest shadows and the most common places. I am witness of that. My husband and I have experienced unexplained events that to this day, are still haunting us. What we thought was going to be the fulfillment of our dreams, actually became our biggest nightmare.

Byun Baekhyun