The first story took place when I was in the third grade of elementary school.

My house is on the second floor of the third entrance of the old house, where there were originally four families, and the one by the stairs recently moved out. On the left of my house is Grandma Teng's family, and on the right is Aunt Liao's family, and there is a common place to cook and eat on the first floor. Because my parents were dual-income workers, and my mother used to work three shifts at that time, they asked Grandma to take care of me.

Grandma Teng was about sixty years old at the time, short in stature, but in good spirits, smiling all day long. She was an old-fashioned person, with little education and only a few words. She is also very "superstitious", and often tells me and her grandson Xiaohua: "We live in an old house!" There are many things in the old house that we can't see. Don't be too naughty, be careful of bumping into Tai Sui, it's too late to cry when the time comes! "Xiaohua is two years younger than me, we are very naughty, listen to Grandma's words, always promise indiscriminately, turn our backs and make faces at each other, no one takes it seriously.

One day after dinner, it was only five o'clock, my mom went to work the night shift, and my dad also went to work overtime temporarily. It was summer, it was late dark, the weather was hot, and many people were outside in the alleys to cool off. Grandma Teng also took Xiaohua and me to lie on the bamboo chair outside to enjoy the shade. After blowing for a while, I suddenly remembered that I still had one essay to finish, so I stood up, said to Grandma Teng, and then walked into the old house.

Walking through the first and second entrances, I opened the wooden door of the third entrance. A gust of wind blew through the hall, and I felt a chill on my back, and I felt as if someone was blowing into my neck from behind me. I thought it was the mischievous Xiaohua who was playing tricks on me, so I stopped and turned my head to look behind me. In the dim light, only the outlines of the wooden benches and bicycles placed in the common corridor by the first two people could be faintly distinguished. The old house was quiet, there was no one, not a single figure! I scratched my head, smiled sheepishly, and walked briskly inside. I only need to go through the kitchen and dining room shared by several families, and then walk up a common wooden staircase of about a dozen steps to my house.

As I walked, I was thinking about how to write the end of the essay, when I was two meters away from the stairs when I suddenly saw an old lady in a brand-new, old-fashioned satin-like long-sleeved shirt and trousers, bending over and struggling to pick up two black objects on the ground. She was trembling, and her full head of white hair was very conspicuous; Her eyes may not be good, and she is trembling and fumbling there.

I thought her back was very familiar, so I didn't think much about it, and walked over and said, "Grandma, what do you want to take?" I'll get it for you! ”

"Good! Help me...... Bring the thermos up. She didn't look back, but slowly straightened up and walked up the stairs.

I bent down to see that the two black things were indeed hot water bottles, and I lifted the bottles with both hands, hey, how light! Did you forget to flush it in? I followed her up the stairs, one, two, three...... My footsteps echoed from the stairs. Strange, why didn't she have footsteps?

I casually asked, "Grandma, where do you live?" While thinking: which one is upstairs when she walks upstairs to us? Is it a new move? Why didn't I see anyone moving today?

I was thinking about it when she heard me and stopped suddenly.

I almost hit her on the back, only to hear her say faintly, "Little Star, yes...... Me! It's only been long since I've been gone, and you don't recognize me? ”

She slowly turned her head, with two long, deep wrinkles on her forehead like scars, sad eyes, and a very kind face.

My eyes were wide open, and my hairs stood on end.

No way!

She's the one we moved from upstairs and moved out a while ago...... Grandma Gu! …… But she's been dead for at least three months!

"Little Star, what's wrong? …… I want to come back and see you! They were busy, and they wouldn't be with me. No, even the hot water is gone. It's better to be a little star, help Grandma bring up the hot water bottle! As she spoke, she reached out to me and tried to touch my head.

Her tone, movements, and even words were all very familiar to me, and I felt as if she was still alive. I stood on the stairs in a daze, and I finally came to my senses until I felt a biting coldness on my forehead. Grandma Gu's hands are like a piece of pig iron, dark and cold without a trace of heat, she will not be as warm as before! I jerked backwards, kicked into the air, and fell on the black mud brick floor, and threw the things in my hands on the ground. I didn't care to see how I fell, so I got up and ran away like crazy.

"Little star, don't run ......" Grandma Gu's voice faintly came from her ears.

Not her, impossible! I closed my eyes and ran faster, but I didn't hit anything in the aisle and ran out of the gate in one go.

"What? Is there a tiger chasing you behind? ”

When I opened my eyes, I couldn't breathe, and my heart was beating like hail. "Yes...... There is ...... "I just can't say the whole thing."

Grandma Teng looked at my frightened pale face and felt that something was wrong; "Don't worry, speak slowly. What's wrong with you? Isn't it to write essays? Why did you run out again? ”

"Stairs...... At the stairs, I ...... I saw Gu ...... Grandma Gu! ”

"What? Grandma Gu? Grandma Teng's face also turned white, "This kid, don't talk nonsense." Grandma Gu has gone to another world and will not come back! ”

"Yes, yes, but...... I actually saw her, and she asked me to help her get a thermos up the stairs! ”

Teng Apo stood up: "Really? Let's take a look. ”

"I ...... I ......"

