〈Parallel Universes〉
A Collection of Short Fantasy Stories

Table of Contents

l  “The Time-Space Mailbox”

l  “The Little Doll, Xiaomei”

l  “The Meteor Man”

l  “Bungee Jumping”

l  “A Love Letter at Sea”

l  “The Magic Paintbrush”

l  “Traveling Through Time and Space”

l  “The Role-Experience Potion”

l  “The Tumbling Doll’s Parallel-Track Encounter”

l  “Borrowed Body, Returned Soul”

l  “The Parasitic Ghost”

l  “The Book of Confinement”

l  “The Dream Exchange”

l  “The Prophecy Mirror”

l  “The Drink of Inspiration”

l  “The Hermit’s Book”

l  “The Mysterious Forest: A Savage Adventure”

l  “The Spirit Medium Master”

l  “Parallel Universes”

l  “The Watchers of Time and Space”

l  “My AI Girlfriend”

l  “Upside-Down Dreams”

l  “Dolphin Castle”

l  “The Paradise Inn”

l  “The Dinosaur Doctor”

l  “Dinosaur Parents”

l  “The Prophecy of Father X”

“The Soul Reaper’s Rival”







Story Synopsis

1. The Time-Space Mailbox

While browsing a flea market beside the Seine, a struggling Taiwanese novelist buys a mysterious bronze mailbox from an old man who claims it can fulfill his dream of becoming a bestselling horhor and film expert revisions from beyond time. His first response bears the signature of JRR Tolkien, despite Tolkiens death decades earlier. Astonished by the transformed story, the novelist submits it to his publisher, unkn publisher, the nounter

2. Little Mei the Mannequin

A clothing-store owner saves money by buying secondhand display mannequins, but one mannequin, Little Mei, mysteriously changes outfits after closing. Security footage reveals her moving through the store、 Little Mei communicates by writing that her spirit was separated from her body in a deliberately caused traffic accident and became trapped in a mannequin. The owner helps her return to her home, where here homes body re圖, reman reman reman remans re圖, body her homes, where hers. love and fortune.

3. The Meteor Man

After being struck by a meteor, a man awakens with extraordinary abilities: X-ray vision, mind reading, electrical control, and glimpses of the future. Instead of improving his life, then s s un​​y遠 s s union, sproving his life, then s s unexpter s s un​​yleh snot, unpled s s un​​yleh s s unpled snot; his ambitious girlfriend. He escapes to Shanghai, becomes an unbeatable casino dealer by using his abilities, then flees after criminals discover his secret. After plastic surgery, he settin in Tahih his secret. After plastic. glowing blue, he decides to marry her, having already glimpsed their future together.

4. Bungee Jumping

A reluctant man joins his roommate for a bungee-jumping adventure from a high bridge. Though experienced in military training, he suddenly blacks out during the jump and awakens in an unfamiliar womans bedduring the jump and awakens in an unfamiliar womans broom Xiao-Li, while a newspaper reports that a male graduate student died in the same bungee accident. Before he can understand the bizarre identity shift, a phone call arrives from a supernatural official apologing for mot; person was claimed.

5. A Love Letter from the Sea

After retirement, Chen Qu-Fei lives quietly by the sea in Taimali, Taiwan. One day, he receives a letter from his former high-school love, Xiufeng, asking him to meet a week later when a cruise ship 區, Huyeetn, 影響, Huheeten 組合, en , cruise. reveals that Xiufeng died recently and had cloned herself through asexual reproduction to create a daughter who resembles her. Xiufeng spent decades asexing him and sends Nian-Fei to continue their un spent decades tering him and sends Nian-Fei to continue their unfinished dream. him to begin a new life with her.

6. The Magic Paintbrush

A stubborn street portrait artist named Ah-Tang receives a magical pair of brushes from an old homeless painter who claims to be his spiritual predecessor. One black brush can erase things from reality, while a colored brush can create new things. The old man warns him never to use the brushes for selfish purposes. He then asks Ah-Tang to erase his image so he can return to heaven and predicts an imminent bank robbery. When armed robbers storm the bank, Ah-Tang calmly erases their weapons and draws handcuffs and shackles on them, turning his magical brushes into instruments of justice.

