After a three-hour journey, I finally got off the first bus... The winding road made me dizzy. I was afraid I might throw up. Just in case, I should sit on a seat at the bus stand.'

I was still feeling dizzy. But something felt missing… like something I had with me was gone.

While checking my bags and clothes to see what was missing, it hit me: my purse was gone! It wasn’t on the bus; I distinctly remember putting it in my bag after getting off the bus. Damn it, my ID! There wasn’t much money in the purse, and I could use my phone for payments even without my bank card. But my ID… how could I go to the interview without it?

Oh my God, the black card I was supposed to give to my father… I put it in my purse, didn’t I? I remembered the lady, her menacing look… I got goosebumps. I remembered what she said at the end. Why did she tell me to be careful on my way home instead of just telling me to be careful? My heart rate increased again.

Whoa… whoa… take a deep breath… cool down… I told myself, trying to remember what happened after I got off the bus. Right, the person behind me when I got off the bus… he bumped into me, didn’t he, because his leg got tangled? I don’t even remember the guy’s face. Damn it, he probably stole my purse! Now it’s definitely gone.

I composed myself and used my phone to find the nearest police station. It wasn’t far, about 500 meters, in the same town.

As I reached the edge of the bus stand, I felt that feeling again… that something was missing. I stopped there, leaned against a wall, and closed my eyes.

Something inside me was telling me to go forward, like a compass always pointing north. When I opened my eyes, all I saw was a dustbin leaning against the wall. Why did I feel like I needed to go there? Could my purse be in the bin?

I casually checked the bin, and… it was my purse! The thief had dumped it in the bin!

I pulled the dustbin and grabbed my purse like a madman.

... ... .. .. ..

It was around 3 o’clock. I was hungry, so I grabbed some food from a restaurant and got on the next bus, having learned a valuable lesson in life. Since the thief only took the money from the purse, I decided he wasn’t a bad thief after all. Since my father told me he would come to meet me, I got on the next bus home.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

.... .. ..

In the car,

"What a day, Dad… at the funeral, a lady told me to give you this…" Knowing I was going to get scolded, I didn't tell my father about the card.

As soon as my father saw the card, he smiled.

"Don't think too much about what that lady said," he said, taking the card with a smile. "You have a big job to do starting tomorrow."

From my father's smile, I knew they knew each other well.

"My interview is tomorrow," I said, feeling annoyed that I had come all the way from the wake for nothing.

"You won't be going to the job anyway. For the next four months, you'll be working with me."

Oh no… it looks like I won’t be getting any sleep from tomorrow onwards…

....... .. ... ... ..

When I woke up, my father was still asleep, which was unusual. His desk was a mess. His laptop was open, and the desk was covered with old keys, Petri dishes filled with different colored powders, and a bunch of test tubes. Inside some of the test tubes was a blackish-green liquid that was still bubbling. And scattered everywhere were papers—not regular white A4, but some kind of old, parchment-like paper, some even with mold growing on them. I’d never seen anything like it before. I guessed my father had worked until dawn.

In my father's room, there was a trunk, about 2x3 feet in size. It looked heavy, with iron-like metal pieces attached to the corners. I’d never seen it before either. It was old and had strange carvings all over it. The carving on the lock looked like a dragon with sharp teeth. It looked like it had been brought in last night. I must have been asleep, but I didn’t hear anything.

Since my father was asleep, I decided to ask him about all this later. I quietly closed the door and went out of the room. It was after 8 o’clock. I needed to make something to eat, both for myself and for when my father woke up.

.. . . . ... .

Just as I finished making breakfast, my father woke up. We ate together.

"You can go to the interview if you want. Our work won’t start until evening anyway,” my father said, sipping his milk.

"So I can take the job?"

"Yes, I resigned from my job yesterday evening. It would be good for you to get some experience. Besides, our work is at night." Great… I won’t be getting any sleep from today onwards.

"Why did you resign from your job?" I was a bit confused; he’d been working there for over ten years.

"Your schooling is over now. I want to spend some time with you these days. I can easily find another job. I need to be free until at least next January. We don't have any money problems, do we?"

Hmm… without my mother, he worked very hard for the past few years. Now it’s my turn to help him.

"You can do whatever you want today. I'm going out for a bit; I’ll be back in the evening," my father said, getting up after finishing his meal and going to his room.

The way he said it made it sound like today was the last day I could do whatever I wanted.

After my father changed and left in his car, I thought about whether or not to go to the interview. What the hell! I didn’t stay at the wake and came home specifically for the interview, didn’t I?