Once Dad had fallen asleep and there was no sound, I grabbed a shovel and quietly headed to the backyard to dig up the empty grave!
The grave wasn’t very deep and in just about ten minutes, I had it open.
When I pulled the diary out of the backpack, I quickly stuffed it into my clothes, then hurriedly filled the hole back up before running back to my room.
I shut the doors and windows, hiding in my room with eager anticipation as I opened the diary.
It was indeed written in Dad’s handwriting.
The first twenty or so pages were his records of everything that happened in Pinehill.
In the diary, he wrote that he had entered Pinehill without much trouble and on the way, he had met another exploration team and joined them.
They had planned to visit the uncharted ruins of the ancient Elwood City, so they changed their route halfway through.
For a long time after that, Dad didn’t write in his diary again. There was a large blank section in between.
When he finally resumed writing, I saw that he had written something horrifying in blood.
“Evelyn! If you can see the diary left by your dad, run! Your mom is no longer your mom… Run, do you understand!”
The trembling blood-red words were deeply etched into my heart. I shuddered in fear and the diary fell to the ground.
Immediately, a photograph slipped out.
The background of the photo was a dusty, twilight-colored desert landscape. In the distance, the ruined remains of the ancient Elwood City stood.
Amongst the swirling sand and dust, a female corpse was buried. The face of the corpse had been gnawed away by beasts, making it unrecognizable. But the clothes on her body were familiar to me and the bracelet on her hand was unmistakable. It was the same bracelet I had bought for my mom when I went on a trip with my classmates four years ago, engraved with a laser-etched message that subtly expressed my love for her. But how could that bracelet be found in Pinehill?
Who was that female corpse?
My mind was full of questions and my nerves were stretched to the breaking point.
I didn’t snap out of it until I heard a knock on my bedroom door.
“Evelyn? Are you asleep? Why did you lock the door?”
Dad turned the doorknob a couple of times, sounding urgent, completely different from his previous gentleness.
“Evelyn, open the door!”
“Evelyn, what are you doing hiding in there? Are you taking a nap at home and locking the door in front of your dad?”
“What on earth are you doing? Did you hide a man in your room? Are you dating already? You waited until I was asleep to bring someone home? You're showing no respect for your father at all!”
The more he spoke, the more agitated he became. He violently twisted the doorknob and began kicking and banging on my bedroom door like mad. I was so terrified that I didn’t dare to move.
I tried to call my mom in fear, but her phone kept saying: “The number you dialed is unavailable.”
The next second, Dad forcibly broke open the door.
Just moments before, I had hidden the diary. I watched as Dad stormed in with a ferocious expression, scanning my room in anger.
“Where is he? Where is he!”
“Evelyn, where did you hide that filthy man?”
I didn’t even dare to breathe, only cried in silence.
“I... I don’t know what you’re talking about, Dad. There’s no one here. I was just taking a nap.”
“You need to lock the door to nap?”
Dad shot me a cold look and said, “Next time, don’t lock the door again, understand!”
Curled up, I nodded and agreed. Dad suddenly smiled and reached out to pat my head.
“Good girl. That’s my sweet Evelyn.”
As he touched my head, I caught that foul smell again.
