I finally recovered my sight. Just as I was about to tell my parents about it, a slip of paper on the table caught my attention.

"Don't tell your parents you've recovered your sight."

Now that I could see again, why shouldn't I tell my parents, who had worked so hard to take care of me all this time?

I shrugged, tossing the crumpled paper into the bin. It was probably just some prank.

I opened the door, and a slip of paper floated down. I picked it up, and on the paper, someone had scrawled, "Don't tell your parents you've recovered your sight.".

The handwriting was messier than the one from before—It was almost rushed.

I froze, a jolt of fear running through me.

Who was this?

And how did they know I could see now?

The house was silent. My parents were still at work at this time, and only the housekeeper was around.

I swallowed hard. It was probably just a prank, so I decided to call my parents either way.

I walked over to the water dispenser, reaching for a drink, only to find another note stuck on it. My hand shook as I glanced at it. "If you tell your parents, it's all over!"

The handwriting was even more frantic. If I hadn't already seen two similar notes, I might not have recognized it.

Compared to the earlier message, this one sounded more like a warning.

I was timid by nature. Clutching my chest, I looked around nervously. Only now did I realize that there were notes everywhere, all telling me not to tell my parents about my recovered eyesight.

Suddenly, the housekeeper's voice rang out, "Suzie, you can see now?"

My mind raced. "Ah, I wish that were true, too."

I faked a sigh and turned around, only to be startled by the housekeeper.

She... was actually a man!

His face was covered in scars, his skin wrinkled, and his cloudy eyes were full of lust. He grinned as his lips stretched wide, and it crept me out.

He reached out and touched my hand. "Let me help you."

His voice was high-pitched, which was unlike a man's voice.

Who could tell me what was going on here?!

I forced myself to stay calm and nodded, just wanting to wait until my parents came home to ask what was happening.

He poured a glass of water, then stuck out his tongue and licked the edge of the glass before smiling at me possessively and handing it to me.

His smile felt vulgar, and I felt as though there was slime crawling across my face. I almost gagged.

"Thank you," I said, taking the cup and retreating to my room, locking the door behind me. I then put the glass of water down with trembling hands. Something like this must have happened plenty of times already.

Just the thought that I might have drunk water with this man's saliva in it made me want to throw up.

As I couldn't see before this, I hadn't really used my phone. But now, everything felt so wrong, and the first person I wanted to call was my best friend. However, when I grabbed my phone, I saw that it was broken. There were even signs of it being heavily smashed, and it wouldn't turn on.

I wanted to run outside to call for help, but when I looked up, I saw a tiny red light. It looked like it was from… the light of a security camera.

Was that something my parents had put in here? Why would they put a camera in my room?

I swallowed again. Suddenly, I thought I should listen to the warnings from the notes.

The housekeeper would only leave after my parents got home.

Night fell, and finally, my parents returned.

The housekeeper also finally left.

"How was your day, Suzie?" my mother called out, her voice as gentle as ever.

I couldn't relax.

I pretended I hadn't regained my sight and fumbled my way out, only to see Mom standing there in a nurse's uniform covered in blood, gazing at me with a loving smile. Her expression was exaggerated, her eyes bulging, and her fingernails looked like they hadn't been trimmed in ages. She was holding a knife smeared with blood.

At her feet were piles of notes that read "Don't tell your parents you've recovered your sight.".

A chill went through me as I glanced at them.

As I looked further down, I… saw an arm lying on the cutting board!

"Suzie, what's wrong?" Suddenly, I felt a heavy weight on my shoulder, and every hair on my body stood on end.

It was Dad's voice.

"I'm fine. Mom, what's for dinner tonight?" I tried my best not to let my eyes move around.

But the next moment, Dad crept up in front of me in silence and leaned down. He stared straight into my eyes with a furious look as he looked at me with his head raised.

His hair was greasy, his beard unkempt, and he looked more like a wild man.

I could feel the chill down my spine, and I nearly passed out right there and then.

But somehow, I forced myself to keep smiling.

"You can see now, can't you?!" Dad suddenly grabbed my shoulders and hollered before slamming me hard against the wall.

Mom didn't try to stop him. Instead, she clutched the knife and smiled strangely, mumbling, "Then you're not my daughter anymore."

"Mom! Where are you?! Dad's hitting me!" Terror took over, and I hurriedly pretended to be blind, flailing around with open eyes as if I couldn't see a thing.

