I cautiously pushed open the door to the backstage of the shadow puppet theater.

In the spacious room, there wasn't a single living soul.

On the shelves to the east, hung bloody human skins.

On the shelves to the west, were displayed rotting and withered human skins.

On the table to the south, were laid out freshly peeled human skins.

Under the table were several old buckets, filled with red, yellow, blue, green, black and other solid color pigments.

To the north was a narrow corridor, where faint lights from the backstage could be seen.

All over the walls were various sharp knives, with dried bloodstains on the blades.

The entire wall was covered in dark red, brown, and black stains, as if soaked with the blood of many.

I held my breath as an unfamiliar fear crawled up my spine.

I covered my mouth, standing still, not daring to touch anything for fear of making a sound.

Suddenly, I saw a familiar figure standing in the middle of the shelves to the east.

"Who is it?!"

I questioned in my mind.

Could there be someone hiding there?!

I took small steps forward.

Closer, even closer!

I saw it clearly!

It was--- my parents' intact human skins!

A huge wave of fear, resentment, anger, and horror surged from the soles of my feet, as if countless centipedes crawled up my legs and gnawed at my skin with their mandibles.

Had my biological parents long been dead?

In that case, what were the parents in my home?

I cautiously approached the human skin, and on its flat wrist, I saw a scar from a burn.

It was from when I was a child playing in the kitchen, mischievously knocking over a kettle, my dad rushing over to hold me, scalding his arm with hot water, leaving a scar.

Their heads were still there, their round eyes filled with fear, their grotesque expressions causing their facial muscles to twist, a half-crushed back of the head oozing maggots in the brain.

The strong visual impact churned my stomach.

I vomited.

I finally discovered the truth behind my parents' drastic changes in behavior.

My real parents, had long been dead in the shadow puppet theater.

They were skinned and displayed on the shelves, always ready to be turned into new shadow puppets.

So, the shadow puppets on the curtain were made of human skin.

This atrocious act, I could not forgive.

I must avenge my parents.

I will make the heinous culprit die a very cruel and painful death.

I picked out a butcher's boning knife from the wall, its sharp tip stained with dried blood, arousing the ferocity in my heart.

I held my breath, slowly walking into the narrow passage to the north.

I could see the lights from the backstage, becoming clearer.

I was about to take down the culprit with my own hands.

I will sever the culprit's tendons and bleed them dry, to pay tribute to the deceased.

Just one step away.

Behind the cloth partition, was the true face of the culprit.

Wait! Too quiet!

When I escaped from the audience seats, the screams, pleas for mercy, cries, and the sounds of sharp knives chopping heads, were still ringing in my ears.

Now, I stood beside the backstage curtain.

The audience seats were eerily silent, not even a sound of breathing.

I clenched the boning knife in one hand, ready to fight to the death at any moment.

I lifted a corner of the curtain with my other hand, pressing my eyes against it, secretly observing.

The audience seats were filled with blood people.

Countless maggots wriggled on their skin, eventually merging with the flesh and blood of living people

They were fully focused, completely absorbed in enjoying the shadow puppet show.

I couldn't believe it, human skin could actually be replaced by maggots.

I refused to call them human.

They were just monsters parasitic on humans.

I heard the sound of wooden clogs stepping on the floor again.

I saw the puppeteers in costume, each holding human skins dripping with blood.

They skillfully folded the human skins and hid them in their large costumes.

As the eerie and desolate music played, their figures became fainter and fainter, until they disappeared into thin air.

I was so tense, my breath almost stopped.

If the culprit was not human, how could I avenge my deep-seated hatred?

Should I also die here?

No!

Even if I die, I will die with the main culprit, not in vain for the nurturing grace of my parents.

I took a deep breath,

boldly pushed open the curtain.

This is...a doll?!

I stood still in shock, my worldviews shattered once again.

Behind the white curtain, there were no puppeteers manipulating the shadow puppets, nor puppeteers in costume.

There were only four child-sized cloth dolls.

Their pale little hands held bamboo sticks, their bright red mouths moving, singing a chilling song.