Author's Note: We're back to Ju and Yao again. Once again, part of this came from a series of pictures on Reddit. Thought that we could see Yao's past life again. I think I already went over it but here it is. I am still working out what to do with Yao and Ju this season. I will think of something along the way. I have the next two weeks planned out. Plus, Dark Side of Wonderland will be coming up next week. On top of that, there's going to be a new bite in Wonderland Bites this Sunday. For now, enjoy this week's match.

Match Five: Past Life Revisited, Dream Confession, and a Strange Package:

-Ju-

"Tell me everything from the beginning," I said.

"But I already did," Yao said.

"Tell me again," I said. "Tell me everything from the beginning." Yao sighed across from me.

"I was a kid in the 1930s," he began. "I was a child who came from a poor village. My parents sold me to a restaurant to make some money."

"Go on."

Yao shifted in his chair. He looked up at me as I waited. He dropped his shoulders.

"I worked in the kitchen. There were many of us in the kitchen," Yao began again.

"Poor like you?" I asked.

"Yes."

"What did they look like?"

"I can't remember. I can see them but I can't see their faces."

"Can you remember your boss?"

"Yes."

"What does he look like?"

"Fat. Always grinning. Something about him stresses me out." I could see him trembling. It was almost like talking to a child who was a victim of trauma.

"Take your time if you have to," I said. My husband nodded. This needed to be done. For what reason, that was yet to be determined. This might be a key somehow. Yao lifted his chin.

"He always smelt awful," he said.

"What did he smell like?"

"Cheap booze. Cigars. And BO. I don't think he ever took a bath. The girls wanted to run away from him."

I frowned. "Did he ever do anything to them?"

"I… I… I don't know." It's hurting him. I opened my mouth to say something but he cut me off.

"No, no. I'm fine. I can do this."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Okay. What was it like working in that restaurant? Was it good?"

"No."

I wasn't going to enjoy where this was heading. "What was it like?"

He trembled. "Horrible. We worked day and night. He took credit for our work. There were so many accidents. Some of the children got sick in the kitchen. Sometimes, it was never cleaned."

"That can't be good."

"It wasn't."

"But that doesn't make any sense. Why would the restaurant be like this? I thought it was doing good."

Yao shook his head. "It wasn't."

I frowned and narrowed my eyes. "What do you mean?" I heard the story before but that didn't make it any better. We still had to get through this. There had to be a reason. I just hadn't figured it out yet.

"The owner had a gambling problem. We never knew it and it was really bad. He would gamble every night. It got so bad that he went into debt."

"How bad was the debt?" I almost didn't notice that my own voice was trembling. I drew in a deep breath to calm myself down. Yao lowered his eyes.

"Really bad," he said.

"But how bad?" I asked. He didn't answer at first. I knew not to push this. We were going to take our time with this. Yao fiddled with his hands. He looked so pale.

"He got desperate," he said in a quiet voice. I took a breath before I went in for the kill.

"How did you die?" I asked. It hurt to hear this part again.

"There was a fire in the restaurant," Yao said. "We were all trapped inside."

"Who set the fire?"

"He did."

"Who is he?"

"Our boss did."

"It was for the insurance money, wasn't it?" I saw him slowly nod.

"Yes." His voice came out so hoarse. He looked like he was going to be sick. I put up my hand.

"And you've been having these nightmares for weeks?" I asked. "Why?"

"I don't know," Yao whispered. "I don't know." I stood up from my chair.

"I think we need to take a break," I said. "Are you hungry?" Yao looked like a wounded puppy as he shook his head. I frowned.

"Come on," I said. "You have to eat something. Please?" Yao rested his hands on his lap. It hurt to see him like this. But the worst part is over for now. I still have to tell him about my dreams.

"Can I have something small to eat?" he asked. I gave him a little smile.

"Of course," I said. I got up and walked into the kitchen. I took one more look over my shoulder at my husband. I've never seen him look so drained. It broke my heart to look at him. I made my way back to the kitchen.

We ate in the kitchen. I just made a pot of rice. Nothing more, nothing less. Yao took his time eating. I watched him for a moment.

"I'm starting to have dreams again too," I said. I wasn't thinking. It just came out. Yao looked up at me.

"Which ones?" he asked. I sat back in my chair.

"I keep seeing some shadowy figure over our son's crib," I said. I had to push myself to keep going when Yao didn't say anything.

"I think it looks like a woman," I said. "All of her was black."

