The Ghost of You

Chapter 4: Faye Malisorn

Lingling hurriedly gathered the scattered files from the dining and coffee tables, her movements quick and focused. Milk, always a light sleeper, stirred at the sound of the papers rustling.

"P'Ling?" Milk asked groggily, rubbing her eyes as she sat up.

"I'm sorry I woke you, Milk," Lingling replied without looking up. "I just... I need to check on something."

Lingling pulled out her laptop, her fingers flying across the keyboard as she typed in the name that had been haunting her thoughts all night: Tawan. Orm, who had been watching quietly, intrigued by the strange device she had never seen before, scooted closer to Lingling.

"What is that?" Orm asked curiously, her eyes wide as she leaned in to see the glowing screen.

"A laptop," Lingling explained briefly, her eyes fixed on the screen as she continued to type. "I'm trying to find more information about... about Tawan."

As the search results loaded, Lingling's heart skipped a beat. There were several historical articles and old newspaper clippings that referenced Tawan. She clicked on one of the links and began to read, her brow furrowing with each new revelation.

Tawan was a general back in the 1920s, the first-ever female general in the country's history. Her reputation was legendary—brave, strong, a commander who led with both intelligence and compassion. But the story took a dark turn. Lingling's eyes scanned the text, and she felt a chill creep down her spine.

However, at the age of 24, General Tawan went insane.

The words seemed to jump off the screen at her. She paused, her breath catching in her throat, before continuing.

She was accused of murdering the Sethranatapong family in a gruesome and bloody massacre. The entire family was slaughtered, save for one survivor—Orm Kornnaphat Sethratanapong, the only daughter. Tawan was never found after the killings.

Lingling's heart raced as her eyes scanned the name on the screen. "Orm..." she murmured, glancing sideways at Orm, who sat close by, her gaze fixed on the laptop, though it was evident that the information was foreign to her.

Orm's brow furrowed in confusion. "Sethranatapong... that's my family. But... killed? You...you said Tawan loved me...why would she do that?" Her voice trembled, the uncertainty and pain of her past creeping into the present, as if trying to reconcile the affection Lingling described with the horror written before them.

Lingling turned to her, her voice soft with sympathy. "I don't know, Orm," she said gently. "What we've seen, the memories we felt—they're filled with love. But this history says something terrible happened. Tawan loved you... I know she did. But something must have gone wrong. Something we haven't uncovered yet."

Orm's expression was clouded with grief and confusion. "Why would she kill my family and spare me?" she asked quietly, her voice barely above a whisper, as if the words themselves were too heavy to fully speak.

Lingling hesitated, her thoughts racing. "Maybe she didn't," she finally said, her voice steady despite the storm of thoughts in her mind. "Maybe something—or someone—else caused this. It could've been Ira, or something we haven't seen yet. We're missing pieces, and this story isn't what it seems."

Milk, now wide awake, sat up, rubbing her eyes as she chimed in. "P'Ling's right. There's more to this. What if someone—like Ira—twisted Tawan's love? Or manipulated her into doing something she didn't want to do?"

Lingling's eyebrows knitted together as she reread the article, trying to make sense of it. "According to this, Tawan didn't just murder your father, mother, she also murdered your maids, and everyone that is in your house. Then this article...." Lingling pauses and she opens the other tab with the article of Orm suicide "You killed yourself because your lover murdered your family."