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.

Year 2022, writer's POV.

I had been raising this dog for the last two years but had never heard it bark so fiercely.

Thinking that a thief had broken into the house, I stormed out to check. However, all I saw was the dog barking wildly at the locked door of the east room when I pushed open the door.

I slept in the west room. The east room was big, and I planned to use it as the place for my creations.

If the dog barked at the door of the east room, then the thief had to be inside.

I was not scared either. After all, I was tall and strong. I was not afraid of any thief! I pushed the door open and was about to curse when I found that there was no one in the room at all!

Moreover, there was no furniture in the room, so there was no place for thieves to hide. Why did the dog bark at the room, then?

I was puzzled but did not think much of it. I just assumed that the dog had not adapted to the new environment and squatted down to touch its head. Sure enough, it quieted down.

I felt a bit hungry. Only then did I remember that not only had I not eaten the whole day, but neither had the dog. The dog might have barked because it was hungry.

Therefore, I went to the kitchen, gave a few sausages to the dog, and cooked a meal for myself. Just as the food was ready and I took out a knife, my dog ​​suddenly whined.

Dogs usually made this sound when they were frightened.

I looked at the dog. It had stopped eating its sausages and was staring at the knife in my hand with fear. I turned to glance at the knife and was horrified to see blood stains on it. I dropped it in shock!

Looking again, I saw two pieces of sausage on the knife.

The kitchen light was an old incandescent one. I had not had time to replace it, so the light was dim. I thought I might have been confused and mistook the sausage for blood.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead and chuckled to myself. "And I said I didn't believe in ghosts, yet two pieces of sausage scared me into such a state."

I hid the knife, and the dog quieted down. I soothed it again.

After finishing my food, I returned to my room to rest for a while when I heard the dog barking again. I went outside and saw it still barking at the east room.

Today was truly bizarre! I remembered what the villager had said earlier and felt a genuine fear!

I quickly pulled out my phone and searched for the news from 20 years ago.

What shocked me was that a murder had indeed occurred in this very house!

Even more frightening was that it had happened 20 years ago today. A deranged mother had murdered her nine-year-old daughter! The murder was brutal—the mother drove a steel nail into the girl's skull!

Recalling the two phone calls I received that afternoon, I trembled all over. If the call was from the murdered little girl, there was only one possibility—the call was from 20 years ago!

I could not believe the inference myself.

To verify, I checked my call history and called back. After two beeps, the call was connected.

I quickly asked, "What year is it over there?"

"What do you mean?" The little girl's puzzled voice echoed from the other end of the line.

I quickly changed my tone, asking, "What year is it now?"

"It's 2002," she replied.

My guess was correct! I remembered the girl's mother had killed her exactly 20 years ago today, so I asked again, "Today is July 3rd, right?"

"Yes," the little girl said.

The date was the same!

The internet said the little girl was killed at 10:00 pm, and it was currently 9:00 pm, so she still had a chance to escape!

"Run! Don't trust your mother! She's really going to kill you!" I said hurriedly.