The Secret Her Kidney Kept

During my eight-month pregnancy checkup, the doctor told me that the baby in my belly only had one kidney.

Every year since then, I'd take my daughter to the hospital for follow-up examinations.

Today I brought her to the hospital as usual.

The doctor moved the probe back and forth across both sides of my daughter's waist.

"Both kidneys look fine. No issues."

I suddenly sat up straight, staring at the monitor above the machine.

"Doctor, are you sure both kidneys are intact?"

The doctor nodded at me again.

"Good health is a good thing, isn't it?"

Good health was indeed a good thing, but my daughter was born with only one kidney.

Were the kidneys fake, or was the daughter lying on the examination table fake?

This couldn't be wrong.

When I was eight months pregnant, the doctor had told me.

The child in my belly was missing an organ.

As a first-time mother, I was terrified, thinking it might be something vital like the heart or lungs.

But the doctor said it was just a missing kidney, which wouldn't really affect her life that much.

Worried I'd be too concerned, the doctor even told me the gender outright.

"Girls use less physical strength. Just be a bit careful in daily life."

I thought about how a few years ago, some people were willing to sell a kidney just to buy the latest smartphone.

So missing one kidney probably wasn't a big deal.

After my daughter was born, I told her the truth.

On one hand, I hoped she would pay more attention to her body.

On the other hand, I wanted her to accept this reality from a young age, so she wouldn't be unable to cope with it when she grew up.

"Evelyn, you absolutely cannot tell anyone about the kidney. Only you, Dad, and I know about this."

I often reminded Evelyn that she couldn't tell even her best friend.

She always answered me very seriously.

"Don't worry, Mom. Even if someone offered me a hundred million dollars to talk, I wouldn't say a word."

I suddenly snapped out of my memories, staring at Evelyn lying on the examination bed.

She took the tissue the doctor handed her and wiped her body.

"Mom, I told you there's nothing wrong with my body."

"You just worry too much."

The tone was definitely Evelyn's, even the way she furrowed her brow was identical.

I swallowed hard and asked tentatively.

"Evelyn, did you hear what the doctor said? Both kidneys are fine."

Evelyn tossed the tissue into the yellow trash can, then looked up at me.

"Mom, my ears are fine. I heard clearly."

"Everyone has two kidneys. Are there people with three kidneys?"

She really didn't know about having only one kidney.

But if she wasn't Evelyn, who could she be?

Evelyn turned around, straightening her dress.

I stood behind her, watching her every move.

Height, build, movements---this was my Evelyn.

And the white hairs faintly visible on her head.

Everything before my eyes told me she was my daughter.

Could the kidney have grown back recently? How could such a strange thing happen?

I reached forward and touched the top of Evelyn's head.

"Your white hair is growing back. Find some time to dye it."

Evelyn turned around and touched the spot on her head.

"Mom, if you hadn't reminded me, I would've forgotten about this."

"I'll go after my birthday tomorrow."

She remembered about dyeing her hair, and she remembered tomorrow was her birthday.

But how could she forget the most important thing?

Back home, I sat on the sofa, pretending to be casual as I asked Evelyn, who was playing on her phone.

"Evelyn, do you still remember our biggest secret?"

Evelyn quickly put down her phone and moved closer to me, then covered my ear with her hand, letting out a giggling laugh.

"Of course I remember."

I clenched my fist.

"Then tell me what it is."

Evelyn deliberately pressed her lips together, trying to be mysterious, but seeing my serious expression, she spoke.

"Dad has a mistress behind our backs. You told me not to tell anyone."

My body suddenly went limp, and I became even more certain that the person in front of me wasn't Evelyn.

I had indeed warned her not to tell others about her father's affair, but in truth, the news had long spread among relatives.

Our biggest secret was about her body.

This Evelyn didn't know the secret about her body, but seemed to know everything else clearly.

What was going on?

Where had the real Evelyn gone?

After the Evelyn at home fell asleep, I sat on the sofa, trying to recall recent events.

After graduating high school, Evelyn had been accepted into the city's medical university.

Because it was close to home, she basically came home once a month.

I would also take her to the hospital for checkups periodically.

But this time, she said the school suddenly had an important experimental project she needed to participate in, which would take some time.

It had been almost six months since her last visit home.

So this checkup had also been delayed.

