Chapter 5: Turning point.

Translated and Edited by: ynlucca.

Common Honorifics:
-san: A polite suffix, but not excessively formal.
-kun: A common suffix among friends and younger people.
-chan: A common suffix among people you’re close with, mostly used for feminine nicknames and girls, since it’s cutesy and childlike.
-senpai: A common suffix and noun used to address or refer to one’s older or more senior colleagues in a school, workplace, dojo, or sports club.

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Three hours had passed since my mom announced I was “leaving the nest.”

I was at a park in the neighborhood. Since it was 8 o’clock, the streets were basically empty and quiet. Barely any lights littered the night streets. They built this playground right at the foot of a mountain and didn’t care to tend for it. Weeds littered the floor where the eye could see. It was probably due to that neglect that few people used this place at all, so it was the perfect safe space I had when I wanted to be alone.

Sitting on one of the rusty benches, I could only stare into nothingness, lost. In this short three-hour period I had contacted dozens of companies based on those free job hunting papers I got. I didn’t think I’d get an interview, but it was still a surprise to see how badly it went. I knew it would be hard, but not this hard.

I went through a few interviews after middle school, so it was pretty hard back then too.

Ha-ha-ha… Hah…

I only have 100k yen in savings (T/N: A bit less than 1k dollars), so if I don’t start working soon, I’ll run out of money to live on. However, the company that I worked on for half a decade closed their doors on me, and there’s nothing I could do about it. They just wouldn’t listen… I wonder if they could hear my discomfort through the phone.

Still not giving up, I kept calling and calling through the house’s landline, but then my sister snapped at me, saying, “You’re annoying! How long are you gonna babble on the phone?! Just drop dead already!”

I get it, alright? Seeing this disgusting guy hogging up the phone in the living room for hours on end isn’t a pretty view. I even try not to come out of my room as to avoid being seen by others as much as possible!

…But, y’know, please forgive me just today.

I don’t have a phone or a computer, so if you take my only means to call for a job I’ll really be stuck. This is a matter of life and death; if I don’t find a job and a place to live soon, I’ll end up in a ditch, lynched on my sleep, and literally penniless.

I don’t want to leave home and have zero possessions! I can’t live unless I’m surrounded by four secure walls!

—I rebuked my sister with something along those lines. Though normally I’d never argue with them, on this specific occasion I did. There was no way she could’ve understood my side, so I got kicked out of the house due to my protest.

After that, I wandered around the streets in a daze, with nowhere to go. That’s why I’m here as well. They booted me off empty-handed, so I didn’t have any money, or a change of clothes, or even a cloak to wear. Despite it being early spring, it was still cold on mornings and evenings, so it was hard to wear light clothing.

What do I do now…?

I have to go back to that house in order to get my savings back, but I can’t bring myself to. In no way was I optimistic, but I still didn’t expect to get kicked out so soon. It hasn’t even been four hours ever since I got home, okay? They didn’t have a shred of mercy.

I was prepared to be booted off, but after a day or two of respite at least…

I was naive.

This is tough…

Raising my head, I took a deep look at the dark expanse above. It was cloudy, as if mirroring what was going on inside my own heart and soul. With my eyes seeing only this sad, starless night, my vision gradually blurred, my eyes getting warmer and wetter.

“Mama, there’s a creepy guy over there. Could you kill him for me?”

“Hey! I’ll get my hands dirty if I touch that filthy thing!”

Oh no, people found me.

I don’t think they’ll attack me out of the blue judging from their conversation, but it wasn’t a good idea to stay there.

Thus, I stood up and wiped my tears, dusted off my pants, and looked toward the exit of the park. At that moment, I felt something odd. Strange, even. I saw an old stone staircase just by the exit.

What’s that?

This park has been around since before I was born, and I often came here whenever something bad happened to me. It was my crutch in happy and sad times, saving me from the times when my sisters bullied me, or when my mother used to kick me out of the house as a kid as some sort of punishment. It was my escape, my safe haven.

I have been to this park so many times that I can say, with confidence, that I know this place better than anyone else here.

However, in twenty years, I never saw that staircase anywhere. Was it built recently or something? No, it couldn’t be… I mean, the staircase itself was quite old, with aged stones dotted with moss.

