Ancient Tomb Ghosts

eve of winter solstice

In late December, Westerners begin celebrating Christmas, while Easterners celebrate the Winter Solstice. Strictly speaking, the Winter Solstice isn't a festival, and even if it were, it wouldn't be of this world, but rather of another realm—a festival for ghosts, as the Chinese would say. However, Westerners may prefer Christmas Eve to Christmas Day, giving it various beautiful names, such as Silent Night. The same applies to the Winter Solstice, though the eve of it is considered rather unlucky, especially for older people who value tradition.

From a scientific perspective, in the Northern Hemisphere, the winter solstice is the day with the longest night and shortest day. Therefore, if a year were a single day, the winter solstice would be equivalent to midnight. Thus, the night before the winter solstice is a truly long night; darkness falls exceptionally early, and it's exceptionally cold. The sun seems to struggle to set early, as if suffering from nyctophobia, hastily hiding below the horizon. It was only six o'clock, and the sky was already pitch black; even the moon was almost invisible. I stood by the window, gazing at the distant, dark sky, and a strange feeling suddenly welled up inside me.

I hurriedly drew the curtains, turned on my computer, and went online. There wasn't anything particularly interesting online today. I chatted with a friend for a while, then logged off. I started writing a new novel, but after just the beginning, the inspiration I had planned suddenly dried up; I couldn't remember it anymore. I felt something was off about today. I opened my email inbox; there was only one new email from Lin Shu, an old classmate and good friend. The message was very short—

My friend

After you receive this letter, come to my house immediately. Come right away, without hesitation, okay? I don't have time now, hurry, you must come.

"Forest Trees"

What does he mean? He wants me to come to his place tonight, in this cold weather, and it's such a long way—an hour's drive from my house! This is going to kill me! I checked the time he sent the message; it was only half an hour ago. And it's almost eleven o'clock now. Is it really that important? Is he joking? But Lin Shu isn't that kind of person; he's a serious person and doesn't joke around. Maybe it really is something very important.

I paced around the room for a moment, then looked out the dark window. In the end, I decided to go anyway.

Stepping outside, I noticed several rings of yellow ash on the ground, indicating someone had burned tinfoil. I deliberately took a detour. Reaching the street, I realized the weather was colder than I'd expected; a gust of wind seemed to appear out of nowhere, whistling through the air. All the shops were closed, and even the convenience stores that were open looked lifeless. The sidewalks were almost deserted, and there were very few cars on the road. I waited a long time for a taxi, clearly counting the echoes of my footsteps in the empty darkness.

Finally, I managed to hail a taxi. The driver, a man in his thirties, was quite talkative: "Sir, are you going out again tonight?"

"It's urgent."

Tomorrow is the winter solstice.

"Hehe, I don't believe in that."

"I don't believe it either, but it's best to stay home tonight. I'll go home as soon as I finish this deal with you. I always go home early tonight."

Why?

"Ghosts need taxis too, you know. Because tonight and tomorrow are holidays for ghosts. Did I scare you? Hehe, just kidding, don't be afraid."

Once the car was on the elevated highway, I looked out the window at our city. The Santana sped along, the tall buildings on both sides rushing past, and I felt as if I were driving through a forest. In the hazy darkness, the lights flickering from countless windows were somewhat dim, and even the neon lights seemed as pale as a woman without makeup.

For some reason, I feel uneasy.

The car had already left the inner ring road. Lin Shu's home was in a remote residential area near Xinzhuang in the south of Xuhui District. It was on the seventh floor, a little over 100 square meters, and quite far from the subway. Last month, Lin Shu said his parents had gone to Australia to visit relatives and celebrate the new century there, so he was living alone now. Living alone in such a large house requires some mental fortitude.

I looked around. We were driving on a small road. Although I often went to Lin Shu's house, I had never been to this road before. In the darkness, I couldn't see the road signs on either side; I could only see dark houses in the distance, or large stretches of wasteland. The car's headlights were on, illuminating the road ahead, the gleaming asphalt reflecting a blinding light. All around us was darkness, like a vast ocean on a winter night, and our car was like a small boat with a light on, sailing on a lost course.

I simply closed my eyes, letting the car carry me through the darkness in a hazy state. Half-asleep, the car suddenly stopped. I opened my eyes and saw rows of dark apartment buildings outside; we had indeed arrived. I got out, and the driver only charged me the round number, refusing the change. Then he quickly turned the car around and drove away.

I stumbled forward, shivering uncontrollably. The alleyways of the neighborhood were deserted; only a few windows on either side of the buildings emitted light, perhaps from a few people surfing the internet late at night. I exhaled hot breath, which rose into the sky like wisps of smoke. I looked up at the sky; the stars and moon had vanished, leaving only a few dark clouds drifting by. The wind grew stronger, lashing down from high above, whipping up tiny debris that swirled in the air. A plastic awning, not properly installed, trembled precariously in the wind, swaying precariously and making a loud thud, like a fist slamming into plastic.

