The Silk Crypt

My mother ran a silk nightgown boutique. Her nightgowns were outrageously expensive—twenty thousand for a short cut, forty thousand for a long one. Yet female clients flocked to her place in an endless stream. They claimed my mother's silk was exceptional, that slipping into one of her gowns left your skin glowing and your complexion radiant. My older sister, Emily, desperately wanted to wear one, but Mom strictly forbade it. Emily refused to accept that. She planned to sneak into the back warehouse and steal one for herself. Late that night, strange sounds drifted up from the warehouse. Mom's little boutique sat right next to a late-night foot spa parlor. She exclusively sold women's silk nightgowns. She kept strict hours and limited stock—opening only after dark and selling just ten pieces a night. That evening, a group of pretty young hostesses from the spa lingered outside the door, nudging each other with flushed cheeks, hesitant to step inside. "Hey, gorgeous ladies! Why don't you come on in?" I popped my head out from behind Mom and waved at them. The most stunning and mature girl among them caught my eye. She flipped her glossy hair with a soft laugh and nudged the shy, blushing newcomer beside her straight toward my mother. "Mrs. Lewis, do you have any stock left tonight? Pick out a silk piece for my little sister here, will you?" She narrowed her eyes, leaning in close to whisper in Mom's ear. "We want the longest, tightest fit you have!" She paused, looking a bit self-conscious as a lovely blush crept up her cheeks. "Also... the one I got last time? I accidentally wore it out. Mrs. Lewis, could you pick another one for me?" Hearing this, the warm smile vanished from Mom's face. "How many times do I have to remind you? The fabric of our silk nightgowns is the rarest in the world—priceless! Once you buy one, you have to treat it with care. How could you possibly wear it out so fast?" "I couldn't help it! The skin-feel was just too smooth, too addictive... Come on, Mrs. Lewis, please just find me another one! I swear I'll take good care of it this time. Charge me whatever you want, please!" "Fine." The girl clung to Mom's arm, begging relentlessly until Mom finally gave a reluctant nod. "Twenty thousand for a short cut, forty thousand for a long one." Mom looked her up and down, frowning slightly at the woman's twisted, almost manic excitement. "For you, double the price tonight. Eighty grand. And you can only wear it here in the shop. You're not taking it home." "Deal!" The girl tapped her high heels excitedly, her smile blooming like a wildflower. "Eighty thousand?!" The younger girl gasped, her eyes wide with shock. Looking anxious, she peeked cautiously at my mother, and seeing no anger, turned to whisper frantically to the older girl. "Amber, is this silk gown really that magical? Eighty thousand dollars?! How many sweaty, disgusting feet do we have to rub down just to scrape that together?!" "Trust me. Mrs. Lewis's silk nightgowns are the highest quality I've ever felt in my life. Once you wear one..." Amber's smile turned deeply sultry. "In short, Mrs. Lewis's gowns nourish a woman like nothing else. Once you wear one, rich guys will be falling over themselves for you. Just trust your big sister." The younger girl gave a hesitant nod. "Mrs. Lewis, remember what I said—give her the longest, tightest cut!" Amber emphasized again. Mom lightly traced the young girl's slender waist, sizing her up with a bizarre, knowing smirk. "Don't worry. We have a full selection tonight. Long, short, whatever cut you want—I have it."Mom led the two women through the backyard warehouse and slowly slid open a concealed basement door. "Wait... it's just picking out a nightgown. Why do we have to go down into the basement?" Staring into the pitch-black stairway, the younger girl gulped nervously, clearly frightened. Mom gave her a profound look. "These intimate nightgowns aren't like ordinary clothes. The fit and the length must match your body precisely for you to rest comfortably tonight." Before the girl could say another word, Amber eagerly yanked her down the stairs. The hidden door clicked shut in front of me, leaving me sitting bored on the floor outside. Mom never let me through that door. She always said children shouldn't look at what was inside because it was bad for my development. But I was already all grown up. Pouting, I pressed my ear firmly against the door, straining to catch any sound from below. The noises inside were bizarre—rustling, accompanied by faint, muffled gasps and sharp whimpers. Did they both want the same gown and start fighting over it? I wondered to myself. After more than two hours, a few piercing, breathless cries echoed from behind the wood. Knowing the fitting was finally complete, I dusted off my knees and stood