22nd of October - Evening

After reading the shocking message from my uncle, I tried to eat some breakfast. The tea felt too hot and clumps of bread stuck to my throat and more than once I had a couching fit, because I swallowed the wrong way. Tzuyu did not return even though I waited for her. I was desperate to talk to someone about the news but I did not want to tell the servants - I could still remember the cook's reluctance while trying to talk about Tzuyu and I did not want to repeat the experience. Besides, there was no indication in the letter that uncle wanted us to tell the others. Perhaps, he had sent them another letter with instructions.

It was past midday and there was still no trace of Tzuyu. It was as if she had vanished from the mansion and I was worried that something might have happened to her. At last, I could not take it any longer and I searched the whole house in hopes that I would find her. I went to the library in case she would appear there, but to no avail. I knew it was a futile attempt, but I was willing to try anything, just as long as I did not have to walk upstairs. The place has been terrifying me ever since the night I saw Tzuyu in the staircase.

When I had searched every place in the first three floors, even the servant's quarters, I admitted to myself that I would have no choice but to go to Tzuyu's room. I prepared a candle as the darkness coming from the staircase indicated that the upper floors must have been quite dark. Soon enough, I walked up the steps with the flickering candle in my hand and listened to all and any sounds that might appear. My feet felt heavy as I dragged them with me, trying to tell myself that there was no reason to be afraid.

Passing the landing, I turned the corner and walked the last flight of stairs with my eyes fixed on the steps and not on the space in front of me. I stumbled to the corridor as the last step disappeared and I was surrounded by a thick layer of darkness. All the doors in the corridor were closed except for one in the very end. The only windows were closed with curtains and it looked like no light had passed the place in years. I wished I had brought a lantern instead of a small candle.

The floor was an exact copy of the floor below and nothing seemed to be out of place. I had expected to find broken chandeliers and misplaced furniture, but there was nothing lying on the floor. The only strange detail was the darkness that reminded me of the fog outside. It had an eerie quality that made my muscles tense and my imagination run wild. However, the open door at the end of the corridor prickled my curiosity and I walked towards it, certain that it was the one belonging to Tzuyu.

I could not shake the feeling that I was being watched, so I stopped and turned to look behind me. All I could see was the light of my candle, my own shaking hand and the long corridor. I turned around again and gripped the candle holder tighter - it was no use backing away since I had gotten so far. I took the last few steps to the door and peeked in, but the room before me was as dark as the corridor. The door creaked painfully as I pushed it away and I winced, as if someone had pulled a hair out of my head.

"Tzuyu?"

My voice betrayed me and the name came out as a whisper. The air in the room was so thick that it completely swallowed what was left of my hesitant question. The place was like a mausoleum and it was certain that none of the servants had been in there for a long time. I wondered how Tzuyu got her meals during the times when she had to rest and other practical matters but my thoughts were disturbed as I stumbled on something. I gasped and realized that it was nothing but a book lying on the floor, open from halfway. I picked it up and read the first lines that caught my eye:

"-and so it seems that the species was created by God for this purpose only: to show humanity the true extinction of its morals. The monstrous image of the demon is only that of us, reflected on the surface of the pool of death. Even as early as in ancient China the satanic creatures-"

I decided to take it with me, because I did not want to spend the rest of the day in the dark room, reading a heavy book. I wondered how it could seem interesting to Tzuyu and closed it so that I could see the title. Unfortunately, the writing on the cover had faded away and I could not make out the title. I gave up and instead looked around.

The room, which was larger than mine, was in complete state of disarray. A china closet had been pulled down and lay broken, with its contents scattered on the floor. A large four-poster bed had not fared much better as all the bed linen had been torn and thrown around - a pillow lay in the corner of the room, looking like a slaughtered dug. There were also countless of other books everywhere, some of them with all their pages ripped off. Had Tzuyu done all of this? Was the complete destruction of the room the reason for all the noise that I had heard during the night?

As I stood there contemplating an array of questions, a faint, cold breeze blew in and every hair in my body stood up. I knew I was not alone any longer.

"I told you not to come here."

I whimpered and felt a cold hand closing in on my mouth before I could say anything in return. Another hand wrapped around my body with an iron grip and the book and the candle I had been holding dropped from my hands. As the candle hit the floor, the light died and the room went pitch black.

"Too late," Tzuyu said. The passionate way she was speaking had made her voice so low that I hardly recognized her. Even as I was taut with fear, I could not fight her. Involuntarily, I relaxed against her taller frame, hoping that any minute now she would let me go and things could go back to normal.

Yet, I knew it was not going to happen.

Tzuyu had buried her face into my hair and breathed in heavily, as if trying to draw me in. Her hands around me were still holding strong but her fingertips were gently caressing the skin of my cheek. I closed my eyes and forgot why I was there in the first place. Tzuyu must have felt that I had given in and she released my mouth, only to turn me around to face her. I spun like a ragdoll in her hands. Before I could speak, she pressed me against her chest, in a tender yet firm embrace. She smelled of books and spices -  I could have been locked in an ancient library.

"Forgive me, darling," she muttered into my hair. Even as I heard her, I could not understand what she was saying. I felt light-headed like I had been laying in sunshine and when she ran her hand down my back, I moaned. My m