I was a writer. I rented a place in the countryside to seek inspiration.

The villagers said it was a haunted house. Twenty years ago, a mad woman murdered her daughter by piercing a needle into her skull!

I did not believe it, but I got a call from a little girl that night. She said it was 2002, and her mother was trying to kill her!

Year 2002, Tina's POV.

In my memory, my mother had always been a gentle and virtuous woman. The villagers all said my father was a lucky man to have married her.

Grandpa liked his daughter-in-law very much. He was always afraid that she would get tired of doing too many chores. When Dad was not at home, my elderly grandpa would take over some of the heavy tasks.

As far as I could remember, we lived a happy and harmonious life, even though our family was not wealthy.

However, everything changed after Uncle Liam's death.

Mom went crazy. She was always talking to herself. She would laugh when she spoke and then suddenly start crying. She no longer did the chores or cooked.

Grandpa told me that Uncle Liam raised my mother, and she had a deep bond with him. Uncle Liam's death was a huge blow to her. He told me not to worry and said that Mom would be fine in a few days.

Uncle Liam's death was bizarre. He actually hanged himself at home!

I heard from Grandpa that Uncle Liam was wearing red when he hanged himself. However, I did not believe him. In my memory, Uncle Liam never wore red. Where did that outfit come from? Besides, he was always cheerful and was a nice person like Mom. How could he have considered suicide?

In my opinion, a person would only commit suicide when they were desperate, but Uncle Liam had been doing well these years. He had even started a chicken farm, which I heard was quite profitable. That was why there was no way he would give up on his own life.

Maybe Mom could not figure it out either, so she went more and more insane. She started smashing things and kept carrying a cleaver around while shouting, "I'm going to kill you!"

Her hair was disheveled, and the look in her eyes was terrifying. I started to get scared and dared not approach her.

Grandpa also felt that the situation was more serious than he had imagined, so he used the landline to call my father, who was working away from home, and asked him to come back.

It was the seventh day after Uncle Liam's death, and Grandpa went to Uncle Liam's house early in the morning. Mom was supposed to go too, but given her state, Grandpa was worried about her leaving the house.

Mom and I were the only ones left at home.

As soon as Grandpa and Grandma left, Mom took out a cleaver from the kitchen and stood in the yard, laughing and crying while occasionally yelling, "I'm going to kill you!"

I was so scared that I hid in my room, too afraid to go out. I waited for Grandpa's return. He had said he would be back before 3:00 pm to cook for me.

We usually had breakfast at 10:00 am and lunch around 3:00 pm. However, Grandpa still had not returned by 3.30 pm, and I was starving. Grandpa did not have a phone, so there was no way to contact him.

I remembered there were sandwiches in the kitchen and wanted to get them, but the kitchen was in the backyard, and Mom was there.

Although I was scared, I remembered Mom had not eaten yet, so I planned to go to the kitchen to get her a sandwich.

As soon as I opened the door, I heard Mom yell again, "I'm going to kill you!"

This time, her voice was even more terrifying than before, and I froze in fear. Then, I heard the cow whine in the yard.

I mustered my courage and left my room, but what I saw next made me tremble all over.

The yard was covered in blood. Mom had killed the cow. Then, I saw Mom cradling the cow's body and devouring it frantically like a wild beast!

Hearing the noise coming from my side, she stopped and turned to look at me. She was covered in blood, and she was still chewing on the raw beef!

Year 2002, Tina's POV.

I was so scared that I froze on the spot. Mom came toward me carrying the raw beef. With a weird smile on her face, she asked, "Tina, are you hungry too? Come and eat some."

"No, I... I won't eat!" I was at a loss and burst into tears. Mom was still walking toward me, carrying the raw beef. Finally, I came to my senses and wanted to go back into the house. However, my legs were so weak that I could not walk at all. In the end, I crawled into Grandpa's room.

Grandpa's room was quite close to me, and his landline was also there. I latched the door lock and picked up the phone, ready to call Dad to ask when he would be back. Only Dad had a mobile phone in the family. I did not remember the phone numbers of anyone else besides his.

Mom tried to push the door open and said in the gentle tone she had used earlier, "Tina, hurry outside to eat."

If I had not seen her kill the cow, I would really have thought she was normal.

Dad finally picked up the call. I quickly cried and said, "Dad, when will you be back? I'm so scared. Mom—"

"You got the wrong number." A young man's voice came from the other end of the line. He was not my father.

At that moment, Mom started pounding on the door. Her voice became terrifying again as she screamed, "I'm going to kill you!"

Mom had worked on the farm for years. She was incredibly strong, and the simple door latch could not hold her back. She said she was going to kill me. Would she actually kill me once she broke the door down?

Terrified, I called Dad again. I was sure I remembered the number correctly. I must have panicked and dialed the wrong number just now.

The call got through again, and I quickly said, "Dad, hurry back! Mom's going to kill me!"