up. Sure enough, moments later, the hidden door creaked open from within, and Mom emerged with the two women. Both girls had flushed, deeply crimson faces. The younger one's legs were trembling so badly she could barely stand. Amber wore a short, form-fitting dress, while the younger girl wore a sleek, tightly clinging nightgown that outlined every single contour of her body. *Wait, that doesn't look very long at all,* I thought, puzzled. Yet there was no denying they had become stunningly gorgeous. The other hostesses waiting outside gasped, their eyes practically popping out of their heads. "Oh my god! Your skin looks so plump and glowing!" "Look at Silky! Even her complexion looks completely transformed!" The young girl, whom they called Silky, touched her heated cheeks, bashfully shrinking behind Amber. Mom smiled proudly, steadying the two girls as she escorted them toward the front door. "This is just the initial effect right after putting it on, so naturally it's quite dramatic. The longer you wear it, the better the results. We only take girls recommended by regular clients. Once you save up enough, you're always welcome to buy my silk gowns." Then, Mom's expression turned chillingly cold. "But remember this carefully." Her tone dropped. "The fabric of these gowns is priceless. Cherish them. Treat them gently." "Do not let them tear again."A few days later, my older sister Emily came bursting into the house in tears. It turned out her boyfriend of four years had dumped her. The reason he gave tore her apart. He told her she was ugly. "Mom! I don't want to live anymore! Emily and I came from your belly, so why are you so breathtakingly beautiful while the two of us were born looking so hideous?! Are we even your real daughters?!" Mom's eyes flickered, dodging her gaze as she said dismissively, "Oh, please. It's just because your father was so ugly. He passed down his miserable genes to you girls." Yet for as long as we could remember, we had never once laid eyes on our father. "I don't care! Mom, everyone says wearing your silk nightgowns makes a woman beautiful! I want to wear one! I want to be as gorgeous as those foot-spa hostesses next door! I'll make Austin crawl back to me on his knees!" Emily threw a fit, begging for a gown, but Mom flatly refused. She wouldn't offer an explanation either, repeating over and over that it was for Emily's own good. Emily wouldn't take no for an answer. In the dead of night, she dragged me out of bed, demanding that I help her steal one. "I know where Mom hides the silk gowns. They're down in the warehouse basement. Once I steal one and put it on, I'll have Mom's flawless face and curvy body. When Austin sees me, he won't be able to keep his hands off me!" Emily held her flushed cheeks, lost in fantasies of a passionate future with her boyfriend. Terrified of being caught by Mom, I tried desperately to pull her back. In the dead of night, the warehouse felt infinitely more sinister than during the day. When the hidden door swung open, the narrow corridor ahead was pitch-black. We stared into the murky basement, exchanging uneasy glances, neither of us daring to step down. Eventually, Emily's burning desire for beauty overcame her fear. Running her trembling palms along the cold wall, she crept down the stairs step by step like a blind girl navigating a void. She looked back at me with every single step, her face pale as a ghost, as if a monster lurked in the dark below, waiting to swallow her whole. A strange prickle of unease washed over me too. I had seen regular tailors make clothes before. People always hung their fabrics out in the sun and open air so they wouldn't smell musty. Why were Mom's silk nightgowns kept hidden away in such a damp, terrifying crypt?Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from deep below. My heart jumped into my throat. Fearing she had hurt herself, I was about to rush down when Emily called out sharply. "Mia, don't come in! Stay there... Ah!" "Emily! What happened? Did you fall?!" Hearing her breathless gasp, I rushed toward the opening. Yet Emily suddenly sounded euphoric, declaring that she was about to become beautiful and ordering me to stay back. "Mia, d-don't come in! I found Mom's gowns! Wait for me... I-I'm putting it on right now, and then I'll come out!" She told me to keep watch by the doorway and make sure Mom didn't catch us. With that, she scurried over and locked the basement door from the inside. A faint, rhythmic creaking of wooden bed slats soon resonated from the room. She stayed locked in there for over an hour. I paced anxiously outside, stamping my feet. How long could it possibly take to slip into a nightgown? Dawn was approaching, and Mom always woke early. If she caught us here, she'd rip my head off! "Emily! Hurry up!" I hissed through the