Buzz buzz. Buzz buzz. Shinya’s eyes blinked open. The sun was peeking through the thick curtains of his room. The air was a bit stifling to begin with. Shinya took the phone off the nightstand. It was already close to noon. Someone was calling him.
“Kaoru?”
“Shinya, do you have time to meet up tonight?”
“I ... guess. What for?”
“There’s some important stuff I want to discuss in person.”
“Oh.”
“How are you doing?”
“I’m fine,” Shinya lied.
“Just checking to make sure.”
The truth was that Shinya wanted to tell someone about the disturbances. He was about to go nuts. Maybe he should confide in Kaoru as Kyo prescribed. Look for Kaoru and Die. Do they know something about what’s wrong with me?
During the night, Shinya set out for the meeting. Kaoru left instructions for a local izakaya. The narrow stone streets had small signs lit up with establishment names. Some had blinking Christmas lights while some stuck with the traditional paper lantern look. The path was worn. Some stones were upheaved making the ground unlevel to walk on.
“Ah. This must be the one,” Shinya said to himself.
A faded, wooden sign reading “Haiiro no Ginka” hung above the narrow glass door. Shinya slid the door open. In contrast to the dingy appearance on the outside, the inside looked fancier than he had anticipated. On the left were bar seats directly facing the compact kitchen. To the right were three tables lined against the wall separated by varnished wooden dividers. On the wall hung long, rectangular boards with menu items written in Japanese script. The open kitchen was cluttered with pots and pans. Shelves full of sake and shochu were placed high along the walls over the refrigerator.
Kaoru was already seated with Die in the furthest table. Toshiya who sat across from them motioned Shinya to come over. Shinya removed his sunglasses and took the empty seat beside Toshiya. Toshiya had medium length curly, black hair up to his ears. He had a turtleneck under his button up collar shirt. Shinya can always expect bizarre fashion from the bassist. Die had his usual black leather jacket and Kaoru was in his military jacket. Tonight they were the only customers in the izakaya.
“Now that we’re all here, we can start,” announced Kaoru.
Both Kaoru and Die related their stories to Shinya and Toshiya. Toshiya nodded and listened with interest occasionally raising an eyebrow. Shinya mustered up the courage to tell his story, a week full of nightmares and hallucinations.
“No wonder you look so bad,” noted Die. “I’m amazed Shin-chan hasn’t fallen apart yet.”
“Die, it’s not funny,” retorted Shinya. “You’re not the one plagued with nightmares.”
“Hey, I’m not calling you fragile or anything,” argued Die.
“Stop it, you two. We’re not here to bicker,” said Kaoru.
“How come I haven’t gotten anything?” said Toshiya.
“It’s ‘cause you’re happy all the time,” said Die.
“Well you’re the one with a cheesy grin plastered on his face 24/7,” said Toshiya.
The conversation was interrupted by the server. She brought over plates of chicken and beef skewers and tiny bowls of house pickles. Then she brought over a plate of grilled fish and grilled offal. The smell of charred meat wafted in the air. It was tantalizing.
“Shinya we need to help you first,” said Kaoru. “What was it that Kyo said to you?”
“He said there was something unclean in my house,” said Shinya.
“Was there anything that you brought in recently into your house prior to your nightmares?”
“Not that I know of.”
“When you say unclean, it typically means a spirit of some sort. I read that it may be a cursed object or something that harbors a spirit. It latches onto something and gets transported from place to place.”
Shinya shuddered at the thought.
“Maybe it was something that someone gave to you without knowing,” suggested Toshiya. “They could have slipped it in your bag or planted it somewhere without your notice. After all Die didn’t know until he got attacked.”
“Come to think of it, didn’t you notice some large, red monster wandering in your house?” asked Kaoru.
“I told you, I didn’t hear anything. All I felt was someone trying to choke me to death. Besides that thing turned into some lizard,” said Die.
“A newt,” corrected Kaoru.
“Whatever.”
“That newt could have crawled in through some small space,” said Toshiya. “Since we’re dealing with the supernatural, I wouldn’t be surprised if this thing can morph.”
“You are taking this surprisingly well, Toshiya,” commended Kaoru.
