Chapter 9
On the last day of the countdown, when Patricia came downstairs, Ramon was preparing to go out with Lucia. Just as they reached the door, Patricia called out to them. “Ramon, I know you’re busy, but could you have dinner with me tonight? Just the two of us.” She wanted to say goodbye properly. Her eyes were filled with reluctance and hope, but upon hearing her, Ramon instinctively thought it was another declaration of love and was about to reject her. However, Lucia touched his hand and said understandingly, “Then I’ll go meet my friends, it’s been a while since I’ve seen them. You’re an adult after all, you shouldn’t take it so seriously with Patricia all the time.” Finally, under her persuasion, Ramon agreed. Although Patricia had gotten the answer she wanted, the bitterness in her heart kept surging. She watched as the two of them got into the car and drove away with the sound of the engine, then, holding back the sadness in her heart, she turned and entered the house. It is said that the possessions of the dead should be burned, and with today being his last day, he didn’t want to cause any more trouble for Ramon, so he decided to burn his own things. In his room, there were too many traces of Ramon. From his toiletries to the clothes he wore, everything had been handled by Ramon. Initially, Ramon didn’t usually take such detailed care of anyone. Generally, he left these matters to the hands of nannies and assistants, until one time, when a nanny was especially cruel to Patricia about food and an assistant neglected her health while running between the villa and the office, Patricia fell ill with the cold and developed a fever without anyone noticing. If Ramon hadn’t come home that day by chance and found Patricia burning with fever, it might have ended as badly as the doctor said it could have if she had stupidly burned herself. From then on, Ramon never left Patricia’s care in the hands of others again. Shaking the thoughts from her mind and looking at the already burned items she had burned, she felt melancholy at the thought that soon she would be no more in this world. She cleaned the house meticulously, leaving only the closet sealed with tape as it was. She didn’t know how Ramon would react to seeing her body, if he would be sad. Without her to bother him, without anyone to insist on talking about things he didn’t like, he would probably be happy too. After cleaning the house, Patricia began to prepare what would be her last dinner with Ramon. She didn’t really know how to cook well; when she was home, they either went out to eat or he cooked. She had mentioned wanting to learn how to cook to make him food, but after burning herself once with hot oil, Ramon never allowed her near the kitchen again. Still, she had learned to cook in secret, hoping to surprise him one day,Only she never got the chance to finish her apprenticeship before the accident that left her a ghost. Fortunately, she couldn’t burn herself with oil anymore. Patricia spent five hours cooking a hearty dinner and sat waiting for a long time; the dishes went cold and then she warmed them up again, but he never came back. She sent messages to Ramon, but he didn’t answer. She also called several times, but no one answered on the other end. After the phone automatically hung up again, Patricia was stunned looking at her phone when suddenly a WhatsApp notification from Lucia popped up. With a bad feeling, she clicked on the notification and saw two plane tickets and a message. [Loving someone is this, I say I want to go to Switzerland to see the snow, and he thoughtlessly drops everything and comes with me.] Seeing that message, her face paled and, trembling, she dialed Ramon’s number again. This time, the call was answered. “Did you go with her to Switzerland?” You promised that… She couldn’t finish her sentence when she was interrupted by the female voice on the other end, realizing that the one who answered was Lucia. “Patricia, did you really think that Ramon would come back to have dinner with you? Stop dreaming. What you should do now is pack your things and leave Ramon’s villa.” Without waiting for a reply, Lucia hung up. The phone’s disconnect tone rang for a long time as Patricia sat in silence, until the clock struck twelve and she threw the food into the trash can. Just then, Lord Mortius’s voice echoed above her. “Patricia, the seven days are up, do you regret making this deal?” The chilling, cold voice floated through the villa, and when it finally dissipated, Patricia smiled bitterly, her sad, dull voice beginning to rise. “Although I have some regrets, I don’t regret it.” She stood up, went to the calendar, and tore off the last page of the countdown: “Let me go.” Saying that, Patricia watched as her body gradually became transparent. She raised her hand in front of her face, watching as her already transparent soul faded from the tips of her fingers, then her hands and legs, to her entire body. Finally, she vanished completely. Before disappearing, she looked into the distance and smiled. “Ramón, goodbye. And never again.”[I say I want to go to Switzerland to see the snow, and he without thinking drops everything and comes with me.] Seeing that message, her face paled and, trembling, she dialed Ramon’s number again. This time, the call was answered. “Did you go with her to Switzerland? You promised that…” She couldn’t finish her sentence when she was interrupted by the female voice on the other end, realizing that the one who answered was Lucia. “Patricia, did you really think Ramon would come back to have dinner with you? Stop dreaming. What you should do now is pack your things and leave Ramon’s villa.” Without waiting for a reply, Lucia hung up. The phone’s disconnect tone rang for a long time as Patricia sat in silence, until the clock struck twelve and she threw the food into the trash can. Just then, Lord Mortius’s voice echoed above her. “Patricia, the seven days are up, do you regret making this deal?” The chilling, cold voice floated through the villa, and when it finally dissipated, Patricia smiled bitterly, her sad, dull voice beginning to rise. “Although I have some regrets, I have no regrets.” She stood up, went to the calendar, and tore off the last page of the countdown: “Let me go.” Saying that, Patricia watched as her body gradually turned transparent. She raised her hand in front of her face, watching as her already transparent soul faded from the tips of her fingers, then her hands and legs, to her entire body. In the end, it vanished completely. Before disappearing, she looked into the distance and smiled. “Ramón, goodbye. And never again.”[I say I want to go to Switzerland to see the snow, and he without thinking drops everything and comes with me.] Seeing that message, her face paled and, trembling, she dialed Ramon’s number again. This time, the call was answered. “Did you go with her to Switzerland? You promised that…” She couldn’t finish her sentence when she was interrupted by the female voice on the other end, realizing that the one who answered was Lucia. “Patricia, did you really think Ramon would come back to have dinner with you? Stop dreaming. What you should do now is pack your things and leave Ramon’s villa.” Without waiting for a reply, Lucia hung up. The phone’s disconnect tone rang for a long time as Patricia sat in silence, until the clock struck twelve and she threw the food into the trash can. Just then, Lord Mortius’s voice echoed above her. “Patricia, the seven days are up, do you regret making this deal?” The chilling, cold voice floated through the villa, and when it finally dissipated, Patricia smiled bitterly, her sad, dull voice beginning to rise. “Although I have some regrets, I have no regrets.” She stood up, went to the calendar, and tore off the last page of the countdown: “Let me go.” Saying that, Patricia watched as her body gradually turned transparent. She raised her hand in front of her face, watching as her already transparent soul faded from the tips of her fingers, then her hands and legs, to her entire body. In the end, it vanished completely. Before disappearing, she looked into the distance and smiled. “Ramón, goodbye. And never again.”watching as his already transparent soul faded from the tips of his fingers, then his hands and legs, to his entire body. Finally, he vanished completely. Before disappearing, he looked into the distance and smiled. “Ramón, goodbye. And never again.”watching as his already transparent soul faded from the tips of his fingers, then his hands and legs, to his entire body. Finally, he vanished completely. Before disappearing, he looked into the distance and smiled. “Ramón, goodbye. And never again.”
