x
‘I don't like this?’ my inner voice said. ‘Are you sure this is a good idea considering the circumstances surrounding this?’
“I know it isn't but I want to make sure this isn't a wild goose chase.” with that, I open the book and read.
'It was five-forty nine when Caroline and I decided to visit the amusement park to calm our nerves after the exams and Bob's amusement park was the cheapest there. It was located outside the town on the Southside and from what we heard, it was the best amusement park run by Mr. Bernard aka Mr. Bobo. We were having fun trying all the rides until we decided to try out the Spooky Den but that turned out to be a big mistake. We walked in and were scared of all the zombies inside except they were not zombies. Upon closer inspection, I saw one of the 'zombies' was a student named Matlin who went missing three weeks ago. It was his dead body! I called the police and within a few minutes, they came and carted all the corpses of the dead and put Mr. Bernard in jail for five counts of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to death but he hung himself three days later. I was disappointed because I thought he was the demon but now I am sure that he is part of the demon's minions. How many are out there?
I close the page. "This is a mysterious story but the entry is short. I will have to dig up more information on Mr. Bobo to see if he has any siblings or family but I might come out empty on this one. What if they moved away after what happened?”
‘We should check the cyber café tomorrow since it's going to be a weekend.'
I nod and get some sleep.
The next day, I was in the cyber cafe with the kitsune paying to use the computer.
“Let’s see here.” I start typing and the results pop up on the screen. “It says the Amusement Park was built in 1983 by Armadas Blue. He worked in a circus and used the money he earned to open a clown-themed amusement park.”
“Poor things.” the kitsune moaned swishing its tails. “Most of them are afraid of clowns.”
I scroll down. “It was closed down in 2018 because corpses were used as decoration in the Horror Slide.”
“Poor things.” it sighed again.
I continue to search until a headline caught my attention. “'Killer Clowns Nephew Testifies Against his Uncle.'” the picture of the nephew was on the front page of the article so I take a closer look at him. “He testified against his Uncle Bob aka Uncle Bobo for killing his family and plead guilty to being an accessory to murder but didn’t go to prison for he was a minor while his sister; a suspected of drugs trafficking disappeared without a trace. During the years it was rumored that the place is haunted because of some mysterious activity going on there.”
“Anyone who has entered never comes out alive.” said the kitsune. “I vanquish a lot of evil spirits there.”
'Normally, I would be afraid of doing this but after what I had been through during the past couple of weeks, this is considered another day in the office.' I was about to type something when the screen went blank.
“What the…”
Then a scary clown appeared on the screen with the following message, ‘Checking out my playpen eh?'
I look around trying to see any sign of foul play but find none. Then another message pops up on the screen.
'Do you want to play my game?’
Every inch of me begged not to type anything in the dialogue box but I did. ‘Who are you?’
‘Someone who is going to offer you a lot of money if you play my game. Do you want to play?’
I cocked an eyebrow.
‘It is an exciting game. You will make lots of new friends.’
‘What is in it for you?’ I type back.
‘Ha ha ha ha. I am just doing this for my entertainment.’
‘You are sadistic.’
‘Aren’t we all? We just haven’t tapped into it yet.’
I think for a minute. 'No thanks.'
‘Come on. Please? You seem interested and you will make a very interesting character.'
My fingers lingered on the keys.
'I promise to tell you everything you need to know.’
This got my attention. ‘Really?’
‘Yes. All you have to do is play my game and win. Okay?’
Uncertain, I looked at the kitsune and it nodded its head.
“It is okay. Nothing bad is going to happen because I will be with you,” it said.
I nod and type in my reply. ‘I am in.’
The screen went blank and what followed was an evil cackle. Then a picture of a clown giving a sadistic grin appeared.
‘Great! Now answer the questions truthfully and we will be on our way.’
The questions that appeared were basic questions about my name, age, and address but one question seemed suspicious to me; ‘How do you want to die?’
I type ‘Of old age.’ and then hit the ‘Enter’ button.
The screen went blank for a moment then red letters with a dripping format appeared on the screen.
“SEE YOU ON OCTOBER 31st.”
Then it disappeared bringing back the desktop's wallpaper.
“Well, that was random,” I say looking at my phone.
