After my wife gave birth to our lovely baby, she had been suffering from great depression. She kept thinking about things which are unbelievable and weird to me. I thought she must be nervous for her new family role as a mother. What a nice young lady she used to be! As what was expected, she gained much weight during the pregnant, and she couldn’t easily lose it after the grievous delivery. Her previous nice and luxury clothes were tiny. She once complaint to me, “Dear, I love you and our baby. But I can’t imagine what I am now. There will no longer be that wonderful times as we spent together at the balls or in the parks!” She cried helplessly.

Oh, my dear wife, may the force be with you! I had to make some effort to relief her from that misery. I rent a mansion in the suburban area. I hoped that easy life and fresh air in the country could luster her cheeks. How much I loved her pinkish face! She was the most naïve and innocent lamb in me life!

In the mansion, I moved her to the top floor. There were streams of sunshine and a big garden scene juts outside the window. She could appreciate the sunset and sundown, and bathe in the golden glory; she could hear canaries singing joyfully the spruces; she could let her sight go as far as the horizon. I got everything prepared for her here and back and home. I had a baby sitter to take care of our baby and I would take care my baby wife my own. I previously begged her sister Jennie to come to help. She was that a wonderful housekeeper!

My sweetheart’s brother once came to check her sister’s condition. He couldn’t agree more with my recuperation plan for her. “Thanks, John. Thank God my sister has you to take care of her!”

She seemed nice in the first few days. She seemed clearly knew what I was doing was all for her benefits. However, until recently, Jennie told me that she thought my dear had something crazy on her mind that she didn’t tell my.

“She kept staring at the wall. She had an angry and frightened look, whatever, that kind of mixed expression. When I went in, she looked mysterious, as if she wanted to hide something from me and she look at me suspiciously. I think you should find out what is wrong.”

“What’s wrong, baby?” I take her in my arms. She used to like to be hugged in my arms. She said that made her feel safe and warm, we were so close.

“No, nothing. Everything is great, perfect! Thank you, you are so considerate!” she was always this sweet to me.

“You will soon recover. Keep a high spirit. After you’ve taken cod liver oil and tonics, you will be brand new! Of course, you have to keep off entertainments in the city. Okay?” I kissed her blonde air. She was a real angel.

“Yes, sure!” she replied tenderly. There was then total silence. I thought she fell asleep when I heard her sobbing.

“What’s wrong?”

“Well, nothing. That’s Okay.”

I thought she must be tried. I‘d better leave her with herself. She couldn’t stand too much emotion. I put her head back on to her pillow, quietly, and walked out. At the door, when I looked back at her, she was shrinking into herself, staring at the wall blankly. What the hell was in her little head?!

Nothing went wrong in the following days. Only Jennie said that some of the wallpapers were torn off. Nothing mattered. We were leaving in a few days. My honey must have recovered most. I couldn’t help imaging our new life back to town!  

What a sunny day that day. I wanted to take her to a walk in the yard. When I came to her door, it was somehow locked up.

“Sweetheart, open the door please. Let’s go out.”

I heard there was some noise in there. It sounded like the wallpaper was torn off, into pieces. “What are you doing? Open the door please!” There was no answer for a long time, only dreary silence. I called and pounded, but in vain.

What’s wrong with her?! I grew nervous. What if she was jumping off that window? No, impossible, there were iron bar to prevent that. What if she was choked and desperately fought for her breath? No, impossible, she did have that kind of stuff to eat, unless she was to commit suicide and used feathers in her pillow… Time seemed stagnated during my pounds and thinking. “No! Open it! No! Open!!!” I grew nervous. “Jennie! Take an axe for me! Damned you door!!!” I shouted.

“John, dear! The key is down by the front steps, under the plantation leaf!” Suddenly, I heard her gentle voice. It sounded strange and familiar. Dear, God, she was okay. I felt a little relax. At least she could still talk to me. She was fine in there.

“Open the door, my darling.” I said.

“No, I can’t. The key is down by the front door under a plantation leaf!”

“Okay, I will take it. Wait for me, dear.”

I had to find the key and open the door my self. The run made my nearly lose my breath. When I opened the door, finally, I suddenly felt it a blot from the blue. “What is the matter?” I couldn’t help crying out. “For God’s sake, what are you doing?!”

I couldn’t believe it until nowadays. I found a woman creeping on the floor! It was my dear wife!!! She seemed a stranger to me! Her eyes told that she was totally another woman, an insane woman!!! She was creeping awkwardly as a freak! She kept creeping! She was creeping at me!!!

She said that she finally got out from that disgusting wallpaper. She’d escaped from me. I didn’t quite catch it because I just fainted at the spot! I was totally destroyed by her grotesque. She was not my wife. She went totally insane! She was a monster at that moment!!!

Now I tell the end of story to you. She crept out of the mansion and disappeared in the forests. I didn’t find her. I didn’t give up until her brother comforted me a month later after her missing. He told me she must have died somewhere deep in the woods, so I’d better start my own living. He said never let her mad sister be an obstacle on my road to happiness. Or his family would have to stand the rumors that it was their mad girl who devastated a promising young man though they had a wonderful marriage.  She must have lost her mind! It was a scandal for his family to have a crazy woman who not to know what was good for herself! They would rather accept others to say that their girl met a premature end for an incurable disease. I accepted with great agony. I just told my friends that my dear was affected with pneumonia in the country. After a few weeks, my friends and acquaintances nearly forgot about her.

I didn’t get married after I lost her. Everybody now says that I am such a devoted man. They sing highly for me. I’ve brought our baby up, happy and healthy. I am now nearly 80 years old. What I eagerly want, before my death, is to hear her inner heart: why should she turn to be that way! I’ve not figure out anything wrong from that day till now!!!

                                                                                                      -XISU-MWZ-