Shadow's Companion

"When I went out that day, I didn't notice anything wrong. Everything was normal."

"Then, there were a few more times... At first, I saw it in the mirror, but later it wasn't the mirror anymore..."

"Not the mirror?"

"Yeah! It was like a glass window! Our school classrooms have windows facing the corridor. The top half is transparent, and the bottom half is frosted glass. You definitely can't see reflections in that; at most, someone leans against it, and you can see a shadow on the other side. I... when I walked past the corridor, I felt... I felt like every classroom had a shadow following me."

"I checked, and there was absolutely nothing like that."

"Did you two walk together?"

"Yes, we were together. Our classroom is in the middle of the building. To go to the restroom, to go to and from school, and to change classrooms, we have to pass two classrooms, about... four of those windows. Xiao Rui always said something was following her. I looked. Sometimes I saw classmates from those classes leaning against the window, and there was a shadow. I thought she was talking about that. At that time, she hadn't told me about the mirror yet."

"After you told Miss Duan, Miss Duan confirmed that the shadows you perceived disappeared at that time?"

"Ah... this... it seems so. After I told her, it got better."

"Now, when I'm with her, I tell her there's nothing suspicious around, but I can't always be with Xiao Rui..."

"Besides that? Were there any other phenomena?"

"I don't know how to say it. Maybe... maybe after seeing it once, I became overly suspicious."

"It's okay, you can tell us any feeling you have."

"My home, between my balcony and living room, there's a floor-to-ceiling window. Some clothes are hung to dry inside the balcony."

"Mhm."

"The clothes just hang there. When the sun is good, the shadows of the clothes fall on the living room floor."

"Mhm."

"I... I felt like that shadow was staring at me... Not just the shadow, but the clothes too! The wind should have been blowing the clothes, making them sway, but I felt like the clothes turned 180 degrees, following me... I went from the bedroom to the kitchen, and it turned 180 degrees to follow me! Those ordinary hangers, hung like this, it's impossible for them to turn 180 degrees!"

"Yes."

"And the roadside greenery, those small trees that are this tall."

"Shrubs?"

"Yes, just shrubs. When I passed by, I also felt like something was staring at me."

"This time it was a feeling?"

"Yes! The hair on the back of my neck stood up. I was so scared I started running, and there was a rustling sound from the bushes beside me, following me. Then I ran all the way to the end, to the intersection. The light was red, but there were still bushes to turn. I wanted to cross the road, to go around from the side. Just as I turned, I was suddenly bumped!"

"Xiao Rui..."

"I... I almost got hit by a car... I almost fell on the road and got run over by a car..."

"The thing that bumped Xiao Rui that time was a stray cat. It had been following Xiao Rui, and when Xiao Rui was about to cross the road, it jumped out from the green belt and bumped her. At that moment, a scooter turning the corner almost ran over Xiao Rui's head..."

"Mhm. What did that stray cat look like? Did you catch it?"

"Wuwu..."

"No, it escaped long ago. Xiao Rui didn't see it either; it was the scooter driver who said it. He was also startled."

"So, this time, the entity had a physical form?"

"Mhm, not just this time. Xiao Rui said that the dogs in the neighborhood, stray cats, and sparrows she encountered on the road, she finds them all strange now. I... I think they look normal..."

"Then, have you encountered similar dangers?"

"No, they just stared at me..."

"Miss Zheng, before you encountered this situation for the first time, did you do anything special?"

"Wuwu... Huhu-- Special things?"

"For example, did you go to a graveyard? Did you see a dead person? Or did you go to a murder scene?"

"No, I didn't go to places like that!"

"Don't get agitated. Based on our experience and knowledge, there's a reason you're encountering this. The root cause might be a small matter you overlooked. Please recall carefully, what did you do before this?"

"I don't know... I really don't know..."

"Miss Duan? Do you have any recollection?"

"No, I don't remember us doing anything out of the ordinary. Just going to and from school, going out to play."

"What about your family? Have any family or friends had paranormal experiences?"

"No, our family is very normal."

"If there are no clues, we can only conduct a thorough investigation."

"Don't you have any special methods? Like a Ouija board, or a spirit board..."

"Miss Duan, we are an agency, not a spiritual medium shop."

"What the heck... How long will this take to investigate? Xiao Rui is in a bad way right now!"

"If you can provide more clues, we can have a clear investigation target."

"Miss Zheng, if it's convenient, can we visit your home? The first time you had this feeling was in your bathroom, right?"

"Mm. My... my parents don't know I'm looking for you. Can you come when they're not home?"

"Yes."

"This is a protective charm made by our agency. Please wear it for now."

"What is this?"

"A protective charm."

"What..."

"Could you please write down where you went and what you did before these incidents occurred?"

"There's so much... and I can't remember it all."

"Did you keep any receipts or take any photos?"

"Some, I think..."

"Just write down as much as you can for now."

December 4, 2013: Investigated background of the client. Confirmed no abnormalities among immediate family members.

December 5, 2013: Visited the client's middle school. Investigated and confirmed the school was established in 1953. It underwent several reforms, becoming Huangnan District First Middle School in 1998. Total teacher and student deaths: 21. Of these, 5 died in an off-campus car accident in 2001, 3 committed suicide at the school, 7 died in various car accidents, and 6 died from different illnesses.

Additionally, investigation revealed 3 supernatural legends within the school, none related to "shadows," "surveillance," "mirrors," or "animals."

December 6, 2013: Investigated the client's current residence. Confirmed no resident deaths have occurred in the dwelling.

December 9, 2013: Ruled out Huangnan District First Middle School as a point of suspicion. All 21 deaths showed no abnormalities.

December 12, 2013: Investigated the client's whereabouts for the past six months.

Attachment: List.

December 13, 2013: Investigated Duan Shishi's whereabouts and background for the past six months. No leads found yet.

December 14, 2013: Received a call from the client. Call recording: 201312141931.mp3.

"Hello."

"Hello, Ms. Zheng."

"Um, my parents are going out this weekend. Can you come tomorrow?"

"Okay. Can we come early? Preferably before you usually get ready in the morning?"

"Ah? Oh, then... then how about the day after tomorrow? They're going on a trip tomorrow morning. You can come the day after. The time I saw... was at a quarter past six in the morning."

"Then we will arrive at your home at five-thirty the day after tomorrow."

"Mm, okay."

December 16, 2013: Traveled to the client's residence. Audio file: 07820131216.wav.