Horror Short Story | The Washing Machine

When Chen Cheng moved into his new place, there was an old washing machine on the balcony. The landlord said the previous tenant left it, that it still worked, and he could throw it out if he didn't like it. He tried it once. The washing machine ran fine, but the spin cycle was unusually loud, like something was banging around inside. He didn't think much of it and kept using it. One day, while doing laundry, he opened the lid to take the clothes out and found an item that didn't belong to him inside. It was a little girl's dress, pink and soaking wet. He figured the previous tenant must have forgotten it and casually tossed it into the trash. The next day, he did laundry again, and the dress reappeared. This time, it was hanging on the washing machine lid, half-dry, as if someone had taken it out to air dry. Chen Cheng felt creeped out. He stuffed the dress into a plastic bag and threw it into the dumpsters downstairs. That night, he did laundry again, and the spin cycle noise returned. It was especially loud this time, shaking the entire machine. He opened the lid— The dress was inside. But this time, it wasn't wet; it was dry, neatly folded, and placed on top of his most expensive shirt. He picked up the dress and found a note tucked into the pocket: "Thank you for washing my clothes. But you threw me away three times, and I'm very sad." Chen Cheng put the dress back into the washing machine, closed the lid, and didn't dare touch it again. The next morning, he opened the washing machine. The dress was gone. Inside were only his clothes, all washed, spun dry, and neatly folded, stacked inside the machine. He breathed a sigh of relief, thinking it was over. That evening, he was about to take a shower and opened his closet to get his pajamas. Hanging inside the closet was that pink dress. It had gotten bigger, fitting him perfectly. He froze, slowly