Cupcakes, Cars & Swords

Chapter 11

Mr. Shinimoto was not one for illusions, but in regards to some of his "hobbies", he found illusions very necessary.

As he did every morning, he awoke before the sun, throwing a plush robe around his body to protect him from the cold. With slippered feet, he padded across the length of his massive bedroom and into the adjoining walk-in closet, then slowly kneeled at the wall just to the inside of the doorway.

A quick jab to the corner of the wall caused it to slide back and disappear, offering entrance to a secret room.

It was small and sparsely furnished, dimly lit from small skylights in the ceiling. As he entered the room, Mr. Shinimoto found himself directly in front of the only piece of furniture in there -a shrine- that held small framed pictures of his father and grandfather. These were intermingled with small glass votives, the round tea lights inside melted to the bottom.

With a shaky hand, the elder lit the candles, then kneeled before the altar. Pressing his hands together, he murmured a familiar, fervent prayer, his lips swiftly forming the words of entreaty and pleas. Over and over again he prayed, the words slowly gathering force, until his voice echoed around the room.

The entrance to this private room of worship suddenly slammed shut, startling the old man. A strong wind began to swirl around him, so strong and forceful, he fell onto his hindquarters with a painful thud. Turning over onto his hands and knees, he crawled to the doorway, clawing at the smooth surface, trying to open it. The wind continued to swirl around, disorienting him as he tried to locate its origins.

The pictures of his father and grandfather began to rattle, catching his attention; his eyes watched as the candlelight began to dance in the growing wind, until they blew out, plunging him into darkness.

Feeling around the altar top, Mr. Shinimoto found the small box of matches and struck a single stick against the box's rough side.

A dark face with glowing red eyes appeared in front of him, causing him to drop the match in alarm.

Mr. Shinimoto screamed.

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Cho Sun Kyu quietly lay in bed, listening to the slow, rhythmic breathing of her twin sleeping beside her. She felt both annoyed and envious of her brother's ability to sleep at a time like this: their little sister was missing, after all; how could his sleep be so peaceful that he was drooling?

Her heart was racing almost painfully in her chest, and she could feel sweat beading at her hairline, but no matter how focused or how concentrated she was on Tae, the anxiety and fear she felt refused to go away.

They're just dreams, Sunny! she scolded herself. Get a grip!

But even as her brain fought with her instincts, Sunny couldn't shake the images of her baby sister, afraid and alone, from her head.