The old man's warning had left the couple uneasy, yet they had decided to stay. After all, they were seasoned travelers, used to moving from place to place, and believed in the luck of the draw. They didn't take the old man seriously, assuming his warnings were just superstitions. The first few days were uneventful, and they went about their daily routines without incident. The man worked in the mine, while the woman cooked for the miners.
But after four or five days, things began to take a strange turn. One evening, after dinner, their young daughter asked, "Mama, Mama, why isn't the old woman coming to eat?"
The couple was confused, wondering where this "old woman" had come from. They glanced at each other, not understanding. The little girl, sensing their confusion, pointed to the northwest corner of their simple mud bed and said, "That old lady, why is she sitting in the corner and not coming over to eat?"
The couple froze in terror. They didn't see anyone, but their daughter was clearly pointing to the corner. The father, frustrated and nervous, snapped, "Stop talking nonsense! Eat your food!" His anger seemed like a way to calm his own nerves. But the little girl, hurt by her father's words, started crying. The mother, concerned, comforted her, trying to get her to eat without saying anything more.
After that, the family quietly finished their meal and went to bed early, trying to shake off the unsettling feeling. But that night, nothing unusual happened.
The following evening, at dinner time, the little girl asked again, "Mama, when did we buy the New Year's painting?"
The man, puzzled, asked, "What painting?"
The little girl stood up, pointing at the bare, yellow earth wall, and said, "This one, right here. It's of an old lady with white hair, and there's an old man with a long beard. There's also a sister, she's so beautiful."
The couple stared at the wall in shock. They didn't see anything, but their daughter was pointing and gesturing as if there was something there. The couple, now terrified, glanced at each other, recalling the strange events and the old man's warning. They couldn't dismiss it anymore.
The father, growing more uneasy, tried to scold the child again, but his heart wasn't in it. They quickly tried to calm her down and ended their meal in silence. That night, both husband and wife lay awake, too scared to sleep, unsure of what to do. They both silently agreed that they had to leave, but the question was when and how.
The next day, they decided to stay a few more days to prepare and move, but they were terrified for their daughter's safety. The husband decided to take a day off from the mine to make sure she was safe, while the wife stayed behind to look after her.
That evening, as the wife went to fetch water from the well, she noticed something strange. The water barrel, which she had filled in the morning, was now completely dry. The woman's heart sank—she realized that something wasn't right. It was as the old man had warned: the cave was indeed haunted. Quietly, she went out to fetch more water and made dinner. Afterward, she told her husband, who agreed that they could no longer stay. They would leave as soon as possible.
The next morning, the husband went to find a vehicle to transport their belongings while the wife continued packing. Their little girl, meanwhile, played outside. But then, disaster struck. No one knows how it happened, but the little girl somehow climbed to the roof of the cave and fell off. The roof was about ten meters high, and the fall killed her instantly.
When the husband returned with the cart and saw his dead daughter, he nearly fainted. He screamed, "It's my fault! It's my fault!" and broke down into uncontrollable sobs. He cried like a madman, overwhelmed by grief and guilt.
With their daughter's tragic death, the couple was unable to leave. They spent the next few days handling the aftermath, dealing with the funeral and trying to make sense of their loss. When everything was in order, they were finally ready to leave—but that was when they ran into us.
After hearing their story, I felt an immense sorrow in my heart. How could such a tragedy befall a seven-year-old child? I struggled to find words of comfort for the grieving parents, unsure of how to console them.
As we helped the couple load their things onto the cart, I felt a deep sense of helplessness. After sending them off, I couldn't shake the image of the old, decrepit cave. Looking at it with a burning sense of anger, I muttered to myself, "This is a cursed house! A house of resentment!"