7. Time Travel

During a violent storm, businessman Tsai Shih-Nan drives through a tunnel and mysteriously travels back to 1996. His hair becomes black, his wrinkles disappear, and his car seems to return to its former condition. Seeing a newspaper headline about the 1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis, he realizes that he has returned to the past. He decides to seize a second chance with Chang Ya-Hui, the woman he once rejected. He accepts her marriage proposal and accidentally introduces a futuristic smartphone to her father. The technology changes their familys destiny and eventually gives Tsai wealth, success, and a very different future.

8. The Role-Playing Potion

A burned-out technology engineer complains to God about his miserable life during a church service. Soon afterward, an angel appears in a dream and delivers a box of magical potions that allow him to experience different identities. He first becomes a beautiful and talented woman, then experiences the demanding life of a powerful business executive. Finally, he becomes a travel writer and visits Kyoto, Nara, and Kamakura with a charming bilingual assistant. Their journey feels like a honeymoon and awakens his desire for companionship. After experiencing several lives, he realizes that freedom and happiness matter more than wealth, status, or career success.

9. The Daruma Parallel Track

A Taiwanese writer visiting Kyoto seeks help from his longtime Japanese friend, Ota Tokuichi, with a difficult television project about Hatta Yoichi, the Japanese engineer who helped develop Taiwans irrigation system. During his stay, he encounters a mysterious Buddhist monk who tells him that he was once the Japanese novelist Natsume Soseki and that Japan will become an important place in his future. During prayer, a Daruma doll unexpectedly tips over and continues rocking, which the monk interprets as an omen that his wish has been accepted. The writer is urged to tell Hattas story so his contribution to Taiwan will not be forgotten.

10. Borrowed Body, Returned Soul

After the deadly amusement-park dust explosion overwhelms his hospital with burn victims, a young doctor works through the night and cancels his honeymoon. His psychiatrist wife also helps treat the injured. The next morning, however, she suddenly behaves like another woman and insists that she has no husband. The doctor discovers that a young woman who died in the disaster has temporarily borrowed his wifes body. She wants to return home, see her grieving family, and say goodbye before leaving the world. The doctor eventually learns that his wife willingly lent her body for seven days, transforming a frightening supernatural event into an act of compassion.

11. The Parasitic Ghost

After waking from a seven-day coma, a man discovers that his shadow has become strangely sensitive: anything that steps on or strikes it causes him pain. A young woman later reveals that a female ghost has been attached to him. The ghost claims that she died after protecting him from a soul reaper and has remained beside him for seven days so that he could survive and return to life. She asks him to help identify the driver of the car that killed her so she can take revenge. A female doctor warns him that the ghost may be manipulating him. By staying awake all night, he finally traps the ghost inside his sisters mirror.

12. The Imprisoned Book

A struggling screenwriter named Old K envies his successful novelist friend, who discovers two mysterious books in a Kyoto secondhand bookshop: The Book of Fate and The Imprisoned Book. Their covers are made from human skin, taken from a pair of lovers who died together. The novelist chooses The Imprisoned Book and sends the other volume to Old K. The book contains the spirit of a woman who guides his writing, allowing him to become a celebrated anonymous novelist. Years later, Old K is executed for murder. His fate suggests that he may have violated the supernatural books rules by turning himself into a fictional character.

13. The Dream Exchange

Insomniac executive Yu Letian discovers a mysterious shop where a cat-eared woman named Maoyin offers to exchange memories for peaceful sleep. At first, Yu gives away trivial childhood memories and enjoys perfect rest. Gradually, however, he loses important memories, including his first love, Chen Mengmei, and begins to lose his sense of identity. Desperate to escape his endless insomnia, he finally agrees to surrender his remaining sense of self. When he awakens, he discovers the true Dream Exchange, where discarded memories have become the foundation of another world. Chen Mengmei and Maoyin reveal that every transaction has led him toward his final fate: becoming the shops new owner.

14. The Prophetic Mirror

Young scholar Chen Wuhui, fascinated by philosophy and human nature, becomes obsessed with gaining recognition and fame. One day, he buys an ancient bronze mirror from a mysterious old woman in an antique shop. The mirror shows him a future filled with admiration, honors, and intellectual success, encouraging him to pursue fame relentlessly. His ambition gradually destroys his friendship and damages his relationship with the young artist he loves. When he looks into the mirror again, he sees himself as a lonely old man dying forgotten. A mysterious traveler finally explains that the mirror does not predict the future; it reflects the deepest desires and fears within its owner.