But aside from this, everything else seemed normal.

When she came home, she still brought me gifts as always, and shared what was happening at school as usual.

I sat on the sofa until dawn.

When Evelyn's bedroom door opened, I suddenly came back to my senses.

She was already wearing a brand new, form-fitting athletic outfit.

"Mom, did you stay up all night?"

"Come on, let's go for a morning run."

Without giving me a choice, she pulled me toward the door.

I did have a habit of morning runs, and every time Evelyn came home, she would wake up early to accompany me.

I pulled my wrist free and stood at the entrance.

"Mom's outfit isn't comfortable for running. I need to go back to my room and change."

Evelyn nodded and waited for me at the door.

I changed clothes as quickly as possible and followed her out.

She skillfully led me to the park entrance. The track was right in front of us.

Evelyn pointed ahead.

"Mom, let's race and see who reaches the finish line first."

As soon as she finished speaking, she ran off without looking back.

Even though it was an early autumn morning, a layer of fine sweat broke out on my back.

I pinched the webbing between my thumb and index finger hard, signaling myself to calm down.

"Who are you really? Where has my Evelyn gone?"

Evelyn would accompany me on morning runs, but she had never actually run.

She would only follow me on an electric scooter or wait at the finish line.

Because I had told her that running was tiring, and with only one kidney, I was afraid vigorous exercise would be too much for her body.

The Evelyn before me knew I liked morning runs, but didn't know the real Evelyn wouldn't run with me.

Seemingly flawless, but actually full of holes.

What was her purpose in taking Evelyn's place and coming home?

Could my Evelyn be in danger?

At this thought, my heart clenched painfully.

When I caught up with Evelyn, she was already sitting on a bench by the roadside, drinking bottled water.

"Mom, you're too slow. Did you slack off on your training while I was away?"

I grabbed both sides of my waist, gasping for breath.

"I'm getting old. My body can't keep up anymore."

"Evelyn, what made you want to run with me today? You used to hate running."

Evelyn froze for a moment, her expression showing a flash of shock, then she laughed it off.

"Mom, you're so forgetful. Which day have I come home without running with you?"

The smile on my face gradually became twisted, but I didn't expose her on the spot.

After all, I couldn't be sure the real Evelyn was safe right now.

If Evelyn was truly in danger, confronting this impostor would only make things worse for her.

That evening was Evelyn's birthday.

I specially went to the bakery to buy a cake.

I also made a big table full of dishes.

Evelyn stared hungrily at the table.

"Mom, these are all my favorites."

I sneered inwardly.

These are your favorites, but not my daughter's.

While blowing out the candles, Evelyn clasped her hands together, revealing a diamond bracelet on her wrist.

That was what I'd bought her for her eighteenth birthday at great expense.

The bracelet was indeed the one I bought.

But the diamonds looked like they'd been set in later.

My heart jumped.

Evelyn must truly be in danger now.

Using the excuse of going downstairs to buy something, I left the house.

Evelyn had a best friend named Charlotte.

She had visited our home a few times.

Right now, I could only contact her.

After all, the Evelyn at home had my daughter's phone and all her personal belongings.

Fortunately, Charlotte's phone number was saved in my phone.

I anxiously waited for her to answer.

After a ring, a male voice came through.

"Hello, what do you need?"

This was Charlotte's phone---why was a man answering?

I didn't immediately ask about Evelyn.

"Hello, is this Charlotte? I'm Lisa, Evelyn's mother."

The person on the other end had a bad attitude, with clear hostility in his tone.

"Charlotte went abroad. Stop calling her."

The call was abruptly disconnected before I could ask more.

But why wouldn't she take her phone abroad?

Besides, Charlotte's family was just average, and her grades weren't outstanding either.

Going abroad suddenly didn't make sense.

Could Charlotte and my daughter both be missing?

Evelyn's school wasn't far away, but it was after hours now, and the school gates had long been closed.

After much hesitation, I called Evelyn's advisor, Professor Watson.

"Professor Watson, I wanted to ask about Evelyn Parker's recent situation at school."

"Evelyn Parker? She took half a month's leave, saying she had an experiment to do. She hasn't been back to class in a long time."

Professor Watson's voice was somewhat hoarse, sounding like he'd just woken up.

I immediately gripped my phone tighter.

