The past couple of nights Rei had been uneasy. Wednesday her suspension, Thursday the day that she discovered the secret. Friday night? Continuous thoughts running in a long marathon keeping her up all night. By the break of dawn, Satsuki was already peeling her older sister's eyes open. She peeled Rei's sleepy eyelids apart and poked the other eye to jolt her sister awake. It worked, little sisters these days. Satsuki tilted her head innocently, as if she had no idea what she did, or that she didn't do it. Rei gave Satsuki a long, impatient, low sigh as she went to sit up on her bed, she cracked her neck and asked, "What do you want now?"
"Not me, him." Satsuki pointed. There was Tatsuya, waiting for her to wake up. Saturday, one of his work diurnals, all of them are in need to wake up early so that he'll be on time. Rushed morning, means things need to be done in the given hours of time.
"I'm up now, it's an hour earlier than usual." Rei complained.
"May be an hour earlier than usual, but the principal has requested to have a meeting this morning between us, the Yuzuriha family and the Sato clan," Tatsuya said unenthusiastically when it came to the Sato family part. "but we're not going."
"Thanks, I swear if I see that pampered little princess again I will put her in her place between the ground and my foot." Rei sighed in relief.
"It's also so I can get to work on time today, I'm on full-time today, so you better stay out of trouble. And Satsuki, you will get to play with your friend Yuuichiro today when day-care closes, okay?" The two girls nodded in response, and headed down for breakfast, same as yesterday, just something simple. Rice and Miso soup, served with grilled Atlantic salmon and Ohitashi (boiled vegetables) as a side. With Tamagoyaki (a type of omelette) to go with.
Just them, in a large house. But a large house means a quiet home when only one is jumping on the bed. Then falls off and get dragged to the spider's web. They don't enjoy the ringing of noise, silence is their favourite sound. One, two, three? Now it's only me. In this world, there's no use of bickering to the truth of eyes, they will find you, steal you, and poison you. As it kills the victim in the web slowly. Only this time, it's not a tiny, little insect, but one of us humans, who have been meddling with the forces of nature and the supernatural. Too close to a piece of the truth, they will start to rip manic on the schizophrenic, and off with all their heads.
Word of advice: don't eat the tainted rice.
Of all things to happen this week. Rei being suspended, and me sitting here writing this in a small A5 notebook I got from Aunt Lin, writing with a smooth black ballpoint pen my Uncle Jie. Oh, how my day could have been better, if I weren't sitting here with a bandage covering part of my head. I miss my friends, Rei always had some sort of drama to mention or story to tell, Taro being highly sceptical in any truth either party had said. I miss them both. I do have my brother for company, but he won't tell me anything about his friends, or if he's still a single pringle.
Eh, who knows what's going on inside his head. Some of his classmates say he becomes a living psychopath when he's angry as hell, which is strange because, Onii-chan's always so calm and sincere around us, we don't have the same sibling relationship as Rei, Tatsuya and Satsuki, Nii-chan is quiet as the dead of night, Kaiyo is calm and sincere and we have a strong sibling connection. It's just my sister being the missing link. She's always been quiet, ever since childhood.
But the proposal Akane made. She promised that she will never disturb or hurt us until the end of the year, or some sort of period like that, if I win her inadequate race. Yet again, it would be great for us to not have Akane being a brat in my ear, on the contrary, what happens if I lose? Oh whatever! I'm doing this whether I like it or not, slight twist though, every single grade five and six. Eh, who cares either way. At least I can get my revenge from what SHE did to me. She ruined me and my reputation, now time for me to ruin her rep back.
If I lose, I will challenge Obake to race me until I win, until Bakane will taste my vengeance. Feel what it's like living under the shadow, Sato Akane. Now you feel my pain.
By the time it was 6:45, Onii-chan and Satsuki had already left the house, leaving me with the advantage to do what I need. I decided to get out my sketchbook and draw on the living room coffee table whilst listening to Rokudan no Shirabe. All the time I spent drawing, ended up as the same
picture over and over again. Each time I restart, I just end up redrawing the last, only in some different form. It's strange, one moment I draw the picture I was thinking of, then my drawing style changes completely to the one I last drew. Each one, is a mere period of when I saw it. She terrifies me, not only my waking hours, but also my hours of slumber.
Those eyes stand out, the wet hair dark as twilight, and a smile as disconcerting as a woman with slits on the sides of her mouth going from ear to ear. The skin as pale as a China doll with porcelain white skin, that was recently found in a dusty, old and creaky attic inside a 17th century Victorian London house. Why can't I just get over it.
OH, WHAT DO I DO FOR THE NAME OF MY PEACE!? It's already starting to become an obsession. You know what? I'll just get some sleep, that should shake off the discomfort.
After Karin had a good think if what she was doing was right, she stuck with her decision to the very end. She humiliated Karin, now time for her to ridicule her back. Karin won't take it easily, she will do whatever it takes to win that race. Even start a diet, go out training, give up Salmon Daikon. The things people do for others, or should I say, the things people do when an act of humiliation becomes a desire, and obsession to impair. Well, what can I say?
While Kaiyo worked on an essay, Karin started to get
ready to go out onto the oval and have a good run. She left her hair untied as it will just get messy anyway. Carefully, she went through the alfresco door to not alert Kaiyo that she was sneaking out. Karin opened the door, only to find Kaiyo sitting there, waiting for her as if he had planned this all out. "Going somewhere?"
Shoot. Kaiyo saw me, it's like he planned it all out. He
didn't ask for an explanation, so I said this, "Okay! You caught me, what do you want to do now?" ...Mate, what was I meant to do?
"Gut feeling that you would do something like this, agree to Akane's proposal, run off to the school oval and race Akane." my not-so-much-of-a-nuisance brother specified. "Mum would be enraged at you if she knew you went outside all on your own. But guaranteed you will still try anyway, I'll help this ONE time. All right."
Well at least two (three if we include Rei, but I doubt she knows about this shenaniganry) are on my side of the schism. So, we went out onto the oval on our own, we live just across the road so it's normal for students to do that. The lanes were already set up for the race practise and the race itself, the track being 800 metres. All I need to do is run the track against my brother's timer that has Obake's fastest run this year. Greeeeeaaaaat.
Time running out, breath running out. Mentality weakening, and ambition turns to sweet vengeance. Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of reality. As more time slipped out of grip, Rei slowly grew insane, whispering the unknown. My favourite poet and Children's Author, Catherine Fisher once said this:
"Walls have ears, Doors have eyes,
Trees have voices, Beasts tell lies,
Beware the rain, Beware the snow,
Beware the man you think you know."
Is it just me, or is it kind of true? Just think about it, you can listen through a wall, peak through a door, trees talk through roots, and most beasts in fables and fairy tales lie. Stay clear of the rain as it can make you sick or get swept up by a kidnapper and snow can hide unsuspecting predators. And beware all you think you know; deception and manipulation. Does it sound familiar now?
Just a few more seconds to reach the end, but it's too late, 12 seconds after Obake's record. And Just a Few hours until Tatsuya and Rei are back. As Karin ran, the anger in her blood boiled in determination and ambition to win Akane's bet. And at long last she will have revenge.
Dinner at the Akabane house was strange, the uneasy taciturnity and Rei suddenly fleeing to her room once finished. She tried and tried to get a good night's rest but she couldn't stop seeing it, seeing her.
YOU ARE READING
Realms: "Kakurenbo? Sukima Onna- ASH
HorrorYou may have felt it before- wait no you HAVE felt it before, the feeling or fear that something... or someone is watching you. Ring a bell now? But in this version, of all she plays will dismay, yet must be found in there... all alone. It's he...
