But Mom kept urging me, “Remember this, Evelyn, only you can give it to him. That man is not your real dad. I’m sure you’ve already noticed! He’s been back for half a month. If you don’t give it to him soon, he’ll never leave again!”
I didn’t know who to believe anymore. I could only keep asking Mom over and over again.
“Mom, what is this powder? Will it kill him?”
Mom mysteriously shook her head and smiled.
“It won’t, Evelyn, don’t worry. This thing won’t harm a real human. But if it’s not a human who takes it… then its true form will be revealed! Trust me, Evelyn, trust me! You’ll know the truth tonight!”
Under Mom’s persuasion, I mixed the powder into Dad’s food and drink.
Dad didn’t notice anything. He ate and drank it all.
By 9 p.m., something was clearly wrong.
His face was growing darker and he was becoming more and more agitated, constantly yelling for water.
“Water, water! Give me water!”
I handed him bottle after bottle, but nothing satisfied him. At last, he ordered me to fill an entire bathtub and plunged into it headfirst.
Afraid something might happen, I went to check on him. But the scene I saw through the crack in the door left me frozen in shock.