How come I didn't know about Evelyn taking leave?

I continued questioning.

"Professor Watson, do you know which laboratory they went to?"

There was a long silence before he slowly spoke again.

"I heard it was the Singularity Laboratory halfway up the northern mountain."

After hanging up, I looked up at Evelyn's room window upstairs.

The light was dim, but there seemed to be a figure standing behind the curtain.

Just as I stood up to look again, the figure had disappeared.

Was she monitoring me?

When I got home, I packed my things that very night.

Opening Evelyn's room, I found she was already asleep.

Worried she might suddenly wake up, I placed a bottle of sleep-inducing aromatherapy by her bedside.

I also left a note on the table.

"Emergency at work. Mom has to travel for a week. Handle your own meals."

The car started, and I began navigating to the address on my phone.

It would take three hours to drive to the Singularity Laboratory.

During those three hours, I imagined countless scenarios of Evelyn's current situation---was she alive, or had she already...

If she was just doing experiments in the laboratory, then how could the one at home be explained?

Was it just to torment me?

But I knew Evelyn's personality best.

Though she was dependent on me, she would never lie to me, not even a single word.

When the car reached the foot of the mountain, it was already 2 AM.

I found a flashlight I hadn't used in a long time from the trunk.

Fortunately, it was bright enough to see the path ahead.

The mountain path was rugged, but I didn't feel tired at all.

This was a path Evelyn had walked, so I had to walk every step carefully.

Two hours later, I reached the place called Singularity Laboratory.

Weeds grew wild all around, and the cawing of crows occasionally echoed from the distant sky.

I hurried forward and found the door was locked.

The lock was covered in rust, as if no one had been here in a long time.

Would Evelyn really come to a place like this to do experiments?

I held the flashlight in my mouth, then looked around for a stone or something that could break the lock.

Just as the light swept over a patch of grass, something shiny reflected back.

I rushed over, pulled the weeds apart, and swept the flashlight back and forth over the ground.

At the root of the grass, there was a diamond half-buried in dirt.

"That's from Evelyn's bracelet."

"How did it end up here?"

I started talking to myself, unable to control my racing thoughts.

Because when Evelyn received that bracelet, she had told me.

"Mom, I love this bracelet so much. Unless I die, I'll never take it off for the rest of my life."

Evelyn never joked.

What she said, she would definitely do.

A bad feeling arose.

Could my Evelyn really have already...

I slapped myself several times.

She was just doing an experiment.

She had just temporarily disappeared.

The lock on the door was too big for me to break with my strength alone.

The stars began to fade, and an orange glow appeared at the edge of the sky.

There was a house not far from the foot of the mountain.

Someone seemed to have woken up.

I quickly ran down the mountain and walked to the door of that house.

It was an old woman in her seventies.

She held a sickle in her hand.

Seeing me, she looked like she'd seen a rare guest.

"Where are you going so early in the morning? You're not planning to go up the mountain, are you?"

I nodded and asked if she could lend me the sickle.

Hearing I wanted to go up the mountain, the old woman's expression suddenly became serious.

"I advise you not to go up the mountain. That laboratory was haunted a while back."

"I definitely can't lend you this sickle."

Haunted? A while back?

I carefully recalled the last time Evelyn and I spoke.

It seemed to be about half a month ago.

She told me she'd been very busy lately and might not have time to call me.

During that half month, I only occasionally sent her messages.

Evelyn seemed really busy, always replying with just a few brief words.

Half a month later, which was yesterday, Evelyn came home.

I quickly took out my phone and confirmed with the old woman.

"Ma'am, I want to ask when exactly this haunting happened."

"Was it half a month ago?"

Though the old woman was in her seventies or eighties, recalling that night's events still made her lean against the door frame.

"It was half a month ago. The sound was so loud---the crying could be heard across several mountains."

While the old woman was speaking, I glanced into her house.

I actually saw Evelyn's backpack on the floor piled with potatoes.

I quickly stepped over the threshold, rushed inside, and picked up the backpack.

But everything belonging to Evelyn inside was gone, replaced by a backpack full of sprouting potatoes.

I gripped the backpack straps, trembling as I looked at the old woman standing in the doorway.

"Where did this backpack come from?"

"Where are the things that were inside?"

"Have you seen a girl named Evelyn Parker?"