There’s Someone on My Back

For three straight weeks, Lin Wan has suffered from a dull ache and heaviness in her neck. Massage, physical therapy, and medicated patches have all failed to help. One night, while working overtime until the early hours, she catches sight of something in the office mirror: just below her collar, on the back of her neck, a faint gray-black handprint has appeared. Startled, she knocks over her coffee. She thinks it must be a trick of the light, but after going home she dreams she is slumped over her desk, with a blurry figure crouching on her back. The figure slowly lowers its head and whispers in her ear, “You can finally see me.” Lin Wan screams herself awake, drenched in cold sweat. The heaviness in her neck feels more real than ever.