Little Bridge Restaurant
引子：
就算知道再多秘密或者不顺，也千万不要说出来或者抱怨哦，被湿婆听见的话……会抓走你的。
Prologue:
No matter how many secrets you hold or how much misfortune you endure, never speak them aloud. Never complain.
If Shiva hears you… She will take you away.
下班后我在前往小桥饭店的路上，刚接到同事的电话，说他们想聚一下，大约30多个人，饭局定在小桥饭店30楼，他们已经都到了。
说实话小桥饭店就在公司附近，位于一栋破败的居民楼一层，实际店面非常小，整间屋子加起来一共只有6张桌子，但胜在价格划算，一般工作日我们都会过去随便吃口午饭，真不知道居然还有个30楼……可能是店家为人多的饭局专门开放的空间吧。
虽说物美价廉，但大家普遍不会对小桥饭店有极好印象，因为有时会有一位口齿不清，自言自语，看起来精神不太稳定的人在店门口徘徊。往往此时大家就会避而远之，或者选择其他餐厅。虽说从没出现过伤人事件，但体感总是不太好。
进门后我直接询问服务员30楼怎么去，他看了我一眼，死气沉沉地带我进了厨房的后门，他打开门映入眼帘的是一条幽暗的居民楼走廊，灯光昏暗忽闪忽闪，但是却人满为患格外热闹，狭窄的通道挤满了来来去去传菜的员工，隐约看到走廊尽头有一部电梯，服务员冷冷丢下一句“坐电梯上去”便离开了。
我望着眼前毫无缝隙的人群，心生无奈，吸一口气硬着头皮侧身挤了进去，再缓慢挪动中，不仅要注意脚下空间还要提防他们手上的菜品。
这时我后面逐渐追上来个服务员，他神色慌张，好像十分着急，但又没有空间越过我，他只能逮着一个传菜员就问：“玲姐在哪里？门口有个……”
玲姐是饭店的老板娘，为人一般，和她接触不多……但后半句话我也没听清，眼下只顾挤到电梯口去。
After clocking out, I headed toward Little Bridge Restaurant. I’d just received a call from my colleagues saying they wanted to get together—about thirty of them. They had already arrived and were waiting on the 30th floor.
To be honest, Little Bridge was right near the office, tucked away on the ground floor of a decaying residential building. The place was tiny, with only six tables in total. But the food was cheap and decent, so we usually grabbed a quick lunch there during the week. I never knew a 30th floor even existed...
I figured the owners kept a larger space upstairs specifically for big parties.
Despite the value, most people didn’t have a great impression of the place. There was often a man lingering by the entrance—vacant-eyed, muttering to himself, appearing mentally unstable. People tended to avoid the restaurant when he was around, or simply chose to eat elsewhere. He’d never actually hurt anyone, but the vibe was always... off.
When I entered, I asked the waiter how to get to the 30th floor. He gave me a hollow look and, with a deathly silence, led me through the back door of the kitchen. As he pushed the door open, I was met with a dim, flickering hallway typical of an old apartment block. To my surprise, it was swarming with people. The narrow passage was packed with staff rushing back and forth with dishes. I could just make out an elevator at the far end.
"Take the lift," the waiter muttered coldly before disappearing.
Looking at the wall of people, I sighed, took a deep breath, and squeezed in sideways. As I slowly shuffled forward, I had to watch my step while dodging the steaming plates of food held by the servers.
A waiter behind me was trying to push through. He looked panicked, frantic even, but there was no room to pass. He grabbed a nearby food runner and hissed: "Where is Sister Ling? There’s someone at the door..."
Sister Ling was the owner. She was an unremarkable woman, and I’d rarely spoken to her. I didn’t catch the rest of the waiter's sentence; my only goal was to reach that elevator.
好不容易到门前，喘息间电梯打开，里面只站了两个个人……我刚想站进去，身后的工作人员突然涌进去，我还没来得及反应，电梯便满员了，紧接着电梯门直接关上，徒留木讷的我站在原地。
去30楼的人那么多啊，我回头看了一眼，瞬间后面排满了等电梯的人。就这样等了二十多分钟，耐心逐渐消磨殆尽，这糟糕的体验和无止境的等待，我愤然放弃，和同事打个电话找了个借口推脱后，转身退了出去。
快到后门口的时候看见依旧是之前的那位服务员，他神情紧张地跑出来，喊着：“你们谁看到玲姐了？”这时几个服务员凑在了一起：“怎么了？又出现了呆子？” “对啊，是不是他又在我们店吃了湿婆的东西了？” “不知道啊，是在我们店吗？好久没遇见了。”
说实话我完全不知道他们在说什么，只觉得这家店一定有什么秘密。
总算回到了大堂，饭店依旧生意很好，既然都在这儿了，餐厅的香味让我也产生了饥饿感，决定直接在底层随便吃点再回去。
扫了一圈，餐厅依旧人满为患，只有一张桌子上只坐了一个人，或许可以和她拼桌，盘算着走过去，拍了拍女士的肩膀，转头原来是位老人，面容慈祥，她马上同意了和我拼桌，还推了推面前的菜，说她一个人吃不完，叫我不用点了，直接添碗饭。也是巧，她明明一个人，但是却点了正好两个人吃的菜量。
边吃边聊就熟了，不让场面太尴尬，我突然想到一点，说：“你知道吗？我觉得这餐厅可能卫生不太好。因为我刚才在后厨，听说他们有人好像吃出了问题，吃成了傻子。”说完我往门外看了看，发现并没有他们说的什么呆子。也可能，是我听错了吧。
Finally, the doors slid open. Only two people were inside. But just as I went to step in, a surge of staff shoved past me. Before I could react, the elevator was at capacity and the doors hissed shut, leaving me standing there like a fool.