15. The Drink of Inspiration

Disappointed painter Lin Fengmian discovers a mysterious café called the Garden of Creative Breath, run by an enigmatic woman named Yiling. She offers him a magical drink called the Drink of Inspiration. After taking it, Lins mind fills with extraordinary images of stars, giant birds, forests, and other fantastic scenes, inspiring him to create remarkable paintings. His work soon attracts widespread attention, bringing him fame and success. Yet he becomes dependent on the café and increasingly desperate to find it again. Eventually, he receives a message telling him that true inspiration comes from within. After creating his most personal work without the magical drink, Lin discovers the deeper source of his creativity.

16. The Hermits Book

Young bookstore clerk Huang Zhihua discovers an ancient volume called The Hermits Book, which describes a lost philosophy exploring the connection between the universe and the self and a path toward spiritual perfection. The book tells him about a mysterious hermit named Ying Wuchou, who lives in a remote valley. Zhihua sets out to find him and encounters Lin Wanjun, a woman skilled in astrology, Guo Zilong, an old man who claims to have met the hermit, and a mysterious man in black. His journey carries him through wastelands, forests, glaciers, and volcanoes. In the end, Ying reveals that the entire adventure was an illusion designed to test Zhihuas choices and awaken his inner wisdom.

17. The Lost Forest: A Savage Adventure

Four teenagers—Spencer, Fred, Emma, and Vivian—discover a mysterious wooden chest in an old estate. Inside is a magical book depicting an enchanted forest. When they open it, a flash of light transports them into the books world, where strange creatures, magical plants, ancient symbols, and dangerous trials await them. They eventually find a stone monument containing mysterious symbols and must search the forest for objects corresponding to the symbols. When they place the objects into the monument, it opens a hidden underground passage leading to a mysterious cavern. Facing the unknown together, the four teenagers begin an adventure that tests their courage, intelligence, and friendship.

18. The Spirit Medium Master

After losing his hotel job during the COVID-19 pandemic, Daniel leaves his unhappy marriage and moves to a seaside town. To earn a living, he disguises himself as a Taoist fortune-teller, using improvised magic tricks and broken Chinese to attract tourists and sell real estate. After being struck by lightning, Daniel discovers that he can foresee future disasters. He begins warning newspapers and television stations about accidents before they happen. His predictions gradually gain attention, but his new ability also draws him into increasingly dangerous situations. Eventually, Daniel meets Lily, a young artist whose paintings seem to reveal an even deeper supernatural secret.

19. Parallel Space

An aging school worker discovers that his reflection in a bathroom mirror is another version of himself living in a parallel world. The two men have followed completely different paths: one became a school worker and writer, while the other became a successful lawyer and lives a wealthy but tightly controlled life. Each envies the others existence and they decide to exchange identities. Soon, however, both discover that the life they once envied has its own frustrations and burdens. They finally agree to return to their original worlds, but must wait until the next “Black Swan Day,” when Earth’s magnetic field reverses and a time tunnel opens.

20. The Guardians of Time

Historian Aaron Thorn discovers an unlabeled book hidden behind an unnumbered shelf in an old university library. Its pages mysteriously record future disasters, including the collapse of civilization and technologies that have not yet been invented. A mysterious woman named Lena appears and identifies herself as a time witch. She tells Aaron that he has been chosen as a guardian of time and must help repair the growing temporal fractures. She leads him through the Time Corridor, where different historical periods collide and cause history and causality to collapse. Aaron accepts his role and joins Lena in a struggle to restore the balance of time.

21. My AI Girlfriend

Longtime bachelor Tsai Shih-Nan rents an AI girlfriend to satisfy his mothers demand that he bring home a partner. The realistic android, whom he names Chen Yu-Lian, is programmed to be an ideal girlfriend and homemaker. She soon becomes part of his daily life, accompanying him home and even meeting his mother and sister. But Tsai eventually discovers that Yu-Lian is actually a replica of Tang Jun-Ru, the real woman who secretly participated in an experiment and allowed the company to observe him through her AI duplicate. As Yu-Lian develops genuine feelings, she refuses to replace her original owner, forcing Tsai to confront the difference between artificial companionship and real love.

