Though Vera and Grace came from different social classes, they shared a common interest: reading.
Reading was encouraged and seen as an example of rational leisure. Vera usually read romance novels, and indeed, she was influenced by the love stories within them, harboring unrealistic expectations for her partner. However, after she transformed into her monstrous appearance, those expectations shattered like bubbles. In the face of survival crises, no one had the luxury of thinking about love.
Although she remained immersed in these beautiful love stories, she had come to understand that such beauty would likely never play out in her own life.
Her parents were devout believers, and as such, romance novels were considered taboo in her household. She typically read mythological and historical stories, occasionally sneaking a glance at detective novels. Although she once tried her hand at writing, she quickly realized she lacked the talent for it.
When the two sat down to read Elena's story, they faced a dilemma: who would begin reading first? Due to Vera's oversized skirt, they couldn't sit too close together, nor could they share a book.
"How about you start?" Vera hesitated, saying, "Elena says it's a scary story, and I think I need some psychological preparation."
"Sure, do you want me to read it out loud?" Grace eagerly asked.
"No, no," Vera quickly waved her hand.
Grace, eager to get it over with, quickly took the manuscript, moved the oil lamp closer, and began reading from the first page.
Grace focused intently on the manuscript, reading every word. Vera, in contrast, silently observed her expression, seemingly trying to read the truth of the story from her face.
As Grace turned page after page, a quiet and solemn atmosphere filled the room, as though the very air had solidified. Grace's brow furrowed slightly, and she occasionally took deep breaths, sitting up straighter.
Vera noticed that Grace's hands were trembling slightly. Suddenly, she stopped, lifted her head, and took a deep breath.
"What's wrong?" Vera asked with concern.
Grace was silent for a moment before slowly setting down the manuscript. "I think I need to take a break."
Vera looked at the manuscript as though it were a fearsome beast. "Is it really that scary?"
"Very, very, very scary," Grace said, showing the goosebumps on her arms. "I never thought words could be so frightening."
Vera didn't dare to look anymore. However, out of a promise to Elena, she put on a determined expression. "Let me take a look?"
Vera, who typically didn't like gory depictions, had always kept her distance from those Gothic novels from the Society of Mysticism. Though she had mentally prepared herself, expecting to see pages soaked in blood, reality turned out to be completely different.
The story depicted a calm, peaceful family, whose lives began to unravel after receiving a strange letter. However, unlike what Vera had expected—blood, death, and murder—the story contained none of those. There were no descriptions of the dead, no tortures, and no creepy dungeons, passageways, or ancient castles.
The male and female protagonists began as normal people, living an ordinary life in a row house in Lunton. This normalcy made Vera even more confused. Although she had read few ghost stories, they all seemed to involve a madman, a murderer, and blood everywhere... how else could it possibly be scary?
It felt too normal, and she quickly became immersed in the story. Then, one shock after another struck. Each time the protagonist was frightened, Vera felt a chill running through her body as if she were right there in the story.
"It's too scary," Vera couldn't help but murmur. "I can't even imagine what I'd do if I looked through a door crack and saw a blood-red eyeball. Oh my god, how did Elena come up with such terrifying scenes?"
Grace, with her keen hearing, quickly rubbed her arms, trying to shake off the fear.
Just as Vera's breath slowed, already fully immersed in the story, the protagonist began to feel a pain in the back of his neck, which he thought was just from sitting too long at work.
\[Adam, drowning in work, heard his son, little Aiden, crying uncontrollably from the bedroom. Alice hurried into the room and found Aiden crying even harder, pointing toward the study.
"Darling, what's wrong?" Alice asked anxiously, but Aiden cried louder, his eyes wide with terror.
Alice, trying to calm her own unease, took the crying child to the study. There, she saw Adam absorbed in his work, while Aiden's cries echoed loudly in the otherwise quiet room.
"Adam, why is Aiden so scared?" Alice asked, looking at Adam with concern.
Adam looked up, confused, and noticed the fear in Aiden's eyes. Just then, Aiden's cries grew even sharper, as though he were trying to say something, his wide eyes locked onto Adam.