Suddenly I seemed to hear a sound ahead, "Bang—" The sound was muffled, like someone's flowerpot had broken.

I quickened my pace and found a person lying on the ground below Lin Shu's house.

I held my breath and took a few steps closer. Under the dim streetlight in front of the building, I could see the person's face clearly. It was my friend Lin Shu's face.

A pool of dark red blood was rapidly gushing out from under the back of his head.

Suddenly, something occurred to me, and I immediately looked up at my watch—it was exactly midnight.

Winter Solstice has arrived.

winter solstice

Lin Shu's face was so clear, white, without a trace of pain, as if he had been freed from something. When he actually tried to open his mouth to speak, no sound came out. I shouted at him, "Tell me quickly, what happened?" At that moment, I woke up from my dream.

It's already noon. I'm lying in bed, wondering if what happened last night was real. Yes, it was real. I remember Lin Shu gave me an email asking me to come to his house. When I arrived at his building at midnight, he jumped off the building and committed suicide. Then I called the police, spent half the night at the police station, and didn't get home until six in the morning. I then went straight to sleep and haven't been awake since.

I got up and ate something. The phone rang. It was my colleague Lu Bai calling. He invited me to go out with them on Christmas Eve. He had mentioned it before, but I hadn't been sure because Christmas doesn't mean much to me. But now that Lin Shu has had an accident, I'm very anxious, so I immediately agreed on the phone.

I took a minibus to the countryside of Jiading. An hour later, I arrived at a cemetery. Today was the winter solstice, and there were many people there; it must have been even more crowded this morning. I bought a bouquet of flowers at the entrance and went into the cemetery. Although it was cold, the sun was lovely and gentle, shining on the fields surrounding the cemetery. There were many large trees and reeds around, and some birds were chirping merrily. I walked to the innermost row of tombstones and stopped in front of one name. An oval photograph was embedded in the tombstone, showing an eighteen-year-old girl smiling in the picture. I gently placed the flowers in front of the tombstone and stared at the photograph for a long time. Suddenly, a strange bird call pulled me from my reverie. I looked up at the sky, and the bird flapped its wings and flew away, leaving only the winter solstice sunlight lingering in my eyes. In front of some of the surrounding tombstones, people were kowtowing to their deceased elders in the traditional way. Perhaps this was one of the few times they would bend their knees in a year; the other time would be Qingming Festival. As the ancient ritual of commemorating ancestors unfolded, smoke rose everywhere from burning paper money and tinfoil. The wisps of smoke curled upwards, spreading across the air like silk threads, as if we were in another world. This place where the souls of the dead gather—today, the people in the graves are finally on holiday. I recalled the taxi driver's words from last night, and for some reason, my throat suddenly felt itchy.

When I got home that night, I didn't turn on the computer. I turned off the lights, and in the complete darkness, I stood alone, gazing at the winter solstice night outside the window. The entire night was spent immersed in memories of Lin Shu. I simply couldn't understand why he would choose to commit suicide. He was a very gentle person, but not particularly introverted. His family was relatively harmonious, and his circumstances were good. He was a big internet addict, always dreaming of working for an internet company. At the beginning of the year, he participated in several recruitment events for major websites, but without success. Two days ago, he was finally hired by a large, well-funded website. Keep in mind, at a time when many websites are laying off staff, it's practically a miracle that Lin Shu, with his average education, was able to get the job. The very night he received the offer letter, he immediately treated me to hot pot. He was beaming with joy, completely smug. Who would have thought he would jump off a building the next day? There's just no reason for it.

I let my mind wander for a long time, slowly sinking into the sofa. Suddenly, I seemed to see a figure in the darkness ahead, blurry and indistinct. The figure approached me, and a ray of light suddenly appeared, illuminating the face—Xiangxiang. I called her softly.

That face looked at me calmly, without answering, then quietly disappeared back into the darkness. I jumped up from the sofa and turned on the light, but I was alone in the room. I must have fallen asleep, perhaps having a dream. My mind is so fragile right now; I'm on the verge of a breakdown.

I lay down and went to sleep. But I couldn't fall asleep until I heard a familiar sound, drifting near and far, and penetrating my heart.

Christmas Eve

"What a beautiful night." Lu Bai's girlfriend, Huang Yun, leaned against the railing of the Pudong Riverside Avenue, her dyed red hair fluttering in the wind. It was another Christmas Eve.

There were seven or eight of us in total. Although we had agreed to split the bill, Lu Bai insisted on treating us this time because he had brought his girlfriend. We wandered aimlessly around Lujiazui, eating, drinking, and having fun. Only I felt rather heavy-hearted and hardly said a word. Lu Bai is twenty-eight years old this year. Apart from owning his own house, his conditions in other aspects are average, but his girlfriend is very beautiful, a rare beauty. They met online, which could be considered a great success of online dating. At first, they were very much in love, but later Huang Yun became less satisfied with Lu Bai, probably because she thought his appearance was average. It seems that online dating eventually has to return to reality. L

……