"Was it one of those Mam women?" he asked. I shook my head.

"No, it's not them," I said. "I can't explain it. It's just some woman's shadow standing over him." I moved my hands in the air as I talked.

"Does she do anything to Jing?" Yao asked. I shook my head.

"No," she said.

"Have you seen her before?"

"No." I rubbed my forehead.

"I'm sorry it sounds dumb," I said.

"Don't be," Yao said. I looked down at my small bowl of rice.

"There is something else," I said. My husband gave me a strange look.

"Like what?" he asked. I lifted my head.

"I have been having dreams about a plague doctor," I said. Again, I worried about what he was going to think about this one. Was I trying to one-up him? I wasn't trying to.

"A plague doctor?" he asked. I nodded once.

"Like those guys with the long-nosed masks?" he asked.

"Yes," I said. "Only… Her cloak was a deep blood red."

"Her?" Yao asked. I shrugged.

"I don't know," I said. "It feels like it's a she. Does that make sense?"

"I guess…" he said. I know it sounds stupid. I picked up my chopsticks and put some rice in my mouth. This brand isn't bad. I looked over at my husband.

"How's the rice?" I asked. "I picked a new bag the other day. They didn't have their usual brand."

"It's fine," Yao said. I looked at him.

"You sure?" I asked. He nodded as he ate more rice.

"Okay," I said. "Good. Good." The rest of dinner was quiet.

Oh, it gets weirder. I got a package at the door this morning. There was no return address anywhere. At first, I thought they got the wrong address. It had our last name on the label. I looked at it so confused.

"What the hell is this?" I asked. I should have taken it to the post office. But what would be the point? I didn't know who to send this back to. Throwing it out didn't cross my mind for some reason. So I took the box into the kitchen. I took a pair of kitchen scissors to cut open the tape. When I looked inside, I was even more confused.

I pulled out three items from the box. A flash drive, a collection of video tapes, and an envelope of photographs. What the hell is this? I looked around in the box. There was nothing else inside. Not even a note explaining what the hell this was. Something told me to stop looking now and throw everything away. Maybe then I could've gone on not knowing how bad everything was. Instead, I ended up pulling my family and clan further into the darkness with me.

I picked up the envelope. I used my thumbnail to tear open the flap. Inside were fourteen photographs. I spilled them out on the coffee table. Let's see what we have here.

I turned over the first picture.

It looked like it came from the 1950s. Six people stood in the picture with sack-like masks over their heads. They looked like they were dressed for winter. I made a face at the picture. What the hell? I set it down and looked at the second picture.

I could see a pattern emerging from these pictures. These people were all covered in cloaks. Most of them, at least. Every picture looked like it came from the forties or fifties. Some of the people looked like they were in a war-torn village. The more I looked at these photos, the more disturbed I became. But I couldn't stop staring at them. I picked up one in particular.

It was a family in their kitchen. It looked like a father, mother, and three daughters standing around a wooden table. They all looked like they were Russian. The family stared blankly out at me. My eyes happened to glance down at their table and it made me reel back. A dismembered body lay in the center. The head looked deformed. I could make out the head, an arm, a leg, and the torso. The loaf of bread, knife, brass cups, and a plate of unknown meat didn't help. I dropped it on the table. My eyes darted around at the pictures on the table. What the hell were these?!

I jumped when I heard my phone ring. I took in heavy breaths. Oh. I probably should get that.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hey, dear," Yao said on the other line. I relaxed as I lay down on the floor.

"Oh, it's you," I said.

"Are you okay, Ju?" my husband asked. I shook my head.

"No. Um… We got a weird package today," I said.

"Weird how?" Yao asked. I turned and looked at the fourteen photographs on the coffee table. I shuddered as I thought about that family in their kitchen. I sat up from the floor.

"I can't really explain it," I said. "You're going to have to come home and look for yourself." I didn't sound so easy when it came out of my mouth. Was my voice trembling? It sounded like it.

"Alright," Yao said uneasily. I took another breath.

"Thanks," I said. "I'll see you when you get home."

"Love you," Yao said.

"I love you too," I said. I hung up as I smiled to myself. That was until I turned and looked at the photos on the coffee table. Yeah, I'm going to get out of this room and go somewhere else. Yeah, I'm going to do that right now. I stood up and walked down the hall to catch on Baby Jing. He's probably asleep, but this is going to be for sanity. Excuse me.