Unreadable [Ritsu x Reader]

Chapter 12: Meanwhile

This village is old. The wood on the houses is worn and the path is roughly trodden down. Small farms are scattered through the area and to the west is a thick forest. Some houses appear abandoned, but some older residents still live here. One is the person Michio is looking for. He approaches a smaller home, out front is an elder lady in her rocking chair. He professionally bows, introduces himself, and offers her a small flower. She caresses it in her hands, making out the shape of it. She must be blind Michio oobserves.

"Oh, what a fine gentleman you are," she speaks with a raspy yet sweet voice. "What can I help you with?"

"I'm researching old tales and legends from the villages in this area, would you be willing to share any stories with me?"

"Oh, I would love to." A smile spreads across the woman's wrinkled face. "Reminds me of when we had more young'uns around, they used to come and listen to my stories."

"I'm sure you must be a great story teller," Michio patiently speaks.

"Would you like a cup of tea, young man?"

"No thank you, I'm quite fine."

~~~In this village a long time ago, there was a story of a young wife that had birthed triplets. It was a mystery why she had triplets because no one in her ancestry or her husband's had ever had twins or triplets. After a year, the village quieted down about the young family, until an accident happened. One of the triplets had wandered off into the woods. He was missing for about a month before a young lady found his body in the woods, hung against a tree without its head. It devastated the whole village. What was creepy is that the mother didn't even shed a tear. In fact, she looked more beautiful than she had in years. Once again, the village quieted down after some time. By the next disappearance, the two remaining triplets were about five years old. The other brother had disappeared and was found the same way as the first one. And again, the mother shed no tears- looking more rejuvenated since the last disappearance. Though, the husband ran away, saying that his wife and remaining daughter were crazy. The whole village was suspicious of the mother now and tried to keep the daughter away from home the most they could. Years later, their house burned down. The place was so charred that the villagers couldn't tell if the mother and daughter died in the fire. They weren't spotted afterward, so they assumed the worst. One day, a group of young boys bursts into the village, screaming that they saw the ghosts of the women and girl. Now they say that if you venture out into the woods too far, the mother and daughter will behead you just like they did to the other children. The senior residents of the village still remember the names of the mother and daughter. The mother's name was Koharu, and the daughter's name was Aia. ~~~

"Thank you," Michio jots down the two names in his notebook. He shuts with a quiet thud and slips it into a pocket inside his suit jacket. That's two more down.

[Drafted by Anna. Original legend created by Natalie]