2: 2

2.

"Rebecca, are you asleep?"

I checked the time. Almost half past eleven.

Taking care of a kid all day is exhausting. She might have turned in already.

Ten minutes later she wrote back: "Not yet. Chloe's running a fever again. Just got her down. What's wrong?"

I looked at my sleeping daughter, then crept quietly into the bathroom.

I turned the faucet all the way up and called Rebecca.

"Rebecca, can you talk right now? There's something I want to ask you."

She gave a short, low "Mm."

"Rebecca, did Great-Grandma Agnes ever look after Chloe for you?"

She paused. "I was swamped with work back then, and Sharon hadn't quit her job either. I was lucky to have Agnes there to help."

Something in my chest dropped.

"When she took care of Chloe, did she like to wear red?"

She thought for a moment. "Older folks wear a lot of red, don't they? Sharon said it was festive, even had me buy her several pieces."

*No wonder her daughter got that bad. The clothes the awful old woman wore were bought for her.*

It hit me all at once. A while back, Sharon kept pushing me to buy clothes for Agnes.

Said the old woman's birthday was coming up, so I bought several outfits.

Sharon didn't like any of the colors. She told me to get bright red ones, with longevity runes printed on them.

But I'd been buried in work and never found the right thing, so I let it slide.

"Did she like playing a clapping game with Chloe?"

My words came faster, my voice tightening with urgency.

Rebecca caught the change. A bed creaked, a door bumped softly.

She must have come out of the bedroom.

"Vivienne, what's going on? Why are you asking me this?"

"Rebecca, I can't explain it all right now, but really think back. This is important."

She was quiet for a beat, then said slowly, "I was pretty busy back then, but I remember Chloe telling me Great-Grandma Agnes liked to clap her hands."

I panicked harder, swallowing again and again.

"Rebecca, when Chloe was born, was she healthy?"

Her voice shifted. "Yeah. Full-term, six pounds twelve. Didn't get sick once before six months. But after she turned one..."

Her voice broke off, choked.

*The awful old woman drank up her daughter's luck for half a year. That she's still alive at all is pure luck.*

Rebecca had taken six months of maternity leave, caring for Chloe herself back then.

After that, Sharon was in and out of work, and it was Agnes who helped with the baby.

I fell silent, my mind racing.

"Vivienne, why are you suddenly asking all this? Is something wrong with Mia?"

I could hear the worry in her voice, and as a mother myself, it ached for her.

Then I heard Sharon's bedroom door.

"Rebecca, some things can't be explained over the phone. Whatever happens, bring Chloe to me tomorrow. There are things I need to confirm."

Before she could answer, there was a knock at the door.

I hung up.

3: 3

3.

“Vivienne, are you asleep? It's me.”

It was Agnes's voice.

I opened the door carefully.

“I kept hearing water running. Is Mia not feeling well? Do you need a hand?”

Sharon stood behind her.

Both of them were fully dressed, without a trace of having just been in bed.

“No need. I was just washing her clothes. I'll be asleep soon.”

The moment I shut the door, the strange voice came again.

【That wicked old woman is clever. She's waiting to see when the little one falls ill. That's when her borrowing lifespan takes hold.】

All night I didn't dare blink, my eyes fixed on my daughter.

I gripped my phone, ready to leave for the hospital at any second.

At the first gray light of dawn, the phone rang.

I glanced at it. Rebecca.

“Vivienne, does what you told me last night have something to do with Chloe?”

I answered with a short “Yes.”

Rebecca said quickly “I understand. I'll bring her over in a little while.”

My daughter was still fast asleep, a sweet smile on her face.

“Vivienne, come eat.”

It was Agnes, calling me over and over.

I got up and opened the door. She poked her head in to look inside.

“Is Mia still sleeping? Go eat. I'll stay with her.”

Before all this, I would have thought she was being kind to me.

I would have handed my daughter over to her without a second thought and gone to eat.

【Don't go. The wicked old woman found nothing showing in your daughter's body, so she's come to check.】

【Whatever you do, don't let her get near your daughter alone again.】

【Give her one chance, and your daughter is doomed.】

Agnes pushed to get into the room, and I put my arm out to block her.

Just then the doorbell rang, and Sharon answered it.

Rebecca came in, holding Chloe's hand. The moment I saw Chloe there beside her,

I clearly caught it. A flicker of disgust crossed Agnes's eyes.

And beneath that disgust, something else seemed hidden. A trace of fear.

“Vivienne, I'll watch Mia. Go eat.”

Agnes stepped aside on her own and retreated to the dining table.

I choked down a couple of bites and hurried back to the room.

My daughter was awake, and Rebecca was making her laugh.

Chloe leaned against the wall, quiet and good, listlessly playing a game.

I turned my daughter's favorite nursery rhymes up as loud as they would go.

Then I pulled Rebecca aside to watch last night's footage.

“Rebecca, do you remember Agnes playing this kind of clapping game with Chloe?”

