A familiar voice broke Daniel’s concentration, making him turn around with a sense of alarm. Behind him, the mysterious old lady stood with her frail body, staring at Daniel with piercing eyes that seemed to penetrate deep into his soul. Her presence gave off a mysterious aura, making the hairs on Daniel’s neck bristle instantly.
The mysterious grandmother nodded towards the door of the house gently. “Come inside,” she said in a calm voice.
With cautious steps, Daniel walked towards the living room, followed by the mysterious old lady, who was behind him. They finally sat down in the living room, which was quiet but filled with an eerie atmosphere.
‘How did I get here?’ Daniel thought to himself, confusion clear in his eyes.
“I’m the one who brought you here,” the mysterious grandmother said in a calm voice, as if she could read Daniel’s mind.
“Who are you?” Daniel demanded, his voice cold and firm. “What is your purpose in doing this?”
His eyes stared straight at the mysterious grandmother, who had suddenly turned into someone he knew very well. Daniel felt his heart beat so fast, surprise and hatred merging into one. Emotions peaked within him, making him almost lose control.
In front of him, the mysterious grandmother slowly turned into a middle-aged man with a deep, sad expression on his face, staring regretfully at Daniel. The man was Emily’s biological father, a figure who had been an enigma in Daniel’s life.
“You killed my parents and even transformed into an old lady. What are you doing this for?” Daniel growled, his emotions overflowing without him being able to control them.
“I’m sorry. I killed your parents because I was in debt to that man, and that man would only let me go if I could kill your parents,” Emily’s biological father said with a trembling voice, his face filled with heartbreaking regret. His eyes turned red, holding back the tears that were about to come out as a sign of unstoppable regret.
“Just because you wanted to save your own skin, you sacrificed my parents?!” Daniel again growled forcefully, his voice echoing in the room. His facial expression reflected a mixture of overflowing anger and deep sadness.
“I’m sorry,” Emily’s father said in a trembling voice. “That man threatened to kill Emily too if I didn’t do that. My wife left Emily when she was young and I don’t even have the money to treat my daughter, who has a heart defect because of my poverty. I can’t possibly let my little daughter die at his hands.”
“Who is that man? Is it my personal driver?” asked Daniel, trying to connect the dots.
Emily’s father nodded weakly as tears began to roll down his cheeks. “After I escaped to Thailand, I thought he wouldn’t look for me again, but he found me and I ended up being killed by some of his men,” he said softly.
“He wasn’t just anybody. He was the head of a loan shark,” Emily’s biological father added in a trembling voice.
“Does that mean you’re dead?” asked Daniel, catching the answer from Emily’s biological father’s explanation.
“Yes,” replied Emily’s biological father. “He killed me in this forest. My soul can’t leave this world because my body still hasn’t been found by anyone,” explained Emily’s biological father, his voice filled with deep sadness. Just then, a bolt of lightning flashed from the dark sky, creating an even more tense atmosphere.
“I exchanged your souls because I was originally afraid that you would hurt my daughter because of your grudge against me,” Emily’s father replied.
“Because of what you did, your daughter is paying the price. She’s lying comatose in a hospital bed,” Daniel said in an angry tone.
“I know it was my fault, but there was something else that was the main reason. I deliberately swapped your souls to make you close so that you could let her go,” said Emily’s biological father.
“What do you mean?” asked Daniel, his face filled with confusion.
“Promise me you will leave my daughter immediately. Stay away from her or Emily’s life will be in danger if she gets close to you,” Emily’s biological father replied.
“You’re telling me to believe in a fate that isn’t necessarily true?” Daniel asked with his eyes full of hatred. After catching his breath, he continued. “After you separated me from my parents, exchanged my soul, now you want to deceive me by saying that we can’t be together? What trick are you up to this time?”
With steady steps, he stepped closer to Emily’s biological father, his intention to grab the man by the collar. However, as his hand tried to grab the collar of Emily’s biological father’s shirt, his hand pierced through Emily’s biological father’s body, as if through a vacuum. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t grab Emily’s biological father by the collar.
“I’m dead. You won’t be able to touch me,” Emily’s biological father explained. Daniel screamed hysterically as his eyes stared coldly at Emily’s biological father. His eyes stared hatefully.
“Stop saying nonsense. You’d better swap our souls back immediately,” Daniel ordered firmly.
“I will exchange your souls back, but on one condition, please let Emily go. You can’t be together,” Emily’s biological father explained. Another flash of lightning struck from the dark sky, adding to the tense atmosphere around them.
“You can’t be together or Emily will die. Please save my daughter,” Emily’s biological father said in a trembling voice, his eyes filled with tears. From his kneeling position in front of Daniel, he begged for forgiveness with regret. “From the moment she was born into this world, she has not had a happy life. Although I have wronged you for separating you from your parents, but can you fulfill this request of mine?”
“Do you think my past life was so happy? If it wasn’t for you and that damn driver, my parents wouldn’t have died. If it wasn’t for you, I would have never had feelings of love for your daughter. But after I loved her, you told me to let her go. Is it so much fun for you to play me?” asked Daniel, his hands clenched into tight fists.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not lying. You weren’t meant to be together.”
Hearing Emily’s biological father’s words that felt like real, a fear crept into his heart, he could not lose Emily a second time. “Alright, I’ll let Emily go. I promise you I will let her go. In exchange, please exchange our souls back as soon as possible. I can’t watch her lying helpless before me,” he replied, the fear of loss overwhelming him.
“Thank you for being willing to let Emily go. I’m sorry if I had to be selfish to see my daughter’s happiness. I’m also sorry that I caused your parents’ deaths. You can hate me and not forgive me,” Emily’s father said in a voice full of regret and sincerity.
“I sincerely wish you happiness in the future, Daniel,” Emily’s biological father said. A faint smile was etched on Emily’s father’s face, his eyes filled with deep sadness.
Before everything disappeared, a white light infiltrated Daniel’s subconscious. Everything he saw suddenly disappeared from his sight.
***
Emily woke up from her sleep and found herself holding a man’s hand in front of her. When she was fully awake, Emily finally realized that in front of her lay Daniel, with several monitors installed in the room.
“Daniel,” Emily said in a trembling voice, seeing Daniel lying weak and helpless before her.
“What happened?” murmured Emily, her memories starting to come back as she was in the passenger seat of the car. At that time, she was focused on the cell phone in her hand, when suddenly a truck hit her car. The memory of that tragic event made her gasp and choke, remembering at that time, her soul was still trapped in Daniel’s body.
Remembering what happened to her, Emily’s tears fell down her cheeks. The memories felt so frightening. When she turned to the side and saw Daniel lying helpless in front of her made her heart feel stabbed by thousands of needles. Her small hands grasped Daniel’s hand, who was lying on the bed.
“Shouldn’t I be the one lying here?”