“I may be skeptical, but I think I’ll take my band mates’ confessions a little more seriously. I mean the three of you guys have seen Kyo. I feel left out,” laughed Toshiya.
“You’re lucky you’re left out,” said Shinya.
“Cheer up, Shin-chan. We’re gonna fix this,” said Die.
*****
“It’s not much, but make yourself at home,” said Toshiya.
The band suggested that Shinya stay somewhere else other than at home until they resolve the mysterious spirit. Toshiya offered to let their drummer take residence in his apartment. Shinya peered into one of the rooms. It was a studio complete with a mannequin, sewing machine, and a work table covered in strips of fabric. The kitchen was connected to the living room separated by a simple granite counter. Shinya hung his coat and bag on the standing coat rack. The floors were covered in birch wood planks. The low sofa was in upholstered fabric that looked like canvas. The soft carpet under the glass coffee table was a sandy straw color. The walls were painted white and its ledges charcoal.
“You can stay in my room if you don’t mind. The other room is now a storage room,” Toshiya called out.
Toshiya had set up a futon next to his bed.
“I was gonna ask that I stay on the sofa. It’s quite alright,” Shinya said courteously.
“After all you’ve been through? You’re taking the bed tonight. You have a lot of sleep to catch up on,” said Toshiya as he continued to clear more space in his room.
Shinya was grateful. He had not been close to Toshiya, but his kindness had sincerely touched his heart. That night, Shinya slept peacefully.
*****
The four men stood outside Shinya’s apartment, At a glance, it looked like an ordinary Japanese apartment complex. Some shriveling flowers occupied the front lawn. Shinya pushed open the creaky gate. The ground was paved in mosaic stones. The grass was drying out upon closer inspection. When they entered the house, it was clear that something was wrong. The air was heavy with oppression. The once welcoming guest room was now sterile and ominous. Die immediately regret his comment from the previous night. It was not a home fit for living. He secretly commended Shinya for being able to put up with it for a week. Kaoru lifted up a plant leaf by the windowsill. It had dried out into a husk of its previous existence.
“Shinya, if you don’t mind, we’re gonna split up and search the house. Just to be clear, we are looking for objects that are out of the ordinary,” said Kaoru.
“Go right ahead,” said Shinya.
Like CSI, they each slapped on rubber gloves. They searched every nook and cranny from the bathroom to the hidden storage rooms. Nothing was found. They had been searching since early noon. The sun was now dipping low into the horizon.
“You really like Cheburashka,” said Die playing with the monkey doll. “He’s everywhere.”
“He’s cute,” said Shinya.
“Maybe Cheburashka is cursed,” mocked Die.
Shinya frowned. Kaoru was deep in thought. If it wasn’t a cursed object, then what was it? He glanced at the dead plant by the windowsill. Suddenly he furrowed his brow.
“Shinya. Did you have anyone to do the gardening by any chance?” he asked.
“Why yes. What’s wrong?”
“Find me a shovel now!”
“What is it Kaoru?”
“I think I know where our cursed object is!”
Shinya stood up to go to his storage room. He furiously twisted the doorknob.
“It’s not opening. This thing doesn’t have a lock,” Shinya noted.
“Maybe we can ask the neighbors for one,” said Die.
He opened the front door, but the door immediately slammed shut by itself. Dir turned and pulled the knob, but the door wouldn’t budge. All the doors in the apartment began to slam loudly on its own. The shades shuttered and the cabinet doors rattled.
“Look out!” screamed Kaoru.
Some pens floated above the ground with the sharp ends pointing at Shinya. As if thrown by an invisible hand, the pens shot through the air. Toshiya threw himself upon Shinya. Their bodies collided with the floor with a loud thunk. The pens missed Shinya and embedded firmly into the walls. An ear splitting shatter of glass then rang through the room. The shiny pieces rained onto Kaoru and Die who were closest to the windows. Both guitarists shielded themselves with their arms and crouched to the floor. They all held their breath. The doors that were previously locked swung open. No one dared to move from their position.
*****
BGM: Rinkaku by Dir en grey
Not much has happened in this chapter, but it looks like we have some action planned. What do you think is going to happen next? Who or what is this so called apparition? If you enjoyed reading this chapter, leave a comment below.
