The Jungle Ghost¶
Short Story
A long, long time ago, in a very, very far away place, deep within an ancient mist-shrouded forest, when the last ray of sunlight hid into the treetops, something else would silently awaken.
There was a band of incredibly brave men, their armor as bright as mirrors in the daytime, the swords in their hands sharper than the icicles of winter. But in this pitch-black jungle, courage was like a sugar cube melting in hot water — disappearing little by little, not even leaving behind a hint of sweetness.
"Run! Don't look back!"
They ran along a path overgrown with moss and tangled vines that twisted around their boots like snakes. The moon hid in terror behind thick clouds, not daring to glance down. The wind threaded through the treetops, as if whispering — as if making way for something.
No one ever saw what it looked like. It did not roar like a lion, nor howl like a wolf. It was like a cold wind that had never blown before, like a shadow that had never been cast. It was darker than the night, quieter than silence.
The man running at the very rear clutched a dimly glowing lantern. It was their only hope, like a single star in this boundless darkness. But in that very instant, the lantern's flame was snuffed out as if by an unseen hand — and the man holding it vanished along with it. No scream, no struggle, not even the sound of armor clashing. It was as if that man had never existed; he simply dissolved into the thick night, like a drop of water falling into the sea.
The man carrying the great shield had always believed that this shield at his back could block anything. But the moment he stopped abruptly, raised his shield, and turned around — a thin mist happened to drift past his feet. By the time the mist cleared, both man and shield were gone, leaving only a few crumpled fallen leaves on the ground bearing some unfamiliar shape.
Fear, like icy fingers, crawled up everyone's spine. They could only hear each other's heavy breathing, wheezing like torn bellows.
Two more vanished. They had run hand in hand, thinking that way they would never be parted. But that unseen force cut their connection as easily as snipping a lute string.
In the end, only one adventurer was left.
He kept running, gasping for breath, his boots filled with icy mud, his cheeks scratched into a tangled web of bleeding cuts by thorns. He could feel it — that thing was clinging to his back like a shadow. It was neither hurried nor slow, as if toying with the prey in its palm.
At last, the forest came to an end. He plunged headlong into an open grassland. The warm sun slowly rose, and the golden light dispelled the suffocating darkness.
The rising sun stretched his shadow long, very long. That long black shadow extended silently backward, all the way back into the gloomy forest he had just escaped — and at the far end of that shadow, a black figure was watching his back…
"And then?"
A childish voice asked.
The child stared with wide eyes, both hands tightly clutching the edge of the blanket, gazing in fear and curiosity at the gentle figure sitting beside the bed.
The mother gently closed the book in her hand, its cover slightly worn, and gave a mysterious smile.
"And then," her voice was as soft as humming a lullaby, "because dawn had come, and the monsters of the forest fear sunlight most — just as snowmen fear the stove — that adventurer was saved."
The child nodded as if half understanding, and shrank a little further into the warm blanket.
"Mama, is that monster really real? Is it truly like a ghost that no one can ever catch?"
The mother walked to the window and drew the gauze curtain.
"Of course it is real, my little treasure. It comes out specifically at night, to snatch away naughty little children who refuse to close their eyes when it is bedtime."
The child immediately squeezed her eyes shut tight. The mother walked back to the bed, planted a kiss on the child's forehead, and turned off the lamp.
The room sank into peaceful darkness, with only the moon outside the window, still like a silver eye, quietly watching it all.
"Only the disobedient children… will be taken away."