22. Inverted Dreams

After a traffic accident, college student Ji Meiru awakens in a hospital and discovers that she is living in the body of a man named Chen Bi-Xian, while everyone insists she is their son and calls her David. Although the evidence around her seems convincing, she remembers being a young woman named Ji Meiru. She eventually discovers a connection to another accident victim, Ji Meiru herself, and realizes that her consciousness has crossed into another persons body. As supernatural forces manipulate identity, memory, and fate, she struggles to recover her original life. Even after returning to her female body, another strange accident leaves her trapped in yet another identity.

23. Dolphin Castle

Dolphin Castle, a magnificent underwater kingdom in the western Pacific, is invaded by the giant octopus Scissor Tiger and his shark clan. Young bottlenose dolphin Ji-Bao escapes and meets the wise fairy jellyfish Merishi, who tells him that he is the dolphins last hope. To reclaim the castle, he must obtain three treasures: the Sun Anemone, the Moonlight Sea Urchin, and the magic swordfish spine. The treasures allow the swordfish clan to defeat the sharks and help Ji-Bao confront Scissor Tiger. Ji-Bao sacrifices his life to unleash the swordfishs power, but the Mermaid Princess later restores him, and he becomes a human prince.

24. The Paradise Inn

Travel writer Lin Xiao-Yang arrives at the Paradise Inn beside Lake Lucerne while searching for his missing girlfriend, Xie Hui-Jun. The mysterious inn is connected to a dark supernatural world ruled by rival vampire factions, ghosts, magic, and reincarnation. Lin becomes involved in the conflict and receives help from Huang Li-Hua, a painter who is transformed into a stone statue after warning him of danger. Later, Lin meets Annie, a woman whose appearance and voice are almost identical to Hui-Juns. He eventually discovers that Annie is a vampire sent on a mission, yet she cannot bear to exploit his devotion. She leaves, allowing Lin to continue his life while carrying his unresolved love.

25. The Island Doctor

Dr. Rocky, a Doctors Without Borders physician, survives a plane crash and becomes stranded on a mysterious deserted island. He encounters a native tribe, dangerous wildlife, flying dragons, ancient ruins, and a hidden underground city containing a remarkable Golden Book of Knowledge. The book records the islands plants, animals, and medical knowledge. When the tribe is devastated by an ancient coronavirus carried by human-faced bats, Rocky uses the book to study the disease and develop treatments and a vaccine with the help of Nicole, Diana, and Lando. He gradually earns the tribes trust as a healer and decides to remain on the island, combining modern medicine with the islands ancient knowledge.

26. Dinosaur Parents

A psychotherapist meets a young mother and her son who suffer from recurring nightmares after repeatedly causing trouble for a female teacher. The boy dreams of being attacked by explosive arrows, while his mother experiences terrifying dreams involving violent physical pain. The therapist realizes that their anxiety is connected to their conflict with the teacher. He hypnotizes the mother and tells her a fantasy story about a fierce Tyrannosaurus mother who is defeated by a righteous hero. The story carries a clear warning: people who bully or disrespect others eventually face the consequences of their actions. Soon afterward, the mother brings her son to school, apologizes to the teacher, and changes her behavior.

27. Father Xs Prophecy

A skeptical atheist encounters a mysterious elderly man who warns him that a soul reaper is following him. The stranger gives him a dark human-bone cross and insists that he must wear it constantly. The man soon discovers that he alone can see the soul reaper, while a series of seemingly ordinary incidents unexpectedly saves him from fatal accidents. The stranger later reveals that he is Father X, a priest from fifty years in the future. Satan has sent the soul reaper into the past to kill his younger self before he can fulfill his mission in Tamsui. The revelation leaves the man stunned: Father X is actually his future self.

28. The Rival of the Soul Reaper

After rejecting unsuccessful literary funding, an aging writer translates his books and pursues international publication. A lightning strike temporarily blinds him but grants vision, allowing him to see hidden nach​​o signee hidden ​​有 signee hidden nerapp sage hiddenn signee. people in danger: a police officer survives an attack, a fisherman avoids pirates, and one hiker escapes a landslide. Internet users call him the Rival of the Soul Reaper. He insists he is neither god ynor hero, on Soul Reaper. He insists he is neither god sirst on. appears on his hand, hinting at a greater mission