Haunt Me

Good Morning

June 16th, 1998. Tokyo City, Japan.

Deep sleep. That's all it was. Just the dark warm void of deep sleep. I knew I was supposed to get up but somehow I forced myself back asleep despite the muffled ringing. The noise grew increasingly louder and began to annoy me. "What is that noise? Why won't it just die out? What is it? Maybe if I ignore it I can go back to sleep." I thought in my sleep. I had those kinds of abilities where I could think while sleeping. And soon my thoughts start turning into colors, sounds, objects, and soon it forms a dream based off my thoughts. When I'm in this waiting state, I'm floating in a dark void. Objects of my room float around me and I just lay there. Usually, I'm partially awake when in this state or sometimes I'm fully dreaming. The ringing got louder, and louder. It was beginning to drive me nuts so I forcefully woke myself up out of this strange in between of being unconscious and conscious. Of course, it was my dumb alarm clock. I lazily slammed it so it would stop ringing.

I lay on my satin sheets and expensive European pillows, staring at the slowly spinning ceiling fan above me. Any minute now, I was going to hear frantic doorbell ringing. I began counting down. "Five...Four...Three...Two...One..." BRRRRRIIIIIINNNNG! BRRRRRRRIIIIIINNNNNGGGGG! BRRRRRIIIIIIINNNNNGGGGG! I sighed and dragged myself out of bed, quickly fixing my hair and checking my smile in the mirror. "Okay. I'm good." I answered the door and saw my manager, Ayumi, standing there with two lattes and some mango breakfast pastries. She was out of breath and was struggling to carry the food and her large purse. "What have you been doing all morning?! We need to be at the studio by 8:30 and it's already 7:45!" When she said that I began to wonder just how deep I can sleep since my alarm had been going off for 45 minutes. "Well I'm awake now." I smiled, and though it appeared genuine, It was fake. Ayumi softened up. "Hanami, Did you sleep in on purpose? Since today is...Y'know..." I became puzzled for a second. I tilted my head in confusion. "What's today?" I thought.

Then it hit me.

June 16th, 1992.

This morning, the remains of 18 year old Yui Nagami was recovered from Shibuya Train Station. Her best friend, Hanami Yukiko, was interviewed about the last moments she had with her childhood friend. "She was my soulmate, and a one of a kind friend and she was so sweet and loyal. I wish I could've saved her."

The young girl had plans to become pop idols with her best friend, but sadly she committed suicide the night before. Yui's body was almost completely unrecognizable, if it weren't for Hanami calling for help on the nearby pay phone.

"Our little girl had big dreams and she seemed so happy, I don't believe she would do anything like this! Not my Yui! Not my precious Yui!" Says the victim's mother, Hanako Nagami.

"Hanami?" Ayumi's voice broke me out of my trance. "Hanami? You listening to me?" I rubbed my eyes sleepily. "Hm?" Ayumi sighed. "Hey, you don't have to do this interview." I smiled. "No, I agreed to this because I want to tell her story." Ayumi looked visibly worried. "Alright then... May I come in now?" I snapped out of it once more. "O-Oh yeah, sorry." I moved out of the way and let Ayumi walk in to my apartment. "Why don't you get ready?" She said, sweetly. I put on my sweet voice. "Yeah, I will."
I smiled at her and walked to my room, I picked out an outfit and some jewelry. I laid it out on my bed and walked to my bathroom, getting a towel out of a cabinet and setting it to the side. Ayumi called out from the small living room. "Oh did you hear about this? They're setting up a memorial for Yui at Shibuya station! Isn't that just sweet?" Ayumi always tried to make the best out of negative situations. "Putting honey on burnt toast" as she once called it. "Oh I didn't. That's- Nice." I awkwardly responded. I turned on the shower and got undressed, the bathroom mirror began to fog up pretty quickly from the heat of the water. I quickly wiped it off with the intention of checking my teeth, and instead was greeted with Yui's face over my shoulder. Her eyes were dark and sunken in, her skin was rotted and she opened her mouth then let out the deafening sound of a train horn. Yui's mouth was stretched out inhumanly, and her teeth were black and rotten. I screamed and turned around quickly, leaning against the sink and looking around me.

Nothing was there. I looked back in the mirror and she was gone. My ears were ringing and my head was pounding from the sudden adrenaline. I closed my eyes tightly and slowed my breathing down to calm myself. "Hanami? Hanami is everything okay? Are you hurt?" Ayumi's voice was muffled and nearly impossible to hear over the ringing in my ears. "Y-Yes I'm fine! Just saw a bug is all!" My heart was pounding so fast I thought I might die. I decided to quickly hop in the shower to try to forget what I saw and heard. Was that real? Am I just freaking myself out? Why today of all days? I decided to not think on it for the rest of my shower. However when I was done, I definitely avoided the mirror.