Mysterious Incident in My Father's Apartment
Hi all,
I'm facing a complete mystery and I'm hoping the community might have a logical explanation for a really bizarre scenario. The following story is based on what my father and sister told me. I initially thought it was a joke, but they're absolutely serious.
At the beginning of June, my father, sister, wife, and I left my father's apartment together. My father and sister went on vacation immediately, while my wife and I went home and then on vacation a few weeks later. So the apartment was completely empty for several weeks. Our mother passed away a few months ago.
When my father and sister returned from their vacation and opened the apartment door, they couldn't believe their eyes:
The floor: A transparent, sticky liquid was spread throughout the hallway and kitchen. Countless dead flies were stuck to it.
The kitchen: A brown liquid was splashed on the walls, the window, and the dishes (which were lying openly on the counter).
The stench: An unbearable, bitter, "toxic" stench permeated the entire apartment, seemingly from the liquid on the floor. My father compared it to insecticide or rust remover.
The bathroom and bedrooms were clean. However, my late mother's closet also smelled - albeit fainter - of exactly this toxic chemical stench (even though everything in there was clean).
The other rooms (bedrooms, toilet) are all accessible from the affected hallway. However, they remained completely clean.
My sister was so shocked by the mess that she immediately cleaned everything. She even cut off a piece of the kitchen window blind because it was so dirty.
What I have already ruled out:
- Exploded food: I initially thought it might have been a sauce or cola that exploded due to the summer heat. The kitchen was completely tidy before our departure; there were no containers lying around.
- Technical defect: I checked the old gas heater, the refrigerator, the washing machine, and the drain. There are no leaks or residue anywhere. Furthermore, the layout of the rooms makes no sense: the kitchen and hallway are perpendicular to each other - a spilled liquid wouldn't have spread around the corner into both rooms on its own.
- Break-in: There are absolutely no signs of forced entry. Nothing is missing - even money was untouched. The door was locked. The landlady (according to her own statement) doesn't have a key. The apartment is on the second floor; entry through the window is unlikely.
- Flies: My wife remembers that there was a fly in the apartment when we left. But a single fly doesn't multiply that drastically in just a few weeks.
My father was initially absolutely certain that my wife and I must have been in the apartment. When I denied it, I could see from his face and his surprise that he was absolutely stunned. He fully expected us to be responsible.