Are that many people really going to the 30th floor? I looked behind me. In an instant, a long queue had formed. I waited for over twenty minutes, my patience wearing thin. Between the dismal atmosphere and the endless wait, I snapped. I called my colleagues, made an excuse, and decided to head back out.
As I neared the back exit, I saw the same panicked waiter from before. He ran out, shouting, "Has anyone seen Sister Ling?"
A few servers huddled together. "What happened? Did the 'Blank One' show up again?" "Yeah. Did he eat something belonging to Shiva in our shop again?" "I don't know. Was it even here? We haven't seen him in ages."
I had no idea what they were talking about, but I could feel that this restaurant held a dark secret.
Once I made it back to the main dining area, the place was still buzzing. The aroma of the food triggered a sudden hunger, so I decided to just grab a quick bite on the ground floor before heading home.
The room was packed, save for one table where a single woman sat. I figured I’d try my luck at sharing. I walked over and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around—an elderly woman with a kind, gentle face. She immediately agreed to let me sit and even pushed her dishes toward me, saying she couldn't finish it all and that I shouldn't bother ordering. I should just get a bowl of rice. Strangely enough, despite being alone, she had ordered enough food for exactly two people.
We got to talking as we ate. To break the awkward silence, I brought up my observation. "You know, I don't think the hygiene here is very good. I was just in the back, and I heard someone mention that a customer ate something bad and turned into a... well, a 'dummy'." I glanced toward the door, but the man I'd seen earlier wasn't there. Maybe I misheard, I thought.
她换了个话题问我：“你们年轻人工作都很累吧？” 我笑了笑，好像开了话匣，把最近的不爽都吐了个遍。她听完笑了笑，说道：“没事，其实你知道吗？这种抱怨工作的味道，其实更好吃。”
不知所云的话听得我一头雾水，不过饭也吃得差不多了，我也该回去继续加班了，便伸手打算找服务员结账。
老人见势立刻摆摆手，支支吾吾地说，别急啊，再等等。我顿感诧异？
她说她想再忍忍，然后说了些莫名其妙的话，我觉得她似乎不太正常，就准备起身走了，想不到她一把抓住了我的手臂，说： “其实，我还想加一道菜。”
我大舒口气，“那您加呗……您想加啥？”
老人的嘴角慢慢上扬，皱纹瞬间布满了脸颊，她盯着我，露出一副渴望的表情。
“其实，其实我想加的一道菜......
——是你的脑子。”
餐厅外，有个目光无神，瞳孔发灰，呆站着来回徘徊的男子，他一身白衣，谁也不知道他想做什么，去哪儿，来自哪里，他只是呆呆地望向远处，不停地徘徊在小桥店门口。店内的服务员纷纷的小声议论着：呆子，呆子来了。呆子……”
She shifted the subject. "You young people have it hard at work, don't you?"
I let out a weak laugh. It was like a floodgate opened. I started venting about everything—the stress, the long hours, all my recent frustrations. She listened, smiling softly.
"It's alright," she said. "Actually, did you know? The flavor of a 'workplace complaint'... it makes the meat taste so much better."
I stared at her, baffled by the nonsense. But I was finished with my meal and ready to get back to overtime. I raised my hand to signal a waiter for the bill.
The old woman immediately waved her hand, stammering, "Don't be in such a hurry. Just wait a little longer."
I froze, startled by her sudden change in tone.
She muttered something about "enduring it just a bit more," her words becoming erratic. Realizing something was wrong, I moved to stand up, but she suddenly lunged out and gripped my arm with surprising strength.
"Actually," she whispered, "I’d like to add one more dish."
I exhaled a sigh of relief. "Go ahead then... what did you want to add?"
The corners of her mouth slowly curled upward, wrinkles snaking across her face like cracks in stone. She stared into my eyes with an expression of pure, starving hunger.
"Actually... the dish I want to add...
——is your brain."
Outside the restaurant, a man stood wandering aimlessly. His eyes were vacant, his pupils a dull, dusty grey. Dressed entirely in white, he moved back and forth in front of Little Bridge, his destination and purpose unknown. Inside, the waiters whispered to one another in hushed, trembling voices.
"The Blank One... The Blank One is here. The Blank One..."