The voice on the other end of the line answered, "Is this funny? Are you trying to scam some money out of me? Do you have to do this? How much do you want? I'll transfer the amount. Don't call me again!"

It was the same young man's voice, and he hung up once he finished speaking.

What was going on? It was clearly Dad's number, so why was a young man answering? He said he would wire me the money? Even as I kept wondering about it, I was unable to comprehend it.

Thankfully, Mom had calmed down outside. She stopped pounding on the door and stopped talking.

I climbed over to the bed and looked out the window. Mom was already in the yard, sitting on the ground and gnawing on the cow's corpse.

I finally breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed onto Grandpa's bed.

Mom was really strange today! Even though she was crazy, she still knew how to eat when hungry. It was just that she kept switching between crying and laughing. However, this time, she actually killed our cow and ate its meat raw!

When Grandpa came back, I would have him ask that shaman from the nearby village to examine Mom. I looked at the clock on the wall, and it was already 4:00 pm. Grandpa should be home soon.

Even after waiting until 8:00 pm, Grandpa still had not returned.

It was already dark, and I became even more frightened. I could only turn on Grandpa's TV and crank up the volume. Only when I heard human voices could I feel a little more at ease.

The TV was playing CSI, and the murder case in it made me even more frightened. I quickly changed the channel.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. It was Mom. "Tina, did I scare you?"

Her voice was normal, just like before she lost her mind. Still afraid, I did not respond.

Seeing that I was ignoring her, she added, "I've indeed lost my mind these past few days, and I'm aware of it. But don't be afraid because I feel better now."

It was the first time she had spoken so many complete sentences since she went insane. She had finally recovered!

I wanted to open the door for her, but then I remembered how she had chased me with the beef that afternoon.

Just as I hesitated, the phone rang.

I thought it had to be Dad calling, but I heard the young man's voice again when I picked up the phone.

This time, he was very anxious. Without waiting for me to speak, he immediately asked, "What year is it over there?"

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“What year is it now?”

"It's 2002,” I replied in confusion.

“Today is July 3rd, right?”

"Yes," I answered.

The person on the other end of the line said in a flustered tone, "Run! Don't trust your mother. She's really going to kill you!”

Year 2022, writer's POV

I had always wanted to rent a place in the countryside, live quietly for a while, and write a few articles.

The hustle and bustle of the city made people restless. Maybe it was in the countryside that I could calm down and focus on writing.

A few days ago, someone recommended a small farmhouse to me. It had four rooms, one of which served as a kitchen.

The yard was overgrown with weeds, looking dirty and unkempt, but I loved the location. It was also rustic, embodying the rustic aesthetic described by ancient scholars.

The landlord said the house had not been occupied in 20 years and was very old, so he rented it to me for 800 dollars. I tried to bargain but realized the price he quoted was for a year's rent.

It was ridiculously cheap! I had seen several farmhouses but had never heard of such a low rent. Thinking I had found a great deal, I quickly paid, fearing the landlord would regret it. Then, I gave the landlord another thousand dollars and asked him to hire some people to help me clean the house. The farmhouse was ready in a few days.

Early in the morning, I arrived at the place with my pre-prepared furniture and my dog.

When I was moving furniture into the house, a villager passed by, stood at the gate for a long time, and then suddenly asked me if I was moving in.

I said yes.

The villager frowned, came up to me, and explained in a low voice, "This is a haunted house. Someone died here 20 years ago. Be careful if you live here!"

I finally understood why the rent was so low after hearing that. However, I never believed in ghosts, and I certainly did not believe in haunted houses.

Not only was I not afraid, but I was actually happy. If it were not a haunted house, would I have saved so much money?

Seeing my indifference, the villager left without saying anything.

After cleaning up the house, I was exhausted, so I took a nap in bed. Not long after I fell asleep, the phone rang and woke me up. It was a landline number.

I answered the phone, and all I heard was a girl's voice. "Dad, when will you be back? I'm so scared. Mom…"

"You got the wrong number!" I replied impatiently, thinking it was some new scam. However, I started to think something was amiss after I hung up. The girl on the phone had been crying as if she were in some kind of danger.

I immediately sat up at the thought of that. Then, I thought, a little girl in danger would not just call an unfamiliar number and call out 'Dad'.

I had been using this number for over a decade. There was no way I was the girl's father, so I was certain it was some new scam.

Just when I was about to put the matter behind me, the phone rang again. It was the same number calling and the same girl's voice. "Dad, come back soon! Mom's going to kill me!"

I immediately got angry and questioned, "Is this fun? Are you trying to scam some money out of me? Do you have to do this? How much do you want? I'll transfer the amount. Don't call me again!"

With that, I hung up and blocked the number.

After doing all that, I was exhausted and fell asleep again.

That night, I was awakened by a burst of sharp barking from a dog.