For the past three months, every night I have been smelling a strange smell. It’s not a typical body odor. It was like the smell of mold mixed with a strong, pungent smell clinging to the blankets, to the bedsheet, and especially to the part of the bed where Miguel was sleeping.

Our marriage wasn’t perfect, but we lived a quiet and peaceful life. O… That’s what I thought at the time.

I change the bedsheet all the time. I washed the blanket with hot water. Once again, I took the mattress out of the balcony to dry under the intense Manila sun.

But it’s weird — every night when Michael goes to bed, the smell returns.

When I asked him, his brow furrowed.

“You’re just so sensitive, Anna. There is no smell.”

But I knew I wasn’t imagining.

Things got even weirder when I noticed that every time I tried to clean part of her bed, she suddenly became irritable. One night he even screamed.

“Don’t touch my stuff. Let the bed be like that!”

I was stunned.

Michael was always calm. In my eight years of marriage, I’ve never seen her get so upset just because of cleaning.

From then on, a strange fear gradually developed inside me.

And then the night came when the smell became so strong, I could barely sleep. Every time I lay down, I felt like something was rotting under the bed.

A very strong sense of fear.

One night, Miguel said he had to go to Cebu for a three-day business trip.

He pulled his suitcase to the door and kissed me on the forehead.

“Make sure the door is locked.”

I nodded, but there was a strange feeling in my chest.

As the door closed and the sound of his footsteps in the hallway gradually faded, the whole house became very quiet.

I stared at the door for a long time.

Then I slowly turned my gaze back to the bed in our bedroom.

Suddenly, my heart was beating faster.

An idea popped into my head — and in that moment, I knew I couldn’t ignore it anymore.

“Something is wrong… I need to know the truth.”

I pulled the mattress to the middle of the floor.

My hand trembled as I held the cutter.

I took a deep breath.

And I made the first cut.

As soon as the mattress fabric separated, a strong foul smell suddenly evaporated from my face.

I grabbed my nose and coughed loudly.

My heart was pounding.

It can’t be… Why does it smell like this inside the mattress?

I cut it even bigger.

The foam was slowly coming out of the inside.

And then…

It was as if my world had stopped.