C2

I am an atheist, Second Uncle didn't take his words to heart, and took this ornament back as his gift to me.

After returning to school, the Lao Er in my dorm saw the thing I was wearing. I took it off for him to see, and he lovingly played with it for a long time.

Seeing that he liked it so much, I was generous enough to give it to him.

Lao Er really liked it. He wore it every day, even when he was bathing.

One weekend one month later, I received news that while Lao Er was wiping the windows in his dorm room, because the windowsill was too narrow, he wasn't able to step on it and accidentally fell. Our dorm room was on the seventh floor, but he was completely unharmed.

As he later described it, he felt like he was done for when he fell, but when he was halfway down, he suddenly felt a cushioning force pulling him back. When he landed on the ground, his body felt soft, as if something had caught him.

No matter what the truth was, to be able to survive in this kind of situation was definitely a miracle.

I remembered the ornament that was given to Lao Er. I remembered that Second Uncle said that it was safe.

Was this a coincidence? Did that ornament really have a safe effect?

Carrying these doubts, I called Second Uncle and told him what had happened. I asked him, is this thing really that magical? Is it really safe?

Second Uncle smiled on the phone and said that he had the letter.

I didn't know what he meant by that, so I just chatted for a bit and hung up.

The days passed as usual. Ever since the incident where our dorm room's Lao Er fell from the building, he became even more fond of that small cage's ornaments. Because of this, he even borrowed money from his family to invite me to a restaurant to clean up, expressing his gratitude to me.

After a period of time, my father suddenly received a call from Second Aunt. He said that Second Uncle was very sick and that the situation was very critical.

I asked my father. A while ago, I was talking to him on the phone. What's wrong with him?

My father also shook his head, he said that even Second Aunt did not know what disease it was.

After holding a family meeting, I decided to take care of Second Uncle because I am the one who has the most free time right now.

To be honest, I really don't like it over there. Thinking about the babies in the bottles and jars, and the little boy covered in blood, I feel scared from the bottom of my heart.

But there was nothing I could do, Second Uncle was my close relative, so I had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree.

Two days later, he got on a plane and flew to the capital city of Delhi, heading straight for Baroda.

When we reached the Second Uncle's House, my aunt welcomed me with a worried look. I hurriedly asked the Second Uncle how he was doing.

She said she was all right for the time being and had put him in a cage.

What do you mean? I asked her. Why did you put my Second Uncle in a cage? Treat him like a beast?

At this time, her sister-in-law's eyes were already filled with tears. She said that this was Second Uncle's own request.

I really wonder, what disease did the Second Uncle have? Why did he put himself in a cage? With questions in mind, my aunt and I went up to the second floor.

Sure enough, there was a big iron cage that was a few square meters standing in the living room. Second Uncle leaned against the cage, as if he was asleep.

The current Second Uncle was no longer recognizable. The hair that he had combed till it was glossy was now in a mess. There was only one word to describe the disarray on his face.

He was wearing a pyjamas and had been cut in several places. It was obvious that he had torn them apart.

I was surprised when I asked my aunt, what had happened to him, how did he become like this?

She cried for a long time before she stopped, and told me in her broken Chinese that this disease of your Second Uncle's can't be cured by the hospital.

I told her, Don't worry, take your time.

She hesitated for a moment, then suddenly took off her robe.

I was about to stop her. Aunt, don't be reckless, I...

But before I could react, she revealed her own shoulders. There was a deep scar on them, making them look very frightening.

After showing me the wound, she put on her clothes again and lightly said that the Second Uncle had used a kitchen knife to cut this wound.

Looking at this, the astonishment in my heart could not be expressed in words. I asked her, "Did you guys have an awkward time?" How much hatred could he use a kitchen knife to hack at you?

Their relationship is very good, it's your Second Uncle that's been possessed.

I was even more surprised, and asked her, Why do you say that?

She said that a month ago, Second Uncle was already abnormal. At night, she would turn into a completely different person, and sometimes, when she was sleeping soundly, she would suddenly let out a "wail" and then sit up, touching her stomach, telling him that she was about to give birth.

Then, the Second Uncle's voice became more and more shrill, as if he was pinching his throat, causing goosebumps to form on his skin. After that, he started using the kitchen knife. If it wasn't for his wife blocking him, he would have long killed himself. It was precisely because of her blocking him that he suffered this wound on his shoulder.

The most frightening thing was that one night he hung himself up by a rope tied to the door frame, and when he came to his senses he could not remember what had happened, but when his aunt told him what had happened, he was so frightened that he insisted on locking himself in his cage.

But even in the cage he was dishonest, most often said, "I'm going to have a baby," "Give my child back."

He remembered that an old lady in our village would make a ruckus every day at two in the morning. After making a ruckus for nearly a month, people suspected that she was possessed, and only found out later that she was preoccupied because her next-door wife was looking for her to borrow some money, but she kept dragging it on and refused to return it. She was too embarrassed to ask for it directly, so she pretended to make a ruckus every night.

Thinking about this, I asked my aunt if Second Uncle had some sort of knot in her heart, but she didn't say it out loud.

Her aunt shook her head like a rattle. She said that Second Uncle was a straightforward person and never spoke timidly. He would never do such a thing.

I asked her. Was it getting worse?

She said yes, so she had no choice but to listen to him and be temporarily locked in a cage or else both of them would be in danger.

After I finished speaking, my aunt was already in tears. I hurriedly comforted her to not lose heart, I believed that Second Uncle would be fine, I will take care of him together with you.

My aunt nodded, as if my reassurance would make her feel better.

After a while, when she had calmed down, I asked her if there was anyone in the house before he had an abnormality. Or had he seen anyone? Think about it.

My aunt lowered her head and thought for a moment. Then, as if she remembered something, she looked up and told me that something had really happened …