~: Do Not Buy Eggs at Night :~
((Does not involve Xiu. Unless it is assumed that he is reading this story XD ))“Haven’t seen you around here before,” said the proprietor of a roadside eatery as he watched the youth polished up a plate of fried noodles and shrimps. “From the city?”
“Yes, boss,” said the young man as he slurped his iced tea.
“Here for business or pleasure?” the proprietor then asked as he gave the small car the youth had drove in a glance. The young man had come alone. It was unlikely that he would be here on a holiday and the proprietor’s guess was affirmed when the youth answered that he was here for the former.
“Oh? Then what sort of work do you do? You look rather young” the old man then asked, engaging in typical small talk common amongst the rural folks.
Smiling at the proprietor’s curiosity the youth replied that he had recently been employed as an electrical engineer and that he had been tasked with monitoring the performances all the communication towers his company had set up across the country. Once his work was done here, he would be moving on to the next tower on his list.
“It’s good to see so many young ones educated,” the old man said with a toothy grin. “Back in my days, only a handful of us were ever able to enter universities,”
The young man acquiescent with a small nod of his head. “I heard it was tough,”
“Yes, indeed. Back then there was only a single university in operation. Now, there are so many of them around. Which is a good thing, in my opinion. So where are you staying in the meantime?”
“I booked a room in a place called Hibiscus House Homestay. The GPS says that it isn’t too far away from here. Oh, do you know where there is a mini mart? There are a few things that I would like to purchase before checking in,”
“There is one along the way to Hibiscus House,” the old man said with a nod in its direction. “They sell pretty much all you need. You should be able to reach it before it closes for the evening,”
“Thanks,” said the young man as he got up to pay for his meal. As the youth was about to leave the old man hesitated before calling out “By the way, do not buy eggs if you are driving up to Hibiscus House in the evening,”
Cocking his head, the youth gave the proprietor a curious glance. “Is there something wrong with the house I am staying in?”
“Oh, no. the house is fine. It’s just that the road leading in to it is...keras, dirty,” said the old man with an uneasy look. “Best to not drive through it too late in the night too,”
“I see. Thank you for your advice,”
“Safe journey then,”
“Thank you,”
---
The sundry shop was located where the old man said it would be and David, the engineer bought himself some orange juice and a loaf of bread for tomorrow’s breakfast. As he was paying the cashier, the young man noticed a tray close by proclaiming to contain free range eggs. Forgetting the old man’s warning and fancying himself some fried eggs on toast for breakfast, David bought half a dozen eggs. Tossing them into the passenger seat of his car, the engineer then headed towards the Hibiscus House Homestay which according to the GPS, is mere fifteen minutes away.
As David drove through a rather narrow stretch of road leading to the refurbished wooden Hibiscus House, the young man fancied that he caught a whiff of...frangipanis. But the smell was fleeting and the young man soon gave it no thought. After all, he had other things on his mind. Like checking in and getting a good night’s sleep before work tomorrow.
It had been a long drive after all.
---
The clock on the wall showed that it was close to midnight but David could not sleep. Tossing and turning in his bed, the young man tried to make himself comfortable but to no avail. Something just felt...off.
Scratch, scratch, scratch…
There it was again. The incessant scratching that seemed to travel across the perimeter of the room. Up the walls and under the shuttered windows the sound of scratchings continued relentlessly. Occasionally there were even scramblings on the roof as though something quite large was making its way across it.
David was uneasy. Gingerly getting out of bed, the young man wondered if perhaps it was the work of a civet cat or some other rural creatures that were wont to wander close to homes in the countryside. He was fairly certain that it was not thieves as they would have broken in a long time ago if they had a mind to do so. No, it was probably an animal of some sort. He should not let this bother him as he had a long day tomorrow. Besides, the other occupants of the homestay seemed to not be bothered by it. Turning the lights off, David once again caught the scent of frangipanis. Feeling his skin prickle, the young man hurriedly dove under the blanket and hugged his bolster tightly for comfort. The morning could not be any slower in arriving.
The scent was cloyingly strong now. The whole room seemed saturated with it. Tossing in his bed, David opened his eyes a fraction and saw…
His bolster lying on the floor.
A soft feminine giggle could be heard as David felt his heart beginning to race. If his bolster was over there, that meant that what he was hugging…
A scream tore through the quiet household as the other occupants were jarred awake by the cry of fear. Running over to see what the issue was, the other tenants found a shivering David sitting on his bed. His clothes were ripped apart and there were several nasty slashes across his chest. The floral stench that permeated the room was now overpowering and several of the occupants gasped for air. Outside, a blood curdling laugh was heard and this drove several guests to their knees in prayer.
The police and ambulance were called for and David was taken to the nearest hospital to have his wounds treated. When questioned about the incident though, the young man could uttered a single word.
“Pontianak,”
