Author's Note: We're back with Ju and her clan again. We're starting to see something happening for real with them here. Plus, there's a ghost who makes an appearance later in this match. It all just fell into place as I wrote. (That's how it usually goes when I am writing in general.) I want to see where Ju's storyline goes this season. Speaking of storylines, we have to see how Alfred and his family are doing. For now, enjoy this week's match.


Match Ten: Search, Phone Call, and the Red Ghost:

-Ju-

I will be the first to tell you that I am not into conspiracy theories. My line of work has no time for that. But something isn't right with the whole Qi situation. How does somebody lose a body like that? It's not in any hospitals in the city. Either she got up and walked away someone or somebody stole the body. The latter makes no sense but I've got nothing.

I hung up the phone.

"Any luck?" Bik asked. I shook my head.

"It doesn't make any sense," I said. I rubbed my forehead. It wasn't like I could tell her family that the body was missing. I was the only family left. At least from what I knew. What was I supposed to do with all of that?

Bik rubbed me on the back. I looked up.

"What do you plan to do with the body if you get it back?" she asked.

"Cremate it?" I asked. "There's not much I can do. Noelle was all she had. And I don't even think she has anywhere to go either." I realized that I had almost forgotten about her. I didn't know much about her. I doubted that she herself had any family left alive. I didn't even know where she came from.

"Have you tracked down where Noelle went?" I asked.

"We're still looking," Bik said in a low voice. I managed to smile. Part of me knew that this was pointless. Noelle probably went off to look for her mistress. I had a feeling that she knew too. I don't think either one of us is going to have any success. I stood up.

"Maybe we should quit for the day," I said. "We're getting nowhere with this."

"You sure about this?" Bik asked.

"Yes," I said. "I feel like we're just going in circles at this point."

"Fair enough," she said. She got up from the table.

"I'm going back to my clinic," she said. "The girls will be happy to see me back."

"All right, see you later," she said. We bowed and she walked out the door. I waved at her. I sat in my living room and frowned. I dropped my head back and sighed.

"Where the hell are you, Qi?" I asked aloud.


That wasn't the only weird thing to happen to me lately.

I keep getting calls on my phone in the middle of the night. Not on the landline. Yao isn't getting calls either. Just me on my cell phone. Always at the same time too. 1:37. The call is always the same too. No id. The calls would last about fifteen seconds. There would be no words. It sounds like someone is driving along a highway with the window down. Then the call just cuts off. I don't get what's going on.

"Think it's an accidental dial?" Yao asked.

"Every night?" I asked. My husband shrugged.

"I don't know," he said. I frowned. I tried to put my phone on silent at night. Even that didn't stop the calls. I just wake up to one missed call. So annoying. The worst part was the numbers were disconnected. (Yes, there were many numbers.) I tried to call one back and all I got was an operator saying the number was no longer in use. What the hell was this?

"Should I go to the police?" I asked. I started to play with my phone.

"What could they do?" Yao asked.

"I don't know," I said. "It could be harassment."

"But you don't know that," he said. I looked up at him with my phone halfway out of my hand.

"So… what?" I asked. "Let them harass me? No thank you." I looked at my phone.

"But whoever's calling you hasn't really done anything," Yao pointed out.

"And I'm not going to wait around until something does. By then it's too late," I said. I sat back on the couch and frowned. Yao walked over and sat down next to me.

"And how do you plan to deal with your mysterious caller?" he asked. "Look, I get that you are upset, but do you have a plan to deal with this?" Damn it. He's got a point there.

"I just want you to think this through before you do anything stupid," Yao said.

"All right," I said, sighing. I looked at my phone. The whole thing annoyed me even more.


Still, that isn't the only thing lately. What else can be happening in my life? Well, all of Europe is covered in an endless dense fog. I have read online about the theories of what it could be. Some think it's an experiment created by the Russians. (They sometimes blame the Chinese or the North Koreans for it. I have to roll my eyes at this. I digress.) Others think that it is the end times. The scientists can't figure it out.

"It's still foggy over there?" Mei asked next to me.

"Yeah," I said.

"That's crazy," Szu said.

"Okay ladies," Bik said. "We have to get going." Mei, Szu, and I leaped up from my couch.

"Right!" we said. Due to everything going on lately, I decided to get security systems for all of the houses. No one had any objections to this. I wasn't going to half-ass it enough. I had to get the top of the line. The girls and I were going out shopping for it. I could get it online but I want to test it out for myself in person. (A bit of my father still lives in me.) Again, nobody is complaining. It was Bik's idea to pick up the system and then do lunch. Naturally, there were no objections. (Hey, it was a trip and free food.)

Bik and I were the ones who did the research. She was the one at the computer. I stood behind her, looking at the screen. Why wasn't it the other way around? Well, I was at her house when I came up with the idea. Bik was already at her computer, so why not?

"Do you want video cameras?" she asked.

"Yes!" I said. "I want cameras everywhere. Doorbells, inside the house, and outside the house."

"Got it," Bik said. It didn't take her long to find what we needed. The price was no object. Safety shouldn't come at a price. For extra measure, I had the professionals come out and put up everything. Say what you will, but I want everything done right. Again, there were no complaints. Some of the fathers wanted to put up the security systems themselves. Bik had to convince Hen-to not to take over the project.

"Sit down. They know what they are doing," she had to tell him. It took a while, but Hen-to finally let the company put the system together around his house. It took the whole day, but the men and women got it done. Now, everyone was feeling much better.

But can it keep… well… non-human beings out?

Last night, I got my answer.

Around three in the morning, I woke up to the room feeling so warm. Maybe too warm. Almost suffocating. I tossed and turned in bed. I finally yanked open my eyes and looked out over my sheets. I couldn't make out what I was seeing in the dark.

In the corner, there was a woman sitting in a chair. She looked like she was dressed for a wedding in a fancy red dress. Gold threads and glass beads were sewn into the red silk. I recognized that dress. That was the same dress I wore on my wedding day. The woman's hair was done up with gold pins in a matching tiara decorated with red gems. She had her hands in her lap. The serene look on her face only let me have one guess.

"Mama?" I asked. I don't really remember much about her to be certain. I sat up in bed. She seemed to glow in the dark. I leaned in for a closer look. The woman didn't move or even look up at me. What was I looking at? I blinked a few times. She started to look a little fuzzier. For some reason, I tried to reach out to her. I felt tears running down my cheeks.

And then she was gone.

My arm dropped onto my bed. What was that just now? I don't believe in ghosts and I know that I was wide awake. So what was I looking at? I reached over to turn on the lamp. The light dimly filled the room. The chair in the corner was still empty. I don't know what I was expecting. I don't really know what I was thinking.

I turned around when I heard Yao mumbling awake.

"Sweetie, why did you turn on the light all of a sudden?" he asked as he turned over onto his back. "Is something wrong? Can't sleep?" I didn't know how to answer at first. My eyes shifted away from him. I mumbled my answer to myself.

"What?" he asked. I looked him in the eye with my hand to my chest.

"I think I saw mama in our room," I said.