Both of them paused for a moment. Mom was the first to drop the knife to the floor and pull me into her arms. She once again spoke to me in a soft voice, "Honey, Mommy's right here. I'll give Daddy a scolding later, okay?"

The knife hit the ground with a clang, making me shudder.

There was also the scent of blood on Mom.

She turned around and slapped Dad hard across the face. "Why are you hitting our daughter!"

Dad's neck made a sharp crack, but when he turned back around, he looked like his old self again, full of guilt as he apologized. He was just as warm as he used to be.

Still, I knew everything had already changed.

I shook my head. "It's okay, Mom."

But I clenched my fist tightly.

Just what was this place?

I was sure they weren't my real parents, but they wore my parents' faces. Everything was so twisted and bizarre. What was I supposed to do?

At dinner, I found a finger on my plate, a shiny platinum ring wrapped around it, strangely familiar. Cold sweat ran down my back when I saw the human finger appearing on the dinner table.

I set the finger aside and forced myself to eat the pasta as I tried not to throw up, one small bite at a time. But with every mouthful, I could feel my stomach churning.

Gods… What if I had already eaten… so much… human flesh before this?

"Suzie, don't you love meat the most?" Dad leaned over, staring right into my eyes.

I struggled to stay calm. Saying it was human flesh would be way too suspicious.

"Dad, there's hardly any meat here. They are all bones. I can't see, so I'm worried I'll hurt my mouth." I giggled as I held Dad's arm.

The wariness in Dad's eyes disappeared. For a moment, I even saw tears glimmering in his blank eyes, as if he had remembered something. His voice choked as he replied, "Alright, sweetie."

Mom watched this heartwarming moment, and her eyes turned red too.

After dinner, I made up an excuse saying I was tired and went back to my room. I lay down in my bed and started to think things over.

They… were clearly my parents, but at the same time, they felt like strangers. Why was I blind? What had happened before I lost my sight?

Suddenly, I realized something was wrong with my memories.

After I went blind, someone had forcefully brought me home. Normally speaking, I would feel scared, but what I actually felt was anger, not helplessness or grief.

And before that… All I could remember was my best friend. My mind was totally blank when it came to my parents.

In my memories, my home did feel like it looked like this, but I couldn't recall any details at all!

Thinking about those notes, I got up and searched around my room. Who was the one who had told me not to tell my parents the truth? Were they truly trying to help me?

If so, why didn't they show up and take me away? Was there something stopping them? Or… had something already happened to them?

I didn't dare think about it, and instead, I forced myself to keep going.

Even if it was just to stay alive.

My parents knew those notes were everywhere, but they acted like it was nothing. That meant they were already prepared. If I acted strangely after seeing those notes, they would kill me without a second thought.

Every note had a different handwriting, and it was impossible for them not to notice it. Which meant… the people who had left those notes had probably already been killed!

Thinking back to Mom… No, the woman in the nurse uniform, the arm on the table, and the finger in my dinner, I suddenly felt cold all over.

"Suzie…" Suddenly, Dad's voice rang out from behind me, full of anger. "Didn't you say you were going to sleep!"

I jumped. They had opened the door. I stood up, pretending to feel my way to bed, turning to him, and acting all sweet. "Dad, you scared me! I just finished eating and felt too full, so I got up and walked around."

The woman in the nurse's uniform stood behind him, those bulging eyes with hardly any whites staring at me. I almost couldn't take it anymore.

It was terrifying. I wanted to scream and run, but I couldn't. I had to survive. Never had I felt my desire to live to be this intense.

Then, I thought about the security camera in the room. Was it really something they had put in here? If so, did that mean they had seen everything I had just done?

The man nodded, holding some boards as he scanned me from top to bottom. Luckily, he didn't notice anything unusual. Then, he said, "I saw your window was letting air in, so I'm here to fix it for you."

I nodded obediently, and the woman in the nurse's uniform walked toward me, holding a hammer.

"Mom, is that you? I hear footsteps."

She paused, then took my hand and replied softly, "Yes, it's Mom."

Her nails were so long. When I touched her hand, my whole body turned cold, but I still held on and even squeezed tighter.

I did this because I noticed that when they thought I was blind, the love in their eyes was genuine.

They wouldn't hurt me in those moments.

The problem was, they were starting to suspect I could see again, and I couldn't keep up this act much longer. If this went on, I would lose my mind sooner or later.