horror effect

Julian Raymond was served an apple pie an hour after he had asked for it.The pies are very well made, sweet and tender, and very big, but the cooking speed of this kind is slow enough even in Eastern Europe.

"Is it supper time?" he asked as he took the plate from Martha.

"Dinner is still three hours away. You are welcome to the dining room then."

"Thanks, if I'm not stuffed."

Masha went out, and Julian began to eat the pie, but before he had eaten two mouthfuls, Masha came back and told him that Dr. Hostatova was here.Julian, who was sitting on the bed, stood up in a hurry, put the plate on the table, and wiped his mouth.He must maintain a good demeanor in front of women.

Dr. Hostatova looked very young, although she may not have been young, tall and very slender.She was wearing a thick black tweed coat, a dark tweed skirt not befitting her age, black leather boots on her feet, and her hair, which was as black as black tweed, was coiled on her head.Seeing her is not the same as seeing Martha - that's the girl you think of flowers, and Renee Hostatova, you don't think of flowers, you don't think of sweet pastries, you don't think of pure white Smooth milk.She had a jaw as hard as a man's, and her clear black eyes scanned him and everything in the universe with an unchanging calm and focused look.And her thin eyebrows raised strangely.It made her look haughty, cold and unattractive.

After saying hello, she began to inquire about Julian's physical condition, then took his temperature and checked him.She was serious all the time this was going on, and Julian dared not disturb him.She didn't smile a little until the final inspection was over.

"Congratulations, the fever is gone, the symptoms of infection are gone, and you are recovering quickly. But you still need to rest for a few days and eat light and easy-to-digest food." She glanced at the apple pie and nodded, " This is good."

"But I don't like to eat it. What I want more than anything right now is something baked, fried, browned and crispy."

"Those foods are not good for your health." The female doctor said as she packed her things.

"But it's delicious."

The cold female doctor showed a cold smile. "Of course you can choose what you like to eat according to your own wishes."

Julian froze for a moment. "I thought you'd try to stop me. After all, your job as a doctor..."

"I'm a doctor." Hostatova interrupted him, "but I'm not the kind of doctor who is going to save everyone and force them to live. Anyone is free to choose to mutilate their own body or take care of themselves." Love it. I have no right to interfere with anyone else laying down their life, or how they want to leave their mark."

"Oh." Julian felt that their conversation had reached the point where they had to change the subject, so he began to ask her who was the kind person who brought her unconscious self here from the wild snow.

"It's Mrs. Brymontrose."

"What?" Julian's eyes widened.How is that string of letters pronounced?Why are Eastern European names always so damn long?

"Materina Breumontrost. She happened to be passing that way that day, or you'd freeze to death."

"I mean...is that her real name?"

There was a look of reproach on the doctor's face. "Otherwise what else can it be?"

"I just think... I need to remember."

After eating the pie, Julian called the editorial department, explained why he changed his plan, and then opened his laptop to type in today's news.It was already dark at this time, and he also felt sleepy, probably because his body had not fully recovered.Julian then hung the 'Do Not Disturb' sign outside the door, lay down on the bed and had a good night's sleep.

It was eight o'clock in the evening when he woke up again, and what was worse, he found that he was actually hungry.He searched around the room to see if there was anything to eat, but only found drinks and mineral water in the refrigerator.If he doesn't go out and order food delivery, he'll probably just lick the crumbs of apple pie on the bottom of his plate.

Through the glass window, he could just see the restaurant of the hotel, which was bright and dazzling, with many guests and waiters coming and going, and he felt that he could even smell the tempting aroma of the dishes on their tables.Julian couldn't hold back anymore, he washed his face in a hurry, put on his coat, took his wallet, and went straight to the restaurant.

Usually, people's impression of a hotel is always from the outside to the inside, first seeing the overall building, and then going to the lobby, corridors, and the interior of the guest rooms.But Julian came in with a high fever, in a coma, and saw nothing.Now, he was looking at the Cedar Hill Inn in the opposite direction—guest room, corridor, lobby.He felt that the decoration style of the hotel was a bit like the European Hotel in Prague. The overall lines were simple and smooth, and the details were carefully crafted. The wallpaper on the corridor wall was a continuous pattern of pale green Morris-style pomegranates and vines.

