Rhapsody of Reality and Illusion

People were coming and going in front of me. I stared blankly at these happy and joyful people.\I got on the long-distance bus and twisted my sore neck. Leaning against the seat, I closed my eyes to rest, ignoring everything around me.\My eyelids grew heavier and heavier, my head splitting with pain. I bit my lip tightly, not daring to fall asleep. I had barely slept recently because of nightmares, that terrible nightmare that would inevitably come to haunt me.\Struggling painfully in the depths of despair. I didn't know how long I had dozed off when suddenly a strange feeling came over me. I woke up sharply all at once.\In an instant, my hairs stood on end. Completely awake, I glanced at the people around me who carried on talking and laughing as usual. I exhaled a breath. Thank goodness… everything was normal…\A strong tremor came. The bus shook several times, and the passengers all complained. This bus was far too unsafe.\It felt like it was deliberately going against the passengers. The bus shook several more times. I lost my balance for a moment and hit my head on the seat in front of me.\The person in front turned around and looked at me. He had a strange smile and said nothing. He was a young man, about twenty or so years old.\He wore deep red clothes. The color made me extremely uncomfortable. There was also a foul odor on him… a mysterious stench that could only be called mysterious, full of temptation.\His face seemed extremely familiar, but I just couldn't remember.\The impact was loud, and those with short tempers started shouting to get off, while several timid female passengers turned pale with fright.\The driver rushed out to check. As soon as the driver got down, another vehicle suddenly came and collided with the bus. I was thrown through the air, smashing half-open glass windows and falling outside the bus.\I tried to get up, but my leg had a deep cut from the glass. I watched helplessly as the bus tilted toward me.\I quickly turned my head and caught a glimpse of a person about ten meters away, who watched me indifferently. He was also wearing red clothes, with some triangles drawn on them. Truly heartless. I screamed for help with all my strength.\Damn it, it seems I'm going to die here today.\The bus loomed larger and larger until it filled my entire vision.\………………\………………\I suddenly woke up, drenched in cold sweat. I was still sitting on the bus. Damn nightmare.\Everything was out of control; I could no longer tell reality from dreams.\So I took this bus to my rural hometown, hoping to calm down a little.\Once again, it was continuous turbulence. I had just slept for an unknown amount of time, and at least I had regained some energy and was somewhat clear-headed.\I boredly watched the trees and patches of terraced fields whiz past outside the window. The terraces reflected the surrounding scenery, and the view was quite nice.\After getting off the bus, I stood on the flat rural road. According to the route in my memory, I turned onto a small path in the woods by the roadside, heading toward my old home, that little mountain village…\……………\……………\My village is very small. Old houses stand close together. A slanting small path runs through the middle of the village.\This little path branches off at angles, casually dividing the entire village.\My old family house is in the middle of the village. Only my aunt and uncle live in this house.\My aunt is 68 this year, and my uncle is almost 70. They both treat me warmly, which makes me somewhat uncomfortable.\Most elderly people are like this when they see young people.\After dinner, I browsed Tieba and Tianya on my phone, but nothing was interesting. I quickly washed up, climbed into bed, and stared blankly at the beams above. Once again, I unintentionally fell asleep.\I sat up, yawned, and went downstairs to the outhouse. As I reached the door, it seemed I heard someone talking; my aunt was conversing with a person. I couldn't make out that person's face. But their shirt, the color like old, set-in blood, I will never forget.\I couldn't help breaking out in a cold sweat. My aunt was talking to that person in the dead of night, and I wondered what it was about. No matter how hard I tried, I could only hear…room…fourth person…these two words already drenched me in cold sweat.\Terrified, I scrambled back to bed in a panic. My heart kept racing. I just felt deadly fear.\In a state of nerves, I fell asleep again. Tossing and turning, half-asleep, half-awake, I just felt someone was watching me.\I had another dream, triangles and human eyes flying back and forth.\The next morning, intentionally or unintentionally, I asked my aunt about last night. She pretended to know nothing and smiled warmly, even more warmly than yesterday.\I was very puzzled in my heart but didn't dare confront her, only feeling that my aunt had become much more strange and frightening.\It was midnight again, and I trembled in fear. The feeling of being watched grew stronger and stronger.\I was very uneasy and couldn't help asking my aunt to clarify what happened last night. I told her I suspected there was a fourth person in the house.\She looked at me strangely and said, "What are you kids stirring up again?" and went back to sleep.\The third day, after lunch, while they weren't paying attention, I ran wildly down the mountain.\I encountered a cat on the road, and I was very angry, inexplicably angry. I killed the cat, and blood splattered on me.\To cover up the blood, I drew many triangles on my clothes. The cat's blood stained me, and there was always a scent, but it was unpleasant.\Waiting by the roadside for a car, I wanted to go home. I looked around, and the car was very late. I was overjoyed. At this moment, another car suddenly appeared at the intersection and hit the bus.\A person was thrown out of the vehicle, their leg was cut. I wanted to save them, but I was afraid I wouldn't have enough time.\After running several more kilometers, my legs were almost broken, and I found another car. I let out a long sigh. This time went smoothly; the only thing that upset me was that the person sitting behind me was an idiot. They bumped into my seat and kept staring at my clothes. Truly a psycho.\Back home, I reflected on the fear of the past few days and couldn't wait to tell my parents about my experience.\But their expressions were strange, and there were tears in their eyes. They exchanged uneasy glances, and my mother hesitantly said, 'Xiaohui... your aunt and others have all passed away... many years ago... You child, being missing for so long, really scared us. We think it's necessary for you to go to the hospital.'\《The End》