crack in the door, tapping against the wood. Emily didn't answer. Instead, the creaking of the wooden slats grew louder and more frantic, accompanied by the muffled, strained sobs of a woman in deep, helpless distress. What was going on? Did she get hurt down there? "Emily? Are you okay? Why do you sound like that?" My hands and feet turned ice-cold. I knocked harder, whispering in a panic. The noises abruptly ceased. After a long silence, a raw, breathy whimper escaped her lips as if she could no longer hold it in, though she still gave me no clear answer. Finally, Emily's voice drifted out, weak and broken. "I'm fine... It's just... the one I picked is too long... It's so hard to pull on... Whatever you do, don't come in!" She pleaded with me to stay out, yet her voice sounded so breathless and drained she seemed on the verge of fainting. It sounded nothing like "fine." Curiosity flared inside me. What on earth was she doing in there? I found a hairline crack in the wooden door and pressed my eye to it. But the basement was pitch-black; I couldn't see a thing. I strained my eyes until they gradually adapted to the darkness, finally making out a blurry silhouette. It was Emily. Her back was turned to me, her legs shifting as her body rose and fell in heavy, rhythmic motions, letting out breathy, panting groans as if suffocating. Listening closely, I could even hear the faint, coarse friction of tightening ropes. Worry gnawed at my chest. It seemed Emily had been in such a rush that she grabbed a gown that was far too tight. It appeared so constricting that it was cutting off her air supply. What if she strangled herself trying to force it on? Just as I was about to kick the door open to tear the gown off her, a cold shadow loomed silently behind me.A shriek caught in my throat. I whipped around to see Mom standing there. Listening to Emily's muffled cries from the basement, Mom wore a look of bitter disappointment. "I thought you two were still young. I didn't want you dragged into this too soon, and I feared a single mistake would lead to irreversible ruin." "Yet she couldn't resist the temptation after all. She stole a gown on her own. If something terrible happens to her down there, she has no one to blame but herself." Mom shook her head slowly. Her expression held that exact same enigmatic, eerie chill I had seen that morning with the hostesses. "These gowns are made from human essence. Every single one is extraordinarily precious. If she chose an ill-fitting cut and ruins it through sheer recklessness, disaster will follow." "Mia, your sister is utterly useless now. Tell me, do you want to take over my boutique?" A tender, motherly smile appeared on Mom's face. She reached out with her smooth, youthful, porcelain-white fingers, gently stroking my hair, over and over. Take over the boutique?! My eyes lit up instantly. Shrugging off the eerie sensation of her cold fingers on my scalp, raw excitement surged through me. Taking over Mom's silk boutique meant that not only would I become stunningly gorgeous like the hostesses and Mom, but I would also have limitless wealth! Twenty thousand for a short cut. Forty thousand for a long one. Making over a hundred thousand a day meant millions a month! Even if the clientele was exclusive, once I became rich and gorgeous, wouldn't I be able to land a man a hundred times hotter and richer than Emily's pathetic ex? Envisioning that dazzling future, I nodded like a bird pecking at grain.Mom gave a satisfied smirk. Picking up a flashlight, she led me down into the warehouse basement. Even bathed in the beam of light, the underground corridor remained gloomy and terrifying. Remembering Emily's bizarre groans earlier, my pulse pounded wildly in my chest. The basement had been partitioned into several small, cramped rooms, separated by an extremely narrow passageway. I glanced into an open room. Two beds stood side by side with rumpled, sweat-stained sheets—clearly where the two hostesses had lain earlier that day, not yet tidied up. Mom guided me past the room where Emily was locked inside. As we approached, Emily's cries grew louder, accompanied by strange, muffled sounds I had never heard in my life. Finally, we reached the second subterranean chamber. This room connected directly to the first; it was the actual warehouse. Hanging from the ceiling were rows upon rows of gowns, each varying in size, length, and shade. A few silk pieces seemed freshly made and hadn't dried yet, dangling in the damp basement as thick droplets of moisture dripped slowly from their hems. Yet this wasn't the end. At the far side of the chamber, another staircase descended. Those steps plunged further down into the earth, like the gaping maw of an abyss. Stepping onto the sub-basement level, I witnessed a scene that stopped my breath entirely.