Julian had expected to meet acquaintances in the restaurant, but the problem was that the only people he knew were Masha and Dr. Hostatova.He ordered a fish stew, and the appetizer was a soup, but his tongue thought that if the soup came after the main meal, it would be shabu-shabu.He tasted it and put it down.While waiting for the food to be served and eating, he had been listening carefully to the conversation of the people at the table behind him.They appear to be ski tourists.

"...The snow is heavy and the weather is fine. I had a great time today." It was a woman's voice.

"Oh yes, that's great, I'm going to come here more often. But Grace didn't skate much today." A young man's voice said.

"I'm a little tired, and I've been chatting with an ambulanceman in the rest area..." said a very young woman.But she was quickly interrupted.

"I remembered!" the man said, "That ambulanceman is quite handsome, am I right?"

"Oh! You don't want something good! I've been talking about this town with him, and he told me there's a secret here."

"secret?"

"is that a lie?"

"It is said that it really happened." The young woman lowered her voice, pretending to be mysterious.

"He told me the town was cursed..."

"It's obviously a deception, a means to attract tourists." Another woman immediately retorted.

"Listen to me. He said that people in this town occasionally see a huge white lion, and those who see it rarely survive, and no one knows that it will When did it appear, and where did it appear. I heard that several people have disappeared."

"You mean, someone in this town is illegally smuggling animals?" the man asked.

"Oh! Why don't you understand what I'm saying? The white lion I'm talking about is a mysterious force. It must have taken a fancy to this place for some reason, eating people here to maintain its existence."

"I think you read too many fantasy novels. Such things are fundamentally false. Those missing people are probably due to various reasons. There are mountains, canyons, streams everywhere, and snow, It's normal for people to go missing. By the way, did he tell you if any tourists are missing?"

"I don't think so, I don't remember."

"This just shows that the legend of the so-called white lion is just a local superstition."

The older woman said, "Let's stop talking about that. Do you want mustard, Grace?"

The conversation about the mysterious legend ended here, and Julian, who had been eavesdropping, felt that there was still more to say.He likes all kinds of folklore, which is very helpful for studying the civilizations of various nations.He can add this legend to his travel records, which will definitely make the article more vivid.He was very happy about this windfall, and even felt that the bowl of shabu-shabu water was a bit like soup.

Julian was dreaming again, the dream he had had countless times.Shadows flitted across his mind like moths fluttering through the gaps in the desk and chair.He didn't know if it was a dream, a feeling, or if he was crying out.The sound was very loud, coming from all directions.Stop sleeping, wake up, open your eyes.Liddy was beside him again, opening her mouth to him, talking, her long blond hair wrapped around his face.

She seemed to have penetrated into his heart and spoke to him: Come to me, come on.They were on the square in front of the museum, and the June sun was warm and bright.Liddy held the steering wheel and smiled at him: "I want to come back." He never saw her smile again.He stroked her wrist as cold as a corpse.

Julian closed his eyes, trying to forget the face of the dead man.

He loves her, but he wants to forget her so much.Lidi hugged his waist, pulled him, and rubbed her forehead: "I love you, stay with me, don't leave me, you used to listen to me so enthusiastically, why won't you go with me now ?” He said nothing.She was right in front of him, so young and beautiful in a light-colored dress.But life cannot be reversed.she died.

Don't torture me!He roared in his heart.

But someone was digging deep into his soul, looking for the heart and blood, digging deep into the damp soil of the heart, until the place where the one he loved lived.The black, soggy soil was turned over, the rotten wood was snapped, the decayed backing was thrown back—and there was Liddy, her cheek gone and eaten by worms, her hair coiled like hay around her neck , her white teeth are just like that, and her black eyes, so black and so bright, are looking at him as if she was still alive...

Julian sat up suddenly from the bed, panting and dripping.He frantically turned on the bedside lamp, the metal wire was heated and emitted light, like sharp swords, cutting the remaining dreams into pieces one by one.

He lowered his head and covered his face with the quilt, his body was still shaking.

It's been a long time since I had this dream, five years.But why on this night, the dream haunted me like a devil.He knew Liddy shouldn't be forgotten, but he didn't want to live in pain.Julian got up from the bed and stood on the carpet with his bare feet.He suddenly realized that the room was so small and the ceiling was so low, like a closed clam shell squeezing the people inside.He opened the window abruptly, and looked at the starry night sky in the cold, but he felt that from those distant worlds, there were hoarse voices of pleas, calls and supplications.