紙紮店總是安靜地存在於街角，燈光昏黃，貨物整齊排列。有人說，那些地方不只是為了準備祭品，有些東西，在被擺放好之後，就已經開始等待。
Paper offering shops sit quietly along dim streets, their contents arranged with care. Some believe these places are not only for preparation, but for waiting—long before anyone realizes it.
中文
那晚我只是經過那條街，幾間紙紮店還開著，燈光偏黃，裡面擺滿各種紙紮公仔，有些站著，有些坐著，全部排列得很整齊，我本來沒有打算停下，但其中一間店的門是開著的，裡面沒有看到任何人，我停了一下，站在門口，看著那些公仔，它們的臉都很白，眼睛畫得很清楚，但沒有表情，像只是被放在那裡，我走了進去，地上有些紙屑，但整體很乾淨，像剛整理過，我沒有出聲，也沒有叫人，只是慢慢走進去，那種安靜很奇怪，不是沒有聲音，而是像聲音被吸走，我站在一排公仔前面，看著它們，每一個都一樣，但看久了之後，我開始覺得有一點不對，那種不對不是明顯的改變，而是像某些地方和剛才不一樣，我再看一次，那一排公仔還在原位，但我很確定，它們的方向，好像有些不同，我沒有走近，只是站著，那種感覺很難說清楚，不是看到什麼，而是知道有什麼改變過，我沒有移開視線，只是看著，想確認那是不是錯覺，但我沒有看到任何一個動過，只是那個排列，好像不再完全一樣，我開始覺得不對，慢慢後退了一步，再看整排公仔，那一刻，我發現它們的方向，似乎比剛才更集中了一點，但我說不出是集中在哪裡，我沒有再看下去，只是轉身準備離開，但當我走到門口的時候，我忍不住回頭看了一眼，那一排公仔，全部面向同一個方向，不是門口，也不是牆，而是我剛才站的位置，我沒有停，直接走出那條街，外面的燈光和聲音都很正常，就像什麼都沒有發生過，但之後的幾天，我再經過那裡，那間店一直都是關著的，門沒有再開過，但有幾次，我會覺得櫥窗裡的公仔，比之前多了一點，而它們的方向，好像一直沒有改變
English Version
I was just passing through the street that night, a few paper offering shops were still open, their yellow lights casting a dull glow over rows of paper figures inside, some standing, some seated, all arranged too neatly, I didn’t plan to stop, but one shop caught my attention, its door open, no one visible inside, I paused at the entrance, looking at the figures, their faces pale, their painted eyes sharp but expressionless, as if they were simply placed there and forgotten, I stepped inside, bits of paper scattered across the floor, but everything else felt recently arranged, I didn’t call out, I just walked further in, the silence was unusual, not empty, but muted, as if sound didn’t belong there, I stood in front of a row of figures, they looked identical at first, but after a while, something began to feel off, not a clear change, just a sense that something wasn’t the same as before, I looked again, the figures were still in place, yet I was certain their positions had shifted slightly, not in distance, but in direction, I didn’t move closer, I just stood there, trying to understand what felt wrong, I kept watching, expecting to see movement, but nothing moved, and yet the arrangement no longer felt the same, I stepped back slowly, looking across the entire row, and it seemed as though their alignment had tightened, not toward me, not toward the door, but toward a single point I couldn’t name, I turned to leave, but just before stepping out, I looked back one last time, every single figure now faced the same direction, not toward the entrance, not toward the walls, but toward the exact spot where I had been standing, I didn’t hesitate, I left the street immediately, everything outside felt normal again, the lights, the sounds, the passing people, as if nothing had happened, but in the days that followed, whenever I passed that place, the shop was always closed, the door never open, yet sometimes, when I glanced through the window, it felt like there were more figures inside than before, and none of them seemed to have changed their direction
