The Midnight Train
And she jerked awake. Across from her sat a woman, staring at her with intense gaze, her porcelain skin even paler under the cold moonlight streaming through the window.
***
"Go on, the train is about to leave," Nhiên's husband whispered in her ear, his pink lips grazing her earlobe before stopping deliberately at the nape of her neck. CK Men's sweet and captivating scent tingled her taste buds.
"I don't like you going back to your grandparents' house, it's too eerie and mysterious. It's all women there. After your grandparents, there are your aunts and then your mom, everyone would be buzzing around non-stop. The house is ancient, like a hundred-year-old museum. I'm afraid you'll get stuck there!"
"I'm only staying for a day, I'll convince my mom to come with me to Saigon and we'll go home together. Don't worry."
He hugged Nhiên tightly before abruptly leaving:
"If I hug you any longer, I'll keep you here forever. Delay the train!"
And so the train was indeed delayed.
The old, worn green-yellow painted train sat at Hoa Hung station for over an hour but still didn't budge. The stifling heat rose up from the cluttered railway tracks filled with garbage and waste...
The train finally jolted to life after a while. The metal wheels grinded against the tracks, and the whistle blared tiredly.
Nhiên wrapped her soft silk scarf around each curly hair, comfortably laid down on the pillow made of the same material that she brought from home, closed her eyes, and breathed lightly: "Starting an hour late, reaching Phan in the middle of the night. This old service industry is so uncomfortable."
While wandering among the blooming trees, a woman's sudden appearance startles Nhiên. She wears a withered smile and speaks in a deep native tone:
"Do you not remember your aunt Nhiên?"
Her voice sends shivers down Nhiên's weak nerves, leaving her feeling confused and bewildered.
"Aunt is...?"
"Your aunt lives next to your grandfather's house, by the Trang tree."
Nhiên suddenly recalls the fragrant Sư quân tử season, which overwhelms her senses and even overpowers her Taboo perfume. The thick, tangled roots of the climbing Trang tree at her grandparents' house are familiar to Nhiên, who used to hide among its blooming branches.
The woman's bony, cold hand tightly grips Nhiên's hand.
"I'm going home now."
"Is it far, Aunt?" Nhiên asks innocently.
"It's nine miles from here to Phan."
"How will I get there?" Nhiên asks hesitantly.
"On the hearse. It's waiting for me."
The woman points to a wooden carriage and an old horse that waits for them under the dim yellow light at the station. Nhiên staggers towards the hearse, but the station is empty and silent.
The woman's hair brushes against Nhiên's cold cheek. Suddenly, Nhiên breaks into a cold sweat, feeling a shiver run down her spine. The sound of horse hooves on the rocky road brings Nhiên back to her senses.
"Do you want to hear our family story?" the woman asks.
"What story? Grandma never told me any stories."
"It's about a curse on the men in our family," the woman replies in a low, raspy voice that makes Nhiên feel uneasy. "It's been around since your grandfather's time."
All the men born and raised in Ngoai's house were philanderers, suffered for love, and died young! No man lived long in that old seaside house. In the end, only the women remained, weary from waiting and time, staying in that moss-covered house!
Everything started with your grandfather.
After several months of being sick and tired, the third wife passed away without the grandfather by her side. He was too busy enjoying his new life with the younger woman. The grandmother took care of the dying wife, and she wept bitterly when she died. She lamented that men grow old, turn silver, and then die, leaving behind a trail of tears.
Nien hurriedly got out of the car, her legs numb and tired. The scent of damp soil filled her nose. Her mind was heavy and confused, as if falling into a deep, eerie abyss surrounded by the strong aroma of wild flowers. Nien managed to shout:
- Mom...
Nien fainted amidst the sound of people's footsteps and her mother's panicked voice:
- Oh my God, my child, how did you end up lying outside, covered in dust like this? Nien...
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