Sweat poured down his face even though he was in a cold air-conditioned room, and the blanket was curled up and tangled around his ankles, Wit, a 23-year-old man, jumped up onto the bed with all his remaining strength. He almost shouted if it weren't for his girlfriend Prao telling him off first.
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"Again...! Daydreaming alone again...!"
She said as she turned to her side as if this was normal. Prao didn't care much for her boyfriend. Perhaps because it was so late at night, sleeping continuously would be more enjoyable.
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Which was completely opposite to Wit!
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"No Prao! This is not a normal dream!"
He swallowed his saliva in his throat.
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"It's too strange... How can someone dream about the same thing over and over again for months...?"
"No! To be precise, it's a continuous dream. The scenes and events became clearer and clearer. The people I saw, the things they said, became clearer until I started to get scared.."
The young man could no longer stand sitting on the bed. He chose to stop his distraction by rubbing his palms against his face, letting the sweat stop. He immediately leaned down to grab the blanket and cover his girlfriend.
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She was curled up like a child, not knowing that her lover was very anxious. Wit walked out to the back of the balcony of the room. His rented apartment was on the 3rd floor of the building. It was high enough to peek out and see the view of the orange lights, the skyscrapers that were rising up and alternating with the zinc roofs of the slums. His status was not bad, judging from the e-cigarette he was smoking. Even though he was just a factory worker, he had enough to eat. The only bad thing was this scary dream that haunted him until he was close to depression.
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"Phew...!!!"
Frying out a puff of white grape-scented smoke from the port. Its spiral coiled and climbed up, contrasting with the dark black sky on a moonless night. Sleepy to the point of death, but Wit was too scared to close his eyes. He knew with all his heart that it would come again. That woman, the howling curse, and the old wooden house that looked like an ancient hip roof.
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"Fu...!!, Fu...!!"
He blew smoke to dye his heart again, but this time, it seemed like the fear had crossed the border beyond his dreams. Suddenly, the young man who had not slept much began to see swirls of smoke woven into shapes. It looked like the body of a woman in a white robe, like a long-haired ghost slowly staring at him and floating high into the air.
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The dark eyes were dark as if he was losing his mind. This was a third-story building. If he did something rash like throwing a punch, bad luck might cause him to fall off the balcony. When consciousness came, wisdom arose and his mind went astray, problems would arise. Wit could only pray for this and immediately changed from raising his fists to clasping his hands together and praying for loving-kindness!
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"Buddhang Arahang Thamang Arahang Sangkang Arahang..etc."
"Go and be reborn. I don't know you guys. What did I do to you.. Please.. Go to a place you like~"
"Amen.. Amen..~"
"Buddhang Arahang Thamang Arahang Sangkang Arahang..etc."
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Close your eyes tightly, your hands clasped together, shaking. Wit's lips bit together into a blood clot. The e-cigarette in his hand fell to the ground at some point. But what he knew was that in a split second, his thick body collapsed along with him. The young man was as exhausted as he had been having sex with his girlfriend in the doggy-talkie position. His legs were weak and his face was pale. He squinted at the smoke that was slowly fading away..
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He might still be dreaming. He might be in a dream within a dream. When he realized it, it was early morning. The first voice she heard was not a woman with a grudge, but Prao's voice, who woke up to use the bathroom.
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She pulled Wit up with her little strength. After that, she cursed him for what he was doing sleeping here. Mosquito bites were all over his body. She quickly got up, took a shower, and got dressed, or she would be late for work. A leader must learn to be responsible for his duties. If he acted disorderly like this, no subordinate would listen to him. The factory rules would be the boss who broke them instead.
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Blah blah blah, as is typical of women. Imagine that even after grabbing a towel to go into the bathroom next to the balcony, Prao still complained nonstop. She complained to Wit while still holding a toothbrush in her mouth. But this was what saved Wit. He didn't feel annoyed at all. On the contrary! It was because of it that he knew that at least he had returned to the real world.
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"This isn't a dream... I've escaped from that woman."
The back of his rough hand was covered with mosquito bites. The young man bent down to pick up the e-cigarette port. Telling himself that he would be careful not to smoke this at night again.
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A semi-concrete, half-metal building stood tall in front of him. Inside, dozens of conveyor belt machines were installed, in the style of an ISO-standard tannery. Every part would flow out along the production line. Here, there were dozens of chemical ponds, a sterilization room, a bleaching plant, everything related to leather production was installed here. The only thing was that Prao and Wit were not the owners.
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They were just employees in better positions. Prao was an accountant and Wit was the production manager. They received a slightly higher salary than the employees on the conveyor belt. However, their positions were quite good because everyone called Wit "the boss". This made him feel proud of his work and wanted to go to work every day without getting bored.
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And at present, Wit and Prao were only one traffic light away from the factory entrance. They were sitting in the official car that the factory had provided as a welfare benefit. The number on the red light said 220 seconds, which was long enough for the woman to use her mischievous eyes to look for any strange objects. Before he could say hello
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"You don't look fresh today..?"
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"Of course.. I barely slept. You even scolded me for sleepwalking."
Wit squealed loudly back, his eyes fixed on the countdown numbers in the middle of the intersection.
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"Come on.. You still look better than that old man who sells garlands. Roll down the window and wave to Uncle. I want to change the garland to the altar in the office. "
Prao tried to do what she always did. The only difference was that before, the garland sellers were young men or women. It seemed like the seller had changed today.
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And as soon as Wit rolled down the window and was about to wave to call out in exhaustion, in the sunlight that was starting to get intense, believe it or not, his corner of his eye caught sight of her again! That woman! The one he saw in his dream! That's not Uncle! It was slowly walking towards the car. Wit tried to look back at Prao, but the young lady didn't seem to notice anything. To her, he was just an old uncle. But to Wit, this woman was the one who held a grudge against him every night!
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"No need to buy it! Go! I'm going to run the red light like this!!"
"Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
Wit shouted, immediately shifting the gear and stomping on the gas pedal. He couldn't take this perverted and twisted story anymore!
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"Brrrrrrrr!!!"
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"Gosh!!!!"
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Fortunately, it was too late. The flower seller was standing close to the mirror. Prao was so kind when she chose to roll down the window via the control panel on the passenger side. The result of her actions made Wit feel cold all over. His pupils were dizzy and his heart beat like a drum.
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Prao saw that it was a kind uncle with a dirty body. Wit himself could see the dirtyness, but the person under the clothes was a woman whose face was covered with hair. Half of her body was scarred and the other half was burned. She had no feet. When she looked through the hair covering her face, she saw only blood overflowing from her eyeballs. Murderous intent surged. Wit was a million percent sure that this was the same thing he encountered every night.
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The noisy behavior must have annoyed Prao. That's why she pressed the button to lower the window again. Before shouting across the river with a half smile to the vendor for a garland, Wit couldn't stop his lover in time. He was shaking too much to show his leadership. And as soon as the window on his side moved down a fraction of a millimeter, the gust of wind outside hit his cheeks. The horn from the car behind him rang out! The sound of metal clashing like dominoes from behind! Prao screamed loudly when she looked behind and saw something?!
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"Eekkkkkkkkkkk! Wit! Run away!!!"
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Not even moving, the young man was as still as a wax figure. In a moment that seemed to be at its most critical, Wit's last thought was like the smell of incense.
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"Where did the incense come from? It smells like the smell of incense at a funeral!"
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"Wit!!!! Watch out!!!!"
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"Screech!!!!"
"Bumpmm!!!"