The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 660: Older Sister and Younger Brother

Inside the old, rundown rented flat with two bedrooms and one living room, an older sister and her little brother were having dinner. There were three home-cooked dishes on the table: green pepper and meat stirfry, steamed egg, and stir-fried julienned potato.

The older sister was twenty-three years old. She wore a sweater with black and white stripes with her hair tied up and a pair of black-rimmed glasses perching on her nose. It seemed that she wasn’t one for fashion.

The younger brother was fourteen with a delicate face and a frail body. Dressed in middle-school uniform, he ate with his head low.

The sister picked up two pieces of meat and put them in his bowl. Then she gave him a spoonful of steamed egg. “Have more sides and less rice, or you won’t grow taller.”

“Yeah.” The brother continued to focus on eating.

“Have you drunk your milk?”

“Yeah.”

The sister stopped talking. She ate and calculated her income for the month and the living expenses of the family.

“I’m full.” The brother lowered the bowl and chopsticks, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Alright, go do your homework.” The sister talked like a parent.

“It’s your birthday tomorrow, Sister.”

She paused. She had forgotten about it, but she didn’t really care. She continued eating.

“Why don’t I celebrate your birthday for you?”

“That won’t be necessary. I need to go to the funeral home. Two bodies have been sent this afternoon. I have to touch them up tomorrow.” After graduating from college, the sister became a mortician at a funeral home.

She could’ve found a job with a lower workload and less stigma, but being a mortician paid well.

The brother lowered his head and spoke with regret, “Why don’t you resign, Sister? I’ve talked to Auntie Liu next door. I can help her at her late-night food stand. She’ll pay me every month...”

“What are you talking about? You should be focusing on your study!” The sister cut him off, her tone severe.

“I promise that I won’t let it affect my study...”

“No. You’re young. Auntie Liu will be exploiting children by hiring you. If someone finds out, she’ll even lose her business. Do you want to do that to her?” The sister mixed truth with lies to intimidate her brother from the idea.

The brother’s shoulders sagged. “Alright.”

The sister put down her bowl and chopsticks, softening her voice. “Don’t worry. I’m doing well, really. At first, I didn’t like the job that much, but I changed my mind. It feels good to help the dead depart from the world with dignity.”

She smiled. “Last month, a middle school girl around your age passed away in a car accident. She was dragged across the road for a few meters. When she was sent to me, her face...”

She stopped herself. “Anyway, I spent days fixing her face and allowed her to bid farewell to her family, friends, and classmates with a pretty appearance. After that, her parents came to me and thanked me while crying. I felt such a sense of achievement then...”

The brother broke into a smile. “You’re awesome, Sister.”

“Yeah, remember that.” She laughed too, picking up her bowl to continue eating.

“You aren’t coming home today, are you, Sister?”

“I’ll be too busy to. I’ll stay the night at the funeral home.”

The brother nodded, eyes flickering. “I prepared a birthday gift for you, Sister. I’ll...give it to you now.”

The sister paused before giving him a resigned smile. “Is it a gift if you bought it with my money? You should spend the money on study materials.”

“I earned the money myself, Sister.” The brother sounded excited.

“Oh, how?” She was curious.

The brother said bashfully, “Tee-hee, I did my classmate’s homework for a week...ow!”

The sister knocked him in the head with the chopsticks. “Don’t ever do that again! You weren’t helping them, but harming them. You get it?”

“He would’ve found someone else to write his homework even if I hadn’t offered. Might as well let me earn the money.” The brother argued while rubbing his head.

The sister snapped, “Stop talking back! I don’t care about other people, but you must not do this again. Alright?”

“I get it now.” The brother fumed. He shot to his feet and turned to leave.

“Wait, where are you going?”

“The money’s dirty. Then the gift is too. I’ll throw it away.”

“You...sit down!” The sister called out nervously.

The brother came back and sat down, head drooping in dejection.

“The gift hasn’t done anything wrong. It’s innocent!” She stared at him and suddenly laughed. “Alright, alright. I shouldn’t have scolded you. Give me the gift.”

The brother couldn’t help but laugh too. He took out a wrapped little box from his pocket. “Here!”

“What is this?” The sister was a little caught off guard. “It’s not a ring, is it? That’s a gift for your girlfriend, not your sister. But you shouldn’t date anyone when you’re so young.”

“Stop nagging me and open it.”

She unwrapped the gift and saw a white square box.

“What is this?”

“Contact lenses,” the brother said proudly. “Rimmed glasses are out of fashion now, Sister. Contact lenses are the trend... I remember your prescription. -3.00 for the left eye and -2.75 for the right eye. I get the right lenses for you.”

The sister knew about contact lenses. She looked up at him. “Why did you get this for me?”

“Stop wearing your glasses, Sister. My classmates say you’re pretty, especially your eyes, but you always have your glasses on and pull a long face like everyone owes you money. That’s why you can never get a boyfriend.”

“You asking for a beat-up?” She pretended to be angry.

“Haha, I’ll go do my homework.” He ran into his room with a smile.

The sister looked at the box of contact lenses in her hands, feeling her chest filled with warmth. She turned around and called out to her brother’s room, “Thanks for the gift, little brother. I like it a lot.”

There was no response.

Her heart sank. She had an ominous feeling. She called out again, “Do you hear me, Brother?”

A shadow emerged from the room and poured on the floor. It looked strange.

“Brother?”

Realizing something was wrong, the sister shot to her feet and rushed toward her brother’s room, but came to a stunned halt.

Her brother walked out, but he was now covered from head to toe in green hardy scales, and his small figure had increased to two meters in height, dragging a slick, slimy tail behind him.

His face was covered in grayish-green fleshy lumps that writhed strangely like they were alive. His eyes were now a pair of golden marbles. And his mouth split to the sides of his jaw, his teeth replaced by sharp fangs.

Only remnants of her little brother were left.

He opened his mouth and drooled brown saliva as he mumbled in a rough voice, “Sister, do you like...my gift for you...”

...

Vermilion Bird opened her eyes and woke up on the sofa in the Black Tortoise branch’s breakroom.

It was seven in the evening, and night had fallen outside the windows. Vermilion Bird and One Stone had taken Ke Yo to the Walled City of Ten Dragons to meet the other teammates. They chatted for the entire afternoon, and Vermilion Bird was tired. She took a nap. She would wake up for their dinner gathering.

It was now seven, yet no one had fetched her for dinner.

Buzz. Her phone was vibrating in her pocket. That was what had woken her up.

She picked up the call. “Hello...”

“Something’s wrong! Come help us!” One Stone shouted.

“Where are you?” Vermilion Bird was suddenly wide awake.

“The barbecue place... Boom! Beep, beep, beep...”

There was a loud noise. Then the call cut off.

“Hello? One Stone? One Stone! Dammit!”

She grabbed her coat and rushed out the window.