Don't Make Me Kill You

The pain of a man in a horrifying night

 

''The pain of a man in a horrifying night''

The story I am about to tell is according to the narration of an old woman who sold groceries in my hometown after I had a chance to visit. Perhaps today she is no longer alive...

***

In the autumn of 1976, tragedy struck Lộc's life as he was about to turn thirty-four. While carrying stones down the mountain, he slipped and fell, breaking two vertebrae in his spine. Since then, Lộc has been bedridden like a cripple. Gradually, he lost his ability to speak, just like a two-year-old child learning to talk. Whenever the weather changed, Lộc would suffer unbearable pain, writhing like he was fighting for his life. His groans and screams only made his wife's heartache worse.

It Comes at Night - Rotten Tomatoes

It was even more heartbreaking when the rainy season came, and Lộc could no longer sit on the roof, overlooking the palm leaves. The couple's wedding bed was also split in half. Xoan placed Lộc near the entrance for easy care. Opposite him was Thị's bed. All their living expenses depended on Xoan's meager income from her sewing job

After a while, Xoan started to feel bored every time she saw her husband's face. On the contrary, her business at the shop became prosperous, attracting many greedy visitors. Perhaps that's why the loneliness in Thị's heart began to stir. A desire that could be filled with the flesh of a man slowly revived. Was that why Xoan noticed Bắc—the young man with dark skin who often came to fix their clothes?

In fact, the two already had feelings for each other since Lộc was still at home. Taking advantage of this opportunity, they began to spend more time together. Even in the busy streets during the day, they would cuddle each other as if they were in a quiet place.

Bắc often stayed overnight at Xoan's house until early morning, and yesterday was no exception. When he stepped down from the bed, dressed in his fancy clothes, Xoan leaned back against the bed's wall, pulled the blanket up to her chest, and said:

- Are you leaving already? Why don't you stay with me a little longer? It's not even morning yet.

Without thinking, Bac turned his head back and saw his lover just waking up. Bac replied:

- Yeah... I'm going back... I'll come back tomorrow. You just lie down and rest.

Finishing his sentence, he returned to the bed and gave Xoan an appetizer of a kiss without sugar. In the light of dawn, Xoan saw him quickly disappear down the main street. The sound of the wind blowing the horn made Xoan startle and look at Loc. Xoan's tears fell behind the times she had experienced heartbreak, which hurt less than her living heart. Why couldn't Xoan be happy? Whose house was that rooster crowing so sadly? Xoan felt like the sky was getting bright too fast, as if her life had aged another day. She heard the rumbling outside with the sound of laughter mixed in.

- Xoan, wake up! The sun has risen three rods already.

Perhaps everyone already knew about Xoan's affair? So Xoan kept silent.

...

The bad rumors spread far and wide. In no time, the news of Xoan having a mistress was ancient history throughout this district. In front of Xoan, they acted as if they knew nothing. One day, a customer from afar came to the village to have some clothes made by Xoan. Seeing someone different, everyone gathered around and asked:

- Are you looking for Miss Xoan? - A woman among the reapers said with a faint smile. Then she turned to her sisters and shouted:

- Where are you guys? Let me ask who is Xoan Mới.

All three raised their hands claiming to be the owner, but found it amusing.

- And me... me... me too.

- So you're Xoan's boyfriend. Hee hee... - The girl about sixteen or seventeen said with a sneer.

After speaking, this group burst into laughter, making the confused customer uncomfortable. Another woman waved her hat and joined in the boisterous conversation.

- Are you looking for Miss Xoan at Vinh Loc's tailor shop?

Just when he didn't know what to do, he heard someone ask like that, and the excited customer replied:

- Yes, that's right!

- Then you have to go all the way down this dirt road... at the intersection turn left... it's only a few dozen meters away.

The customer thanked the person for the directions and hurriedly walked away as everyone dispersed from their break time. Later on, it's unclear whether the stranger ever asked about Xoan, but at the time he probably thought it was just a fun story of the world.

Near the end of winter, the weather started to get cold and it was raining non-stop. Because of this, Xoan was hesitant to open his shop early. The people who came to the tailor shop were decreasing by the hour. Xoan had more free time to think about his lover. Who knew how anxious and worried Xoan was feeling inside. Watching the rain was getting boring. The evening seemed to come faster. Xoan picked up his phone and called Bắc but there was no answer. Frustrated, Xoan exclaimed:

  • "Where on earth are you again? When I don't need you, you're always around but when I do, you disappear."

Before he could finish his sentence, Bắc walked in wearing a raincoat and shouted:

  • "Who has upset you?"

Xoan felt relieved to see him, but still acted angry and turned his face away.

  • "No one... I thought you forgot about me."

Knowing that Xoan was still upset, Bắc took off his raincoat and gently approached his lover, putting his chest against Xoan's back and slowly wrapping his arms around Xoan's waist. He smiled and explained:

  • "Come on, don't be mad at me anymore okay? I was late because I had to take a detour, that's why you had to wait so long."

