Back then, Talotkan lived with her parents, her little brother, and her grandmother.
But their home was never peaceful. Day after day, arguments erupted like storms tearing through their fragile walls.
Her mother longed to leave.....to escape to England, to live with her brother and start anew.
But her grandmother stood firm.
"No," she insisted, "our family has dyed fabrics for generations. This is our blood, our roots. Talotkan must learn and carry it forward."
Her mother hated those words.
She despised the very thought of her daughter sinking her hands into dye and tradition.
Yet Talotkan loved it. She loved the vibrant colors, the soft hum of water mixing with pigment, the joy of creating beauty from plain white cloth.
And so, whenever she could, she helped her grandmother in the shop.
Every time her mother caught her, the scolding was sharp and merciless.
"Enough of this nonsense, Talotkan! This is not your future!"
But Talotkan didn't care. Her heart belonged to that little dyeing shop.
Her younger brother, Phop Rak, was the opposite.....utterly devoted to their mother, clinging to her side like a shadow.
And so, the fights never stopped.
Talotkan watched, silent and helpless, as the people she loved most tore into one another day after day.
Until one night… everything shattered.
---
The argument that evening was the worst of them all.
Voices rose higher than ever. Plates clattered, words cut deep, and anger burned like fire.
Her father sided with her mother, demanding they all leave for England.
Her grandmother refused.
And then.....
In a fit of rage, Talotkan's mother did the unthinkable.
She dragged the old woman to the door.
And at midnight, she threw her out.
Talotkan froze for a heartbeat....then her blood boiled.
"Enough!" she screamed.
Her voice shook the walls, thick with venom and pain.
"You're monsters! Animals! You care about nothing but money and luxury! Do you even have a heart?!"
Before her parents could speak, Talotkan spat out the words that would cut them forever:
"I refuse to live under the same roof as you. You're dead to me."
She ran.
She lifted her trembling grandmother.....frail, broken.....and stormed out of the house.
Behind them, her parents called her name again and again.
But she didn't look back.
Because something inside her had already shattered.
Love had turned to ash.
And hatred had bloomed in its place.
---
The streets were empty and cold.
Midnight bled into silence.
There was no food. No shelter. No light....except the one burning in her chest.
For the first time in her life, Talotkan felt true pain.
Anger. Regret. Hatred. Worry.
All of it crashing down on her like a tidal wave as she clutched her grandmother's fragile hand.
And then.....hope.
A sliver of it, in the form of an old house.
---
The place looked abandoned.
Ancient. Crumbling.
Trees surrounded it like a living fortress, their shadows twisting under the moonlight.
The walls were cracked. The corners swallowed by darkness.
Somewhere nearby, wildflowers bloomed among thorns.
And beyond that… the eerie calls of night creatures.
But to Talotkan, it was salvation.
Her only choice.
She left her grandmother resting by the roadside and ventured in.
The air was heavy with dust and secrets. Old furniture lay scattered as if frozen in time.
People spoke of this house in hushed whispers.
They said a little girl's ghost wandered these halls....that her laughter echoed in the dark.
Perhaps that was why no one dared steal a thing from here.
And tonight, this house....haunted or not.....would become their home.