Ever since I escaped from Willow Orphanage, I’ve been wandering the city, aimless. Everything that happened there was far too cruel for me to bear.
I refuse to think about it. Right now, a pitch-black ghost drifts past me, shrouded in black mist, its head dangling by a strip of skin. I’ve seen so many ghosts by now—they don’t scare me anymore.
Suddenly, that ghost seems to notice I can see him. He stops, his head rolling on its tether, eyes spinning wildly as he stares at me.
I glare back at him, fierce and silent.
“Kid, hungry?” he asks. “Come with me.”
With that, the ghost grabs my hand. I’m a little afraid, but my stomach is empty. With no other choice, I let him lead me away.
We weave through the streets for a while, until the ghost brings me to a place filled with delicious smells—a snack shop, maybe.
“Wait here,” the ghost instructs. I shrink beneath the eaves opposite the shop. Soon, I see the ghost approach, carrying a steaming bowl of noodles to me.
“Eat,” he says.
I don’t reply. I just eat my fill.
“Heh, kid, stick with me and I’ll make sure you’re always fed. Come on, I’ll take you somewhere to rest.”
After that, I started to trust this ghost a little more. I followed him to an old apartment building about to be demolished. There were plenty of ghosts inside, but they all seemed afraid of the one who brought me—they didn’t come out to scare me or do anything to me.
For days on end, that ghost brought me food every day. I began to trust him more and more, and sometimes we’d even talk.
But when the rainy season ended, the ghost couldn’t come out during the day. So I had to sleep through the daylight and wake up at night, waiting for him to bring me food.
Gradually, a month passed, and I realized—maybe ghosts are better than people.
One night, I was waiting in a room on the first floor for the ghost to return. I heard a commotion outside. I was scared, but I ran out anyway.
Since this place was about to be rebuilt, lots of people treated it like a dump. Every day, they’d bring huge bags of trash. Because of that, I finally got some decent clothes—not a perfect fit, but warm enough.
In the moonlight, a bulky figure was rummaging through the garbage. At first, I thought she was human, but suddenly I noticed—she had no shadow.
“Little one, what are you doing here all alone?”
It was an old lady, her coat greasy and patched all over. She turned to me, her gaze gentle, then went back to searching through the trash.
“Auntie, there’s nothing left here. I already went through it all during the day.”
The old lady turned to look at me.
“Little one, you’d better leave this place soon. Don’t hang around with that ghost anymore—you’re human.”
“Old hag, what the hell do you want?” Suddenly, the ghost returned, carrying steaming food. I rushed over, delighted.
The trash-picking aunt glanced at me, then at the ghost, and left.
“Hey, kid, don’t you think living in this world is painful?”
I don’t know why, but tonight the ghost started talking like this. I didn’t really understand what he meant, so I just nodded, clueless.
“I’ve helped you, haven’t I? You ought to do me a favor, right?”
I nodded again. After that, for several days, the ghost kept bringing me delicious food. I was happy.
Finally, on a rainy day, the ghost woke me up and asked me to help him with something. I didn’t hesitate—I agreed. He led me to a deserted intersection, far from people.
“So what exactly do you want me to do?”
The ghost didn’t answer—he just smiled behind me.
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
In the distance, a white sedan sped toward us. Suddenly, as the car reached me, the ghost shoved me from behind.
I stumbled, crashing straight into the oncoming white car. When I glanced back, I saw the ghost’s dangling head and a sinister grin on his face.
With a loud bang, the car hit me—I was sent flying, and in an instant, I lost consciousness.
When I woke up, my whole body was in agony. I screamed. Looking around, I realized I was lying in a garbage dump, covered in wounds—every movement hurt.
I couldn’t make a sound at first. Then I noticed my hand was completely bent backwards, and I screamed for real. I kept shouting until my throat went hoarse. All I wanted was for someone to save me.
My body grew colder and my breath weaker. I knew I was dying—my mind was fading. I didn’t want to die, not at all. Only now did I realize, even though I could see ghosts and they scared me sometimes, no one would help me. But I wanted to live.
Suddenly, I felt warmth—someone lifted me up. Through a haze, the pain faded. When I opened my eyes, I saw it was the trash-picking aunt. My body was wrapped in bandages, and I lay on a bed that was old and tattered, but so warm.
“Meeting me was fate. I just happened to be picking trash nearby when I saw you. Kid, you nearly became a substitute for that shadow. Didn’t I warn you days ago?”
Every time I moved, pain shot through my body.
“Eat something. You’ll feel better if you eat.” The ghostly aunt handed me a bowl of soup—it didn’t smell great.
“It doesn’t taste good—it’s made from things I found in the trash. But as long as it’s edible, that’s enough.”
After more than ten days, my injuries healed. I was afraid of this aunt—I worried she’d use me, just like she said that shadow would.
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The aunt went out to pick trash every day, even during daylight—she didn’t seem to fear the sun. She’d bring back leftovers for me, always returning at night before heading out again.
I was living in a makeshift shack near a large garbage processing plant.
But one night, I heard a noise and thought the aunt was back. When I opened the door, I saw the shadow instead. He glared at me, grabbed me in one swift motion.
“Kid, you’re still alive? No wonder I’m still suffering. Heh, let’s do this again. Heh.”
I screamed and shouted. Suddenly, I saw the aunt, carrying a bag of trash, appear before us.
“Enough. Stop coming after this child.”
“Old hag, get out of here, or I won’t be so nice.”
The shadow kept gripping me, floating into the air. I reached out to the aunt for help, but she just stood there, motionless.
“Kid, in this world, you can’t survive if all you ever do is reach out for help. That way, you’ll never make it.”
Terror overwhelmed me—I screamed and cried.
Suddenly, I realized the shadow holding me had stopped in midair. I saw fear in his dangling eyes, and a green light flared before me—the aunt was glowing with green light.
With a shriek, the shadow let go of me. I fell straight toward the ground, and the aunt caught me in her arms.
“Tomorrow, you should be able to move. I’ll teach you something.”
After that, I wandered the streets with the aunt, searching through trash. I learned a lot—I could finally take care of myself.
“Alright, kid, it’s time for us to say goodbye. Whether you like it or not, I’m a ghost and you’re human.”
“But ghosts are better than people, Auntie, I…”
The aunt turned away. We were in a park. I chased after her, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t catch up.
“Stop following. You can survive on your own now. Whether you want to or not, you’ll always be human.”
“But people…”
“If you just wait for luck, you won’t make it. Keep going, kid. You’re special. Even if the road ahead is rough, good things will come if you keep moving…”
After saying that, the aunt vanished. No matter how much I searched or called out, she was gone.
Life got better after that. I survived by picking trash every day. Things were better, and I was satisfied.
“Kid, want to come with me? I’ll make sure you’re fed.”
While I was scavenging, someone said this to me. I ignored him, but he forcefully dragged me to a house.
After that, the man kept me under control. Every day, he’d take me to crowded places to beg, watching me closely. If he saw me trying to escape, he’d follow.
He’d beat me from time to time. People really are no good.
Whenever things got tough, I’d think of the aunt and what she said—keep going, and good things will come.
After a while, people passing by stopped giving me money, so the man took me somewhere else.
One day, he brought me to a mall to beg. I’d had enough. When I saw a chance, I ran, and the man chased after me.
He caught me and beat me in an underground parking lot.
“Stop!” A voice rang out behind me. I saw a man—he looked gentle, wearing a white short-sleeved shirt, but his face was furious.