The Ghost in My Left Eye

My left eye can see ghosts.

My boyfriend took me home to meet his parents. I eagerly offered to wash the dishes, but some dish soap splashed into my left eye.

I covered my eye, looked up, and tried to say I was fine.

But then I suddenly realized, I couldnt see my boyfriends parents anymore.

On our first anniversary, my boyfriend, Caleb, suddenly suggested taking me home to meet his parents.

I was both excited and nervous because I knew this meant he was thinking about marriage.

I bought some gifts, and Caleb and I took the express train home.

Calebs family lived in the suburbs of a small, tier-four city in the north. The apartment complex looked somewhat desolate, and the property management wasnt doing a great job.

But Calebs parents were truly wonderful people.

They prepared a huge feast, barely eating themselves, constantly piling food onto my plate, and even slipped me a thick envelope of cash.

Their warmth made me a bit uncomfortable, so after dinner, I volunteered to wash the dishes.

Calebs mom, however, grew anxious.

Oh no, you cant! Youre our guest; Ill do them.

But I insisted, taking the dishes into the kitchen.

Auntie, you worked so hard making all that food; let me handle this.

Calebs mom still wouldnt let up, trying to take the dishes from my hands.

As I was squeezing out dish soap, her grab caused some to splash into my left eye.

Ow!

I bent down, covering my eye. Calebs parents panicked, and I heard his fathers voice.

Elara, are you alright?

I looked up, still clutching my left eye, trying to force a smile and say I was fine.

But I suddenly froze.

Because with only my right eye open, I suddenly realized that Calebs parents had vanished.

From a very young age, I noticed I could see things other children couldnt.

I could see my deceased grandfather smiling and waving at me, and I could also see a woman hanging in the study.

My parents noticed my unusual abilities and took me to a spiritualist. The spiritualist said I had a yin-yang eye.

But only one.

So my left eye could see spirits, while my right eye was a pure yang eye, incredibly strong with positive energy.

A pure yang eye meant that no matter what visible method a ghost used, my right eye couldnt see them; it could only perceive physical objects in the mortal realm.

The spiritualist told me that this yin-yang eye wasn't frightening. As long as I didnt provoke malevolent spirits, I wouldn't invite trouble.

As for distinguishing spirits, it was simple: I just needed to close my left eye and use my right eye to check if I could still see them.

After all, no ghost, no matter what, could manifest to my right eye.

So, growing up, every time I entered a new environment, I would secretly check with my right eye first to see if there were any unwelcome presences.

But today, I didnt do that when I came to Calebs house.

Because when I stepped into their home, I only saw Caleb and his two parents, and I naturally assumed there wouldnt be anything unsettling.

But now, with only my right eye, I couldn't see Calebs parents.

What did that mean?

It meant they weren't human.

A chill ran down my spine, and at that moment, I heard Calebs fathers voice again.

Elara, are you alright?

The kitchen was empty, yet the voice clearly echoed in my ears.

I suppressed a shiver and forced a smile.

Im fine, just a little dish soap.

I wiped my left eye clean and opened it. Sure enough, Calebs parents reappeared before me, looking at me with concern.

I pretended to rub my left eye, then used only my right eye to check again.

Calebs parents vanished once more.

My heart sank completely.

What happened?

A clear voice sounded, and I looked up to see Caleb had entered.

Calebs parents had already spoken, anxiously.

Elara got dish soap in her eye; we dont know if its serious.

Caleb immediately rushed to me, asking worriedly, Elara, are you okay?

But I didnt answer.

I just pretended to continue rubbing my left eye, while cautiously, I glanced at Caleb with only my right eye.

Caleb was still standing there, perfectly normal.

My tense nerves relaxed slightly.

Thank goodness, at least Caleb was still alive.

But the next second, I felt a little ridiculous.

Caleb and I lived together, intimately. If he wasn't alive, how could I not know?

Perhaps Calebs presence gave me some courage. I finally calmed down and smiled at Calebs parents.

Uncle and Auntie, Im fine.

Calebs parents visibly relaxed.

After washing the dishes, Calebs parents said they were going downstairs to buy fresh fruit for me.

Once they left, I began to probe Caleb.

From Calebs description, I learned that his parents were retired factory workers and rarely socialized with others.

That explained a lot.

If Calebs parents rarely interacted with people, it was normal for Caleb not to immediately discover if something happened to them and they suddenly passed away.

Caleb also told me that it was his parents who had suggested bringing me home this time.

