The Candle And The Boy

Ancient Shadows

Ren's breath froze as he held the bag he found under the wooden boards. The pictures and letters inside were old and torn at the edges, but what shocked him most was the picture of the Red-Faced Man, standing next to his mother. Ren couldn't explain what was happening. How could his mother be involved in this nightmare that was gradually swallowing him?

"What are these pictures? What is this man doing with my mom?"

His mind was buzzing with questions that he couldn't find answers to. He didn't know much about his mother's past, as she was always mysterious about her life before he was born. Whenever he asked her about the past, she would just give a mysterious smile and say, "There are things you shouldn't know now." Only now did he begin to understand that the past held dark secrets, secrets that could turn his life upside down.

Ren began to open the letters one by one. They were handwritten, and most were addressed to his mother from someone named Jung Hoon. It was clear that this man had played an important role in her life, but who was he? And why had she never mentioned him?

One of the letters was different. It was full of anger and threats. "You will pay the price someday, you can't escape your past." This last warning was written in large letters as if it had been done deliberately to terrorize his mother.

"Who is Jung Hoon? And what did my mom do?"

His mind was boiling. All these secrets that suddenly started to appear made him feel that there was something big that the world around him had been hiding. And as he browsed through more pictures, his eyes fell on another picture of the Red-Faced Man. This picture was different from the first one, where he was sitting on an old wooden chair in a place that looked like an abandoned cabin. But in the background, there was something familiar... their house.

"This can't be real... This man was here!"

Suddenly, Ren felt something cold touch his shoulder. He turned quickly, but there was no one there. Nevertheless, he felt a strange presence around him, as if the shadows themselves were watching him. The atmosphere became heavy, as if the room was hiding something dark waiting for the right moment to appear.

He looked at his mother who was standing by the window. She was watching him silently, her eyes still empty. He couldn't understand what was happening, but he felt he had to face the truth no matter how painful it was.

"Mom... who is the Red-Faced Man?"

But before she could open her mouth to answer him, the room suddenly shook. There was a sound coming from the lower floor, as if something big was moving in the darkness. Ren stood frozen, not knowing whether he should run or stay to find out what was happening. Everything around him was gradually turning into a nightmare.

"Ren, don't go down there..."

Those were the first real words he had heard from his mother since her appearance. Her voice was full of worry and fear. But for him, this warning was like an invitation to explore more. He had to know the truth, no matter the cost.

He headed towards the stairs leading to the lower floor, and each step made his body tremble more. The air in the place was unbearably cold, and the humidity made everything look as if it was old and abandoned for years. He opened the door that led to the basement, but the darkness was so thick that he couldn't see anything.

"This is where everything began..."

The familiar voice of the Red-Faced Man echoed in his ears again. It was very clear, as if he was standing beside him. Every part of his being was screaming at him to retreat, but his deadly curiosity pushed him forward.

He turned on his flashlight and began to explore the basement. The walls were cracked, and the floor was covered with dust. But he noticed something unusual in the corner: a small door, partially hidden behind a pile of old boxes. There was nothing in the house that indicated the existence of this door before.

He approached it cautiously and pushed the boxes aside. When he opened the door, there was a long dark corridor. It looked like a cave, with damp stone walls and an uneven floor. He crept inside, trying to discover what was beyond this secret passage.

At the end of the corridor, he found a small room lit by a dim light. The room was full of old paintings, and each painting depicted the Red-Faced Man in different positions. Some paintings showed him with his mother, and some showed him alone in abandoned places. There was something unnatural about these paintings, as if they were moving slowly as he looked at them.

In the middle of the room, there was a large old chest, locked with a rusty lock. Ren felt a strong desire to open it, but he hesitated for a moment. What could be inside this chest? Does it hold answers to all the questions that haunt him? Or will it reveal something worse?

"Open the chest, Ren..."

The voice was strong this time, as if it was an order that couldn't be ignored.