6 August 2012
Yūrei Pt.1 Ch.1
Darkness
The light is fading quickly, soon it will be too dark to see, too dark to see this world, at least. But not too dark for the other one, never too dark for the other one. That's when they'll come out, when I'll feel their breath on my face and their hands on my arms, once again. I take a deep breath and draw the covers tighter over my head. Even without the ability to see, I know the sun has set, I can just tell, just how I can tell they're coming. Of course they're not going to do any physical harm, but they will drive their daggers of terror into my skull and their arrows of despair into my heart. 'It's not as bad as last night', I think, 'I've survived much worse.' As this thought crosses my mind, almost as if to mock me, a shadow flickers in the corner of the room and a chill shoots up my spine. Again, that face on the wall, the one painted across my heart, but smeared with black ink, twisted to the point where it's almost unrecognisable. It's laughing, again, in time with the offbeats of the clock, a cold and monotonous sound that resounds inside my head, no matter how much I try to drown it out. <<Creak>> above me, under me, behind me, all around me, a clicking, scratching and creaking, as though someone is trying to claw their way out of the attic. The sheets are plastered to my body so tight that I'm having trouble breathing. The scratching is getting louder now, on the bed post next to my face. 'I have to get away' I think, 'far, far away. Where they can never find me.' And that's exactly what I do. Leaving the shadows and ghostly faces in my wake, I tear the covers off the bed and run, or make more of a dazed scramble, fuelled by adrenaline, towards the hallway below. As I hurtle down the stairs, I do what comes naturally to me, start singing Christmas Carols. I know it sounds ridiculous, but that, combined with a meaningless slur of bravado, is just a reflex to me, second nature to drive the darkness away. When I reach the bottom of the stairs, I waste no time in tearing the door open and stumbling out into the cold night air.
Quickly, I slam the door behind me and make a beeline for the airport. I need to escape, anywhere- Russia, Greece, heck, even the South Pole if it gets me away from here. Singing Christmas Carols out loud, as loud as I can, all the while, I follow the many signs and turns until I end up outside a small coffee shop on the outskirts of a large mall. I've never actually walked to the airport before, only driven past it once or twice, so I decide I should stop in and ask for directions. When I walk in, the first thing I notice is the distinct smell of strong, black coffee, at least that's normal. Approaching the counter, I see a couple of people sitting at small, round tables staring at me, as though I had three heads. After a while, I finally realise what they are looking at- I am still in my robes and all I have on my feet are thick, black socks, no shoes, no coat.... no trousers. An elderly woman in a red hair net emerges from behind the counter and asks if she can help. I tell her I need directions and she pulls out an old, stained napkin and begins sketching a rough map on it of the nearby complexes and roads, marking out the quickest route to the airport. Hurriedly, I thank her, and dash out the door, down the nearest road and towards my destination.
"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know- da da da da da da, la la hmm hmm hmm...." my hand brushes slowly across the many different fabrics on the rack- vinyl, cotton, silk. I'm standing in a small clothing store inside the middle of the airport, trying to find something to wear. Luckily, I'd left my debit card inside my robe pocket, I don't know what I would be doing without it. After a while, I find a matching set of grey shirts and trousers. I buy them with my card, alongside a black backpack, emblazoned with "Niagara Falls" and a pair of white canvas shoes. When I finally leave, I find myself lightheaded and choking on hairspray and air freshener. Only now do I realise my mistake, I have no passport, no ticket and no destination- no plans for what I'm going to do, just a burning passion to escape. I let out a long and heavy sigh and slump against the wall. The decisions are endless, where to go next? There is one poster on the wall that catches my eye, though. A brightly lit city, coloured in cartoonish pink and green paints, with an oddly shaped roll of blue sushi at the bottom, smiling out of the picture with a holographic face. This is when I make my decision- I'll go to Japan, on the next flight, which leaves in 3 hours. Why not? Enough time for me to sort a ticket out, I think, even without a passport.
Yūrei|Ch.1 • Opuss № I