My parents, for some reason, suddenly told me a few days ago that I absolutely had to bring you back. Maybe they wanted to meet their future daughter-in-law sooner.

Caleb said it with a smile, but I felt a growing sense of dread.

A few days ago?

His parents might have already been dead by then.

Two ghosts insisting on meeting me, what exactly did they want?

I looked at Caleb, suddenly realizing I had to tell him the truth.

So I spoke: Caleb, do you know, your parents are actually already dead.

Caleb froze for a moment, then he got a little angry.

Elara, thats not funny at all!

I knew he wouldnt believe me.

I could only tell him everything about my left eye being a yin-yang eye.

But Caleb still didnt believe it.

He hugged me worriedly: Elara, are you under too much stress lately? Do you need to see a therapist?

He probably thought I was crazy.

Helplessly, I spoke.

If you truly dont believe me, why not try this. Youve probably heard that scattering rice at the door can ward off spirits, right? Thats because rice can obscure the vision of ghosts, preventing them from seeing the location of the door.

If you truly believe your parents are alive, open the door and then scatter a handful of rice at the entrance. If your parents are alive, theyll be able to enter normally. But if your parents are ghosts, theyll think the door is closed and wont be able to find their way home.

Over the years, because of my yin-yang eye, Id learned quite a bit from the spiritualist, and it was coming in handy today.

Caleb still looked at me with disbelief, but at least he did as I said.

Not long after, the elevator bell chimed in the hallway.

Calebs parents were back.

They were carrying groceries and called out from the hallway.

Caleb, come out and help your dad with the fruit!

Caleb glanced at me, his expression seeming to say, See? I told you my parents are fine, didnt I?

Then he got up and walked towards the door.

But the next second, he suddenly froze.

Because he saw his parents walk up to the open front door, and their footsteps suddenly halted.

Immediately after, his dad shouted, Caleb, what are you doing? Open the door for us!

I saw Calebs face turn pale.

Because the door was clearly open.

Caleb spoke, almost trembling, Dad, were a bit busy here. Cant you just come in yourself?

His dads tone grew urgent: We have so many things in our hands! How can we open the door! Come here quickly!

I don't know if it was my imagination, but Calebs fathers voice suddenly sounded a little sharp, echoing continuously in the empty hallway.

Calebs face instantly turned even whiter. I quickly pulled him aside.

Caleb, I whispered, Its best not to provoke your parents right now. Just pretend you dont know anything.

With that, I walked out the door, subtly kicking away the rice on the ground, then pretended to open the door.

Uncle and Auntie, youre back.

Calebs father looked displeased: Why didnt you open the door just now?

He gave me a gloomy look, but I feigned a blush.

Caleb was keeping me occupied We didnt expect you to be back so soon

I lowered my head, feigning more shyness.

Calebs parents looked like they understood.

Young people! Calebs mother laughed, saying no more, then pulled Calebs father inside.

We awkwardly ate some fruit, then Caleb made an excuse about needing an early night.

Calebs house only had two rooms, and his parents werent old-fashioned, so they let Caleb and me share one.

I also breathed a sigh of relief; with two ghosts in the house, I wouldn't dare to sleep alone.

That night, under the covers, Caleb hugged me and whispered.

Elara, Ive thought about it. Even if theyre dead, theyre still my parents. I think they just couldnt let go of me, so they wanted to see my girlfriend before they left.

I felt a pang of sympathy.

Indeed, for Caleb, the loss of his loved ones was probably more painful than fear.

Caleb suddenly asked me again, But theres one thing I dont understand. Why can I still see my parents even though theyre ghosts? I dont have yin-yang eyes.

Ghosts have ways to make themselves visible, I whispered. Your parents must have deliberately used a manifestation method, but they didnt expect my right eye to be a pure yang eye.

Since his parents invited me home, they must have had a way to manifest. After all, they didnt know I had yin-yang eyes.

It was because they didnt expect me to have a pure yang eye that I discovered something was wrong with them.

I whispered again, I also hope your parents just wanted to see me, and not to harm anyone.

Caleb frowned, How do we know if they want to harm us?

I was silent for a moment before speaking: Ghosts are strongest in the middle of the night. If they intend to harm us, theyll probably act tonight. Conversely, if they dont bother us tonight, then we should be safe.

Caleb was about to speak when he heard my words, but just then

Knock, knock, knock.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door outside.

Accompanied by Calebs mothers gentle voice.

Caleb, Elara, are you asleep?