Alice checked on the child's body, then noticed that Aiden kept staring in the direction of her husband. She looked up and saw something strange. Above Adam's desk, a woman in a white dress hung, her head looped in a noose, her body swaying slightly, her black hair spilling down to cover her face. Her feet, dangling in the air, would occasionally swing and tap Adam on the back of the neck.
The sound of her feet tapping his neck came through clearly: *tap, tap, tap...*]
"Tap, tap, tap." The knock on the door came suddenly.
"Ah!" Vera screamed in a high-pitched voice, startling Grace, who also screamed. Both of them almost broke their voices, nearly scaring the person knocking at the door half to death.
"Hey, hey, hey, it's me, Reginald," came the voice from outside, as Reginald quickly covered his ears, worried that their screams might attract the attention of others.
"Oh, it's you," Vera, still shaking, wiped away tears and said with a crying tone, "You scared me to death."
"You scared me to death!" Reginald exclaimed, equally startled. "What on earth are you two doing? I saw the lights still on this late and thought someone had forgotten to turn them off. I didn't expect you two to be here. What are you up to? Almost shattered my eardrums!"
Vera took a deep breath, having gotten too carried away by the fright. Thankfully, her waist wasn't too tight, so she didn't pass out from lack of breath. She definitely didn't want to inhale smelling salts—they were made of ammonium carbonate mixed with various spices, and it smelled exactly like ammonia. To give an analogy, it was like the smell of a bathroom that hadn't been cleaned in 100 years—purely awful. It was no wonder the fainting ladies had all been revived by the stench.
"We're reading Elena's new work," Grace explained. "It's so scary, though, that when you knocked, we both got startled."
Reginald was eager to read it too but, being a gentleman, suppressed the urge. "Well, then you two should go rest early," he said, glancing at Vera's manuscript with reluctance. After a bow, he left, leaving Vera and Grace looking at each other in silence.
"I can't look anymore," Vera surrendered first. "I won't look again, I'll definitely have nightmares tonight."
"I feel the same," Grace said with a gloomy expression. The two exchanged looks, both frozen in place.
"Let's go together," Vera said, reaching for Grace's arm. "I don't want to go back alone."
The next day, both Vera and Grace showed up with dark circles under their eyes and returned the manuscript to Elena.
"I didn't sleep a wink last night," Vera almost cried. "Every time I closed my eyes, I saw terrifying scenes. Sometimes I really hate my imagination."
Grace had a mournful expression. "I did sleep, but I dreamt of all those scary things. I woke up in fear several times."
The two looked at Elena with a mix of despair.
"You two came together?" Elena asked, puzzled as she took the manuscript.
Vera forced a smile. "It's because we read your novel last night. We were so scared, neither of us dared to sleep alone. She came to my room to keep me company. Now I know why you're so confident—it's the scariest story I've ever seen. I probably won't be able to sleep alone for a few days."
"I warned you," Elena said regretfully. "But you didn't believe me."
It was too late to say anything now. She looked at her two friends and felt a little guilty. She knew her story was a bit scary, but she hadn't expected it to have such an effect. Though she had partially anticipated it, she thought they'd be okay.
"Sorry, I didn't think it would be so frightening," Elena said apologetically. "I just tried to break away from traditional horror story elements. I didn't expect it to have such an impact."
Vera shook her head and forced a smile. "It's not your fault. We're just too timid. This is your creation. You don't need to apologize for our nightmares."
Grace nodded in understanding. "Yes, it's really innovative. We just need some time to adjust."
"But," Vera yawned, "I still have to remind you, if your goal was to scare people, you definitely succeeded."
Vera had no complaints about the horror novel—it had scared her senseless. Grace, on the other hand, seriously suggested that the beginning could be more ordinary.
"Like a normal daily life novel," Grace gestured, "A warm, peaceful family with a lovely child. I think this part could be more detailed. The contrast with the later scenes would be stronger, and it would be more likely to draw in readers, especially the timid ones."
Vera gave Grace a strange look, as if she hadn't expected her soft appearance to conceal such "wicked" ideas.
"Indeed," Elena considered the manuscript with a reader's eye, "You're right. I should have added more of the peaceful daily life. I shouldn't have started with the strange letter."
Vera could already picture readers getting tricked into the story. She silently wished them well and, almost maliciously, hoped they'd fall into the pit, joining her in the nightmares.