She took one look, and her face changed.

“That's it. Agnes only ever played it with Chloe. One time Chloe ignored her, and she got upset. I offered to play with her instead, and she just turned and walked off.”

【The wicked old woman is no fool. If anyone else takes part in the borrowing lifespan, it turns back on her.】

“Vivienne, is there something wrong with this game?”

I pointed to the red garment Agnes was wearing.

“Back then, was she wearing the red garment you bought her yourself? With this same pattern printed on it?”

I pointed to my chat history with Sharon to confirm it with her.

“Yes. She was helping me watch the baby, and I wanted to thank her. Sharon told me to buy her clothes. It was this exact pattern.”

A cold sweat broke out on my forehead.

“And this ring, do you remember it?”

She glanced at the square-signet gold ring.

Rebecca said “Isn't that Agnes's? Though she doesn't seem to wear it very often.”

Every detail lined up. So the strange voice had been telling the truth all along.

I couldn't stop myself from stepping back twice, and nearly fell.

Chloe, playing with her toy, steadied me “Careful, Auntie. Falling down hurts a lot.”

Looking at that little girl, all skin and bones, the tears I'd forced down last night finally fell.

“Rebecca, whatever I say next, please, you have to believe me.”

“I'm going to help you and Chloe.”

4: 4

4.

After I told Rebecca everything, from start to finish.

She held Chloe close, tears sliding down like beads off a snapped string.

"I said back then we should have someone look at her, but Mom wouldn't let me."

So my instinct had been right. Sharon knew.

"What do we do? Vivienne, Chloe isn't going to be stuck like this forever, is she?"

"And Mia? She's so little. She can't end up like Chloe."

*The old crone can't pull it off this time. She's out there right now, itching with worry.*

A knock came at the door, and Agnes's voice followed.

"Vivienne, I brought some fruit for you."

She pushed the door open and set a watermelon on the table.

Then she plopped down beside Mia and reached out to pick her up.

Chloe got to her feet and walked over. "Chloe hasn't seen Great-Grandma in so long. Chloe wants Great-Grandma to hold her."

The smile that had filled Agnes's face a moment ago froze.

Something like fear showed there instead.

*The old crone's at her weakest right now. She's afraid the little girl will pull back what she borrowed.*

What? It could work like that?

The words were out of me before I could stop them.

She shot me a wary look and pushed Chloe away.

"Chloe, sweetie, you're a big girl now. Great-Grandma can't lift you anymore."

"Mia's still little. Great-Grandma can still manage Mia."

And as she talked, she reached for my daughter.

Rebecca moved on instinct to block her.

"Agnes, I'm here today, so you rest. Vivienne and I will look after the girls together."

Rebecca and I acting so strangely put her on alert.

"Don't tell me you two think I'm too old, that I smell like an old woman, and now you won't even let me hold the babies?"

Two old tears rolled down from the corners of her nearly wrinkle-free eyes.

"Agnes, no. Rebecca and I didn't mean anything like that."

*The old crone's suspicious. I have to keep her calm, or she'll do something behind our backs.*

*She's this desperate, so her body must be starting to weaken.*

*I have to let her come out ahead a little, or there's no way to give back the fortune and lifespan she stole.*

So it turned out that stealing fortune and borrowing lifespan weren't irreversible after all.

*First, get the little girl she drained to touch her, and drip the girl's blood into the middle of the ring.*

I flashed Rebecca a look and pulled Chloe closer to Agnes.

While Chloe wasn't paying attention, I pricked her finger with the pin from my hair clip.

The little girl had probably been jabbed with needles so many times that she didn't even feel it.

"Great-Grandma, don't be upset. How could Mommy and Auntie ever look down on you?"

Agnes kept dodging Chloe's touch.

I took her hand. "Agnes, look how much Chloe missed you. Hold her first. She's only five."

"If you only hold Mia and not Chloe, she'll be heartbroken."

With Rebecca staring at her, she had no way out and had to reach for Chloe.

In that moment, I took Chloe's hand and dripped the blood into the middle of the ring.

*Done. The borrowed fortune and lifespan have felt the little girl again.*

*Let the old crone taste something sweet first, let her guard drop, and then she can be turned back to what she was.*

After she let go of Chloe, her color grew even rosier.

I took Mia from Rebecca's arms and handed her over.

"Agnes, look, Chloe's happy now. If you hold Mia too, she won't be jealous."

The instant she had my daughter, she couldn't wait to lay the baby's little hand in her palm.

Three claps first, then three more, and finally three on top of that.

She started up a clapping game with my daughter.

Rebecca stared at me, stunned.

I signaled her not to rush.

*Done. The old crone thinks she's come out ahead, so she'll let her guard down.*

*Just need one chance, and she can be turned back to what she was.*

I glanced at the day circled in red on the calendar behind me.

I didn't even have to go looking for the chance. It was three days away.