The Ghost Bride

Prologue - The Silence

The shadow of the candle illuminated the gold-adorned wall, swaying with the slight airflow in the room. It was late and dark, my feather pen scratching away at the paper, writing document after document till my hand was sore. The light danced along with the shadows, the candle wax slowly dripped down into the candle plate while giving me just enough time to finish the document I was working on.

I sighed and leaned back in my chair, finally done with a day's work. I stroked my whitening beard slowly before getting up with a grunt. I glanced at myself in my cup of water, staring at my reflection. I almost couldn't recognize myself anymore. Old and weary, my once square shoulders now drooping slightly. I stretched slightly, hearing a few crisp cracks as I relaxed for the first time in a few hours, my muscles slightly sore.

Suddenly, as if it were the first time I realized, I looked up from where I was standing, toward the door that led to the hallway. It was quiet. Too quiet. Normally, the hallways being this quiet wouldn't be that big of a deal since, well, it's late. However, my grandson, Li Qin, is getting married soon, and I had all the servants in the manor house, so it should be bustling with fervor of the upcoming marriage. Yet, it's quiet. So, so quiet. Eerily quiet.

I stepped back into my room as I felt something in my stomach drop. Something was wrong, but I didn't know what. I could hear the pounding of my heart and the quickening of my breath, the fear of something unknown overcoming me as I locked the door.

"I'll just stay in here for the night. Wait it out till the morning," I muttered to myself as I prepared to create a makeshift bed in the room. I stroked my beard, slightly unnerved by the quiet.

As I finished preparing for a night's rest, I heard some creaks out in the hallway, the wooden floorboards creaking as if someone or something was out there. I gulped nervously, a tingling sensation down my spine as if sensing something was near.

I took a deep breath, "Maybe it's some of the servants," I spoke quietly to myself, stroking my beard nervously. I stepped close to the door, placing my ear on the door. I pretended not to be scared, pretended not to be hoping deep down that it was just a few servants passing by preparing for the marriage, chittering and chattering about whatever those uneducated servants liked to talk about.

But there was nothing. No chittering, no chattering. The creeks were now gone too. It was like whatever I heard just now was just my imagination, a hallucination, or maybe just the wind. That was what I told myself at least.

Suddenly, there was some clinkering. I glanced down to see the bronze lock shaking on the smooth porcelain door knob. It was as if someone was trying to...open the door. A cold sweat broke out down my back, and I quickly backed away from the door.

"She's come back for me...She's come back for me..." I repeated, knowing very well deep down what this was. The clinkering grew louder and louder as the lock shook on the porcelain knobs, the person outside was getting angry. I backed away to the window and kneeled down towards the outside, my hands clasped in a prayer.

"Please god, please, please don't let me die. Please save me. I don't want to die, I don't want to die–" I prayed and prayed. I prayed my heart out to the gods who might not ever hear me, to my ancestors who I might join after tonight.

The clinkering grew louder and louder. My heart dropped to my stomach as the door started to give out a bit. I couldn't see anything outside in the hallway or who was there as it was dark out but I knew it was her.

"I've sinned god, please forgive me...Please save me..." I continued to mutter in prayer. I could see the door giving in more and more, the crack growing bigger...and bigger...I could see more clearly into the dark abyss of the hallway now, whoever was outside hidden in the shadows.

At that moment, I knew that this would be the last time I look up at the moon and think about all I've accomplished, the last time I'd get to the riches I built up for myself. I sat up from my kneeled prayer, horrified by the impending fate that I planted myself.

Suddenly, the clinkering stopped. Silence was the only thing that met me as I stared at the door, the impending doom tearing my insides apart. I stared and stared and stared, not daring to blink in case the perpetrator suddenly broke the door down and leaped for me. But I was met with...nothing.

As I breathed a sigh of relief and finally stood up, I took a deep breath and took a good look at the door again. This is when I noticed that the lock was no longer on the door but instead had fallen onto the floor in front of it. My heart lurched and finally dropped.

The door slowly creaked open.

I stared into the dark, abyss-like hallway, and my heart slowly calmed into resignation. I did this to myself. I glanced down to only have my heart lurch again to see the once pristine brown wooden floors were now...red.

The red seemed to start to slowly ooze into the room, covering the floors with a sticky layer of...blood. The sight confirmed my worst fears as I stared into the blackening hallway just out of the room.

"Please Li Yun, Xiao Li, I didn't mean to do it, we just needed money, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please don't kill me–"

There was a creak outside in the hallway as I slowly glanced up to see a pair of red embroidered shoes sitting innocently in the red-stained background. 

(Woahhh you reached the end of the prologue! This is actually just a draft, but I wanted to see if anyone would be interested, I would love suggestions a lot! This is also my first time writing on Wattpad I heard so many things- But I thought this would be a good platform to introduce my ideas to readers sooooo yeah. Thanks! >o<)