Terrifying Holiday Trip: Nightmares, Clouds, Ruins, and Blood Red Bed Sheets (Day 1)

Today is September 1, 2017, and I’m about to enjoy an 8-day vacation. How should I spend these 8 days? Maybe head to the beach! After two long days and nights of trying to get tickets, I finally decided to take a bus to Qinhuangdao—Beidaihe and Nandaihe.

I set off at 7 a.m., watching the familiar scenery gradually fade into the distance. The traffic on the highway on October 1st was incredibly congested. As the bus crawled along, I eventually drifted off to sleep.

In my dream, I was still sitting on the bus, swaying gently. The October midday sun was still scorching, and it was hard to tell whether it was hot or cold on my skin. Looking up at the sky and the scenery, it all seemed so beautiful that it didn’t feel like this mortal world.

“Buzz~” Suddenly, my phone vibrated violently. I gently flipped it open and saw a message from the hotel I had booked. The words “River God Apartment” were bright red and striking. I was dazed for a moment. When I came to my senses, the originally clear sky had suddenly turned overcast, like ink that had bled, but heavy as lead, pressing down fiercely. Then came a downpour. After swaying for six or seven hours, I finally got off the bus at the Qinhuangdao bus station. In a daze, I found myself in front of a ruin—broken buildings, dusty glass, and signs with words like “apartment” and “hotel,” all rusted and worn. It was a ruin, but across from it, I could clearly see a clean room with a large bed covered in blood-red sheets, reflecting my image with an eerily strange smile.

“Buzz~” I jolted awake, disturbed by the vibration of my phone. Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I looked around. The bus was still stuck in traffic. The midday sun was a bit blinding, making me squint involuntarily.

I looked down at my phone and opened the message. It was from a resort apartment. The words “River God Apartment” were bright red and striking. This scene seemed oddly familiar. Instinctively, I looked up. At some point, the originally sunny weather had turned overcast. Listening to the scattered murmurs around me, I felt something was off, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

By the time the bus arrived at the station, it was already past 3 p.m. The journey that should have taken only four hours had stretched to six or seven. Braving the downpour, I dragged my suitcase and hailed a bright blue taxi. The driver was a woman who looked to be in her forties. After I told her my destination, she didn’t say another word. Another hour passed, and when the taxi stopped in front of a ruin, I was stunned.

“Miss, your place is across from here,” she said. Holding my luggage, I stood dazed in front of the ruin, looking at the abandoned apartment with its rusted sign and overgrown weeds. The scene suddenly overlapped with what I had seen in my dream.

Shakily, I turned around. Was the apartment with the blood-red sheets across the street? I was in a daze as the landlord welcomed me in. After completing the check-in procedures, I specifically requested a high-floor room facing the sea, because the room in my dream seemed to be on the first floor.

I opened the door and turned on the light. The first thing I saw was a large, king-sized bed covered in blood-red sheets.

“Landlord, can I get another room? I don’t like red.”

“Oh, miss! There aren’t any other rooms available. And this is the only set of red sheets we have. They’re brand new, actually. Don’t be so picky.”

“But~”

“Miss, it’s the Golden Week of October. It’s already a miracle that we have a room available. Just make do for a few days! I’ll change it for you as soon as a new one comes in!”

“Alright. Thank you!”

After freshening up, I stood in front of the large floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the gray horizon of the sea. In a daze, I thought I saw someone standing among the ruins below—a woman in a white dress with short hair. She was down there, and I was up here, but I could clearly feel that she was looking at me, and I was looking at her.

to be continued.......