“I don't think so for I have a feeling this person knows who you are.” said kitsune. “At least you have a lot of time to prepare.”
I get up and walk out of the cafe to go to the hardware store. There, I purchase a bunch of cardboard boxes and head home. The minute I arrive, I pack all of Jake's things, put them inside the boxes, and pile them up in a corner.
"Phew! That's the last one." I say wiping the sweat from my brow. Then my eyes fell on the kitsune who was staring at me the whole time.
"What's wrong?"
It swished its tails. "Oh. It's nothing."
I cock an eyebrow. 'If everything is fine, why is the tone of your voice laced with worry?'
It didn't say a word. So I head to the kitchen to make dinner but I open the fridge and see it empty.
'Looks like I am running out of food.' I bow my head. 'But I am out of money.'
"Not really,"
I look at the kitchen table and see the kitsune sitting on the kitchen island next to two wads of money. "H...how did you..."
"Remember, I am your Spirit Guardian." It said hopping off the island. "That should cover you for two months. Use it wisely."
Then get another headache and close my eyes at the pain. When I opened them, the room turned dark and I see myself holding a pink pig in my hands.
"What is this called daddy?" I ask.
"It is a piggy bank." a male voice said in the void.
"Darling, don't you think it's too early to be teaching her saving?" asked a female voice. Slowly, two silhouettes appeared looking down at me.
"I am sorry honey but the sooner we teach her the value of money the better." the silhouette of a man. "I put 500yen inside your piggy bank. Remember, spend it wisely."
Suddenly I felt like I was being sucked into a void and the piggy bank in my hands suddenly smashed to pieces. Waking up, I find myself on the couch in the living room breathing heavily.
"It looks like you are not strong enough for this."
I turn to my right and see the kitsune sitting on the coffee table, its eyes glowing yellow. "I am sorry for making you remember that."
Sitting up, I rub my head for it was throbbing and got out off the couch. "What time is it?"
"It's 3:35 PM. You were out for an hour and thirty minutes," it said heading to the front door. "Do you still want to go food shopping?"
My stomach growled so I nod and put on my shoes. A few minutes later, I was in the store picking out the cheapest things I could use to make a meal.
'Ramen with shrimp sounds nice.' I thought looking at my cart. 'But will have enough money to buy some bread for the pantry or should I make some?'
"Emma is that you?"
I turn around and see Mr. Yamada wearing his business suit having the usual smile on his face. "Good afternoon Mr. Yamada how are you?"
"I am fine thank you for asking." he looked into my cart. "So, you are food shopping?"
I nod.
"That's surprising. I thought girls like you like buying stuff like make-up jewelry..."
I interrupt him. "I am sorry Mr. Yamada but not all girls are like that."
"I see." he moved from side to side. "So, where are your parents?"
'Again with these uncomfortable questions?' I frown. "They aren't here."
"Oh." he looked inside my cart again. "The items you are buying don't look enough. Do you need any help?"
I shake my head.
"Oh come on I insist." he made to grab my cart but I push it away making him a bewildered look on his face. "What's wrong?"
I point at the bottle of wine in his right hand. "Aren't you supposed to be somewhere Mr. Yamada?"
He looked at it and blushed. "Well..."
Suddenly a woman stood in front of us slapping a poster on my face. "Excuse me but have you seen this boy?"
My eyes stung from the sudden attack and my nose wrinkled at the awful smell but I managed to back away and rub my eyes to ease the pain.
"Look at what you did. You hurt her!" I heard Mr. Yamada yell.
"I am so sorry sir but I am looking for my son!"
"What son?"
"This son!"
I get my fingers off my eyes and look at the poster. My blood froze. It was a younger version of Jake on it and he was...missing?
"Please had anyone seen my little boy?" she asked looking straight at me and I nearly gag because of the smell coming from her mouth.
"I...I am sorry ma'am but I haven't seen him." I manage to reply.
Then two men wearing blue uniforms appeared and grabbed the lady who kicked and screamed at how unfair the world was to her for she was just looking for her son. One of the posters was still in my cart and I shudder looking at it.
'Wait a minute, if Jake is 'missing' as she claims. Then where has he been living?'
'At your apartment duh!'