When Bắc was no longer angry, Xoan turned around and looked at him. But with blood rushing to his heart, Bắc bit his lover's lips until the heavy rain poured down. He then carried Xoan into the room and slammed the door, leaving only two shadows on the wall. No one else was there except for Lộc, who was sound asleep. The storm tonight was as fierce as fate, making everyone feel uneasy.

Lying motionless on the bed, Lộc suddenly jerked awake, causing him a great deal of pain. His tears dripped down his cheeks and soaked into the pillow. Lộc clenched his hands tightly and scratched the blanket, listening to the gnashing and grinding of teeth. Then he fell silent, only feeling the taste of blood in his mouth and dripping onto his chin. His eyes widened as he revealed his white soul. Was this the end of his life because he couldn't bear it anymore?

At that moment, it was still pouring outside. Suddenly, a hawk flew by and screamed a few times in front of Xoan's house, making the air even more suffocating. It was already ten o'clock at night and there was no one coming to ask Xoan to tailor clothes for them. The wind blew strongly, breaking the window and hitting the concrete wall with lightning flashes. Only then did they notice a cat sitting on the roof, staring down with a wicked gaze.

The rain had sprinkled onto the bed where Xoan and Bac were passionately entwined tonight. Thị began to feel cold as she gently caressed Bac's body, lightly stroking his lover's hair before suddenly screaming and pushing him hard, causing him to fall off the bed with a painful thud. In that moment, Xoan saw Lộc's pale face staring at her with wide eyes. Terrified, Thị pushed Bac away, causing him to fall backwards. As he clumsily tried to get up, Xoan secretly glanced at him. Before he could recover, Bac slowly approached where Xoan lay. But Xoan waved her hand to stop him and said:

  • "No... no..."

Surprised, Bac asked her:

  • "What's wrong? Have you ever been so frightened by me before?"

In the flickering oil lamp light, Xoan turned to look at her husband before regaining her composure. She huddled in the corner of the bed, her face tense. Seeing that the situation had calmed down, Bac slowly moved closer and sat next to Xoan, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. Thị's heart raced as she turned to look at him before curling up and shivering like someone in the cold. Bac gently turned her face toward him with his left hand. Thị screamed and fainted. He was confused as to why his girlfriend had behaved so strangely tonight. Perhaps Xoan had seen Lộc smiling at her instead of Bac. Suddenly, he began to feel scared because he didn't understand what was happening here. He gently laid Xoan down on the bed to rest. Meanwhile, he grabbed his clothes and put them on.

Suddenly, he felt like someone had been watching him since earlier. Regardless, he pretended not to notice while finishing buttoning his shirt. As he was buttoning the third button, he unconsciously saw a dark shadow on the wall behind him. Startled, he turned around but couldn't find the shadow anymore. He broke out in a cold sweat and used all his senses to observe the house for any suspicious signs. Only then did he finally feel safe enough to finish buttoning his shirt and blow out the oil lamp that had been burning on the table. He opened the door to leave the house, but at this moment, the door seemed to be stuck, making him hesitate. It was as if an invisible force was making his arm limp. The more he struggled, the tighter the door locked. Terrified, he let go and a voice whispered in his ear:

  • "Give me back my wife! Give me back my wife," he demanded.

And a ghostly hand clutched Bắc's hand tightly on the door latch. With all his might, he twisted and pushed with his right foot until the door finally gave way, as if a gentle breeze was swaying the flower petals. He slipped and fell backwards onto the floor. To make matters worse, he saw Lộc standing outside the door, completely drenched from head to toe in rainwater. Terrified, Bắc stumbled backwards, waving his hands frantically and stammering:

"Please forgive me...please, she seduced me first..."

"Give me back my life...give me back my life..." The sound echoed through the silent space.

The shadow stared intently at Bắc, waiting for an opportunity to pounce on him. In the quiet surroundings, a light breeze blew through the door, chilling Bắc to the core. Slowly, Lộc moved closer to Bắc, who tried to quickly retreat until his shoulder hit the edge of a table. His mouth opened in a silent scream. With his remaining hand, he fumbled for the oil lamp and hurled it towards Lộc. But the lamp missed and crashed into the wall, shattering into a million pieces. As Bắc scrambled to his feet and followed the edge of the table, he suddenly felt the weight of his cat Hoa on his back. The cat turned over and clawed at Bắc's leg, meowing a few times before disappearing into the darkness. He faltered and fell onto the cold body of Lộc, whose wet skin smelled like soggy noodles. Lộc's bony arm reached up and hugged Bắc's back. Unconsciously, Bắc felt his lips touch Lộc's scruffy beard. When he looked up, he was terrified to see Lộc's eyes glaring back at him. Bắc screamed and pushed the wet body away, stumbling towards the main door, but his head hit the wall and he collapsed on the ground.

From afar, after a moment, I heard the sound of a dog barking mournfully and a loud bang like thunder. Finally, the space returned to its usual calmness, and the wind began to blow in the direction of the bamboo grove. Tonight would be a sweet night for Xoan if there were no incidents in the house like this. As for the North, he might have taken his love and horror down to the deserted well behind the garden.

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