"It's okay, maybe you're dazzled. Let's go, Grandma Teng will accompany you to see again! Saying that, Grandma Teng didn't let me think about it anymore, so she picked me up and walked to the house.

When we got to the stairs again, I hid behind Grandma Teng, and we both looked around nervously. The light in the house was darker, but I could still see clearly, there was nothing on the stairs, not even a ghost.

Grandma Teng breathed a sigh of relief: "Little star, it's okay." You were dazzled just now, hurry up and write your essay! I was also relieved, but I was still a little puzzled, could it be that I was dazzled? Or am I hallucinating?

I walked out from behind Grandma Teng and was about to go up the stairs, when I just lifted my foot when I suddenly jumped up like an electric shock.

Grandma Teng was taken aback by me: "What's the matter?" ”

"There's ...... there. There was ......"

"What's there?" Grandma Teng followed my hand and saw two black objects in the dark corner of the stairs.

Thermos! To be precise, the shells of two thermoses.

Grandma Teng approached the corner and carefully examined the two shells. I felt a chill chill in my heart, and I was sure that when we went out to cool off, there was absolutely nothing in the corner of the stairs. Because it was hot, there were bugs in the corners of the old house, so there were no things there. From the time we were chilled to the time I came back to write the essay, no one came in because there was only one gate in our old house.

"How good is that? …… Why did it come back again? Grandma Teng's voice was also a little trembling, those two shells were really used by Grandma Gu before, after Grandma Gu died, we saw her son sell them to the scrap collectors along with some other broken copper and iron.

I stood there dumbfounded, not knowing what to do.

Grandma Teng turned around in place a few times, and finally calmed down, she took my hand and said, "Xiaoxing, you go outside and Xiaohua to cool off first, Grandma Teng will go out and come back immediately." Don't come in until I come back. ”

Grandma Teng went for more than an hour, and finally came back with a yellow cloth bag. It was already dark, and Xiaohua and I were still sitting outside. Grandma Teng asked Xiaohua to go to the neighbor's house who first entered to play for a while, and then walked in with me. Inside, it was so dark that I couldn't see anything clearly.

Grandma Teng didn't turn on the light, but took out two white candles from the cloth bag and lit them. In the dim candlelight, Grandma Teng looked very calm, she took out a large bowl from the cupboard, filled it with rice, and placed it on the first step of the stairs, then took out a handful of incense, lit it, took out three sticks, and inserted it into the white rice. She took another large bowl, filled it with a bowl of water, and then took out a few rectangular yellow slips of paper with bright red symbols from her cloth bag, and when she was done, she sprinkled the ashes in the water.

After doing all this, Grandma Teng took out six more sticks of incense and waited quietly with me holding the incense. It was quiet in the house, and for a moment I felt as if time had stood still. Half of the incense was burned, and there was no movement, so I couldn't help but pull the corner of Grandma Laten's clothes.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew, and a vague figure seemed to appear on the stairs, and I immediately hid behind Grandma Teng.

I heard Grandma Teng's slightly trembling voice: "Auntie (Grandma Gu's name), is it you?" There was no answer.

"Adi, you're already on your way, why are you back? It's okay, you can go in peace, don't scare the children! There was still no answer, but we heard a choked and hoarse cry, just like the cry when Grandma Gu was looking for someone to complain before.

"Adi, is there anything else you want me to help you do?"

"I ...... I got there and nothing. Come out...... I searched for a long time before I ...... Find two water bottles. …… No one came to see me...... Woohoo......"

"They didn't have anything for you?" Grandma Teng asked.

Grandma Gu didn't answer, only intermittent crying, and the figure on the stairs became more blurred, and gradually, the crying became smaller and smaller. Another gust of wind blew, and there was nothing left on the stairs, and the crying was inaudible.

"Adi, Adi!" Grandma Teng screamed several times, and there was no sound on the empty stairs.

I looked down and saw that the incense on my hand had gone out at some point. Grandma Teng looked at the stairs in a daze, and her face full of vicissitudes revealed a sad look.

"Grandma Teng, what are we doing now? …… Will Grandma Gu come again? I was a little scared and asked softly.

"Oh, nothing. Let's go to sleep! Grandma Gu...... to another world...... Enjoyed, I won't come again! ”

"Is it true? Isn't she complaining to us? ”

"It's okay, Grandma Teng will help her. You will have to be filial to your parents in the future! ”

"Oh."

Later, I saw Grandma Teng buy a lot of paper money, ingots and some daily necessities tied with paper at her own expense, and went to Grandma Gu's grave alone. When I came back, my eyes were red and I was sullen for several days. I didn't tell my parents about it, and I didn't tell anyone about it. It's just that when Grandma Teng tells us to be careful of the old things in the old house and so on, I don't make faces anymore.