The atmosphere suddenly felt uncomfortable and Mr. Yamada sheepishly scratched the back of his head.
I coughed. "Well, I will be taking my leave now. It's a pleasure meeting you Sir."
"Uh...yeah," he replies and I walk off to the check out to pay for my goods. As I walk out of the store, my mind went to the woman who was looking for Jake. Who was she to him? Was she a relative?
My thoughts were interrupted when I saw Mrs. Yamada leaning on the wall outside the building.
"Good evening Mrs. Yamada." I greet.
She took one look at me and froze, her face turning pale, the pupils in her eyes shrinking and her bottom lip trembling.
"Umm, is something wrong Mrs. Yamada?" I ask.
She bowed her head and started shaking. "Wh...why are you...you he...here?"
"Uh...buying groceries for dinner?" I reply shrugging with the bags in my arms. "Are you waiting for your Mr. Yamada?"
Her head darts up at me in shock. "Wh...who?"
"Mr. Yamada," I said nodding towards the door leading to the convenience store. "He was inside holding a bottle of wine. Maybe he wanted to buy that for you?"
Ayano closed her eyes and I watched as the color on her skin slowly crept up. Forcing a grin on her face, she opened her eyes and struck a thoughtful pose.
"You mean the bottle of wine sticking out of shopping?" she asked.
Cocking an eyebrow, I looked at my bags. Yep. The bottleneck was poking out of the rest of the groceries.
'Did he put it there by mistake?' I look back at Ayano and see the twisted look on her face as her grin broadened.
"Why Emma you are still..."
The familiar voice made me whip my head to the right and see Mr. Yamada looking at us with a pale face.
"Why...honey. What are you doing here?" he asks panting like a dog out of breath.
"Oh. I was waiting for you dear." Ayano replied giving a sweet smile. She walked up to him, grasped his arm, and put her head on his shoulder. "So where is the surprise?"
Taro looked at me in shock and sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Uh...surprise?"
"The surprise you wanted to give me silly." she stroked his chest acting flirtatious to the already nervous Taro. "You know I hate surprises and I am an impatient woman so...where is it?"
While Taro was scrambling for the right words to say, I studied his body language and frowned.
'He is lying there is no surprise.' looking at the bottle of wine in my possession, I put the pieces of the puzzle together and frown.
"I think it is here Mr. Yamada." I fish it out of my bag of groceries and hand it to him. "You mistakenly dropped it in my cart and..."
"Oh wow! Romantic Red Wine." Ayano snatched it from me and studied the bottle. "This wine is very expensive."
This loosened Taro's tongue. "Y...yeah it is."
"And alcoholic too." Her eyes darted to the bottle, then to me, and back to the bottle. "I don't know what we are celebrating honey but I will make sure to cook your favorite dinner for you."
She leaned closer and batted her eyes at him. "And if you are up to it, we can spend quality time together."
I got the message to give a weary smile. "Okay. H..have fun!"
Eyebrows furrowing to a frown, Ayano looked up at me. "Oh, so you knew what we are talking about?"
"No. Mrs. Yamada." I reply giving her a cold glare. This tightened up her tongue for she dragged Taro by the arm and stormed off.
'So the Oath Breaker was buying wine for his mistress eh?' chuckled my inner child.
'What do you mean?'
'Did you see the stain on the collar of his shirt?'
I take a trip to the incident that happened a few minutes ago and gasp remembering the stain on his collar all this time, my inner voice was giggling. Then it sighed and said, It's a pity the lip balm you are wearing is the same shade as the color on the collar of his shirt. Poor him.'
A chill went up my spine and I decided to walk back home. A few minutes later, I am in the kitchen making dinner while the kitsune swished its tails in pleasure.
"Are you sure you don't need anything?" I ask placing the noodles inside the broth.
"Being part demon, I don't need to eat," it replied.
I nod and proceed to use the ladle to scoop the broth into a ceramic bowl when my phone beeped with a notification. Stopping halfway, I drop the ladle and looked at it.
'I know who you are and what you do.
Meet me in the bar down the East Side of town.
I have something to discuss with you.'
My face twists into a frown and I delete the said message.
'You need to try harder than that Agatha.'
ns 15.158.61.20da2