Examining further, one could even argue it was built hundreds of years ago due to the cracks and crevices only time was capable of doing to stone. I often saw such staircases in old, centenary shrines.

This made it all the more incredible I never noticed the existence of such an ancient staircase… I can’t believe I never noticed the presence of such a thing.

It was also in plain sight, which only added to the mystery.

As I gazed down at the stone steps, I noticed something even stranger than all of that: why could I see so well at night? It was past eight in the afternoon and there were only a handful of lights around, so there was no way I could’ve spotted the staircase from a distance, even more so without moonlight to guide me. My eyesight wasn’t particularly good as well.

Despite that, I could still clearly see things I shouldn’t be able to normally. Realizing this, I felt my heart beat against my chest.

I had been long fascinated by the paranormal and psychic stuff as a kid, and there was even a period in my life when I thought I was “the chosen one” and other cringy stuff like that. As I grew older, though, I learned the cold truth of reality and realized I was but an ordinary person dreaming of extraordinary things.

Still, the dream was right in front of me.

Is this it? The thing that’ll allow me to break free from this hellish routine, something I’d longed for ages? Honestly, the thought scared me. More than that, however, my curiosity still got the better of me.

What could be beyond the staircase?

Maybe ghosts of something like that. Worst case scenario, even if I was spirited away, it would be better than my current situation. It’s hard to imagine my life getting any worse after all.

Huh, when you think about it, if you’re already down on scraps, what’s getting a little dirtier? It’s like you’re invincible.

The spiral I was getting into earlier was gone as if it never happened, and I could feel a happy mood slowly taking its place. None of my problems had been solved, but I’d still enjoy the moment.

One strong point about me is how quick I can adapt to change!

This is fun!

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There were more steps than I’d anticipated. I’m not someone who lacks exercise by any means, but climbing hundreds of steps is a bit tiring at least. Ordinary stairs wouldn’t be such a slog, but the slope of this one is about 45 degrees, which means higher strides.

It’s like they want you to give up.

Still, I managed to go through it in about ten minutes, and when I caught my breath—I lost it again, speechless.

I had been so busy climbing that I hadn’t noticed the grounds gradually shifting to overgrown, out-of-season flowers. Also, moonlight draped down, caressing each of the flowers’ petals in tender, something unimaginable under the starless, cloudy sky from before. A pale green light also softly illuminated the area, enhancing its fantasy feel.

Further ahead, I saw a shrine. There was nothing new about the building itself, but the fantastic atmosphere of the surrounding area combined with the sense of eternal serenity of the shrine overwhelmed me.

I never knew such a mysterious place even existed…

It was no longer borderline freezing, but rather just cool enough o be comfortable.

Is, isn’t this crazy? Could it really be the paranormal?! I got totally excited and couldn’t stop strolling around the place, taking in the views.

Perhaps it was the pleasant weather, but I put a lot of effort and checked every nook and cranny of the place to see if there was anything suspicious on it. I looked around very carefully, but after 20 minutes, I didn’t see anything different except for the climate.

The place was surprisingly small.

It would’ve been fun it there was a ghost or something loitering around, hmm… I thought I could truly escape from my everyday life, but reality is often disappointing. It’s not like some manga or comic book.

Still, I enjoyed the extraordinary experience and the change of pace, so I think I’ll pray at the shrine and go home. As for the future… Well, I’m sure I’ll be able to manage, though I have no proof at all.

While taking out some pocket change, I headed to the worship hall where the offering box was located. I was so grateful for the esoteric break that I was willing to spend fifty yen.

I was way inside my head at that point. I hadn’t considered the possibility of there being people inside the shrine until I approached the money box. Cursing my lack of attention, I could see two women with their backs to the tatami room just behind the altar.

Shh, be careful, me…!

Luckily, the two women didn’t notice me standing there. Alright! Let’s turn back and get out of here! I’m not stupid enough to step on a landing mine with a red sign pointing to it.

“Ugh… Ergh…”

Just as I was about to turn on my heel, one of the two groaned and turned around. As if following her, the other one turned and they both noticed me.

I was easily discovered.

This is crazy! Why am I so damn unlucky?! Is the universe itself telling me to die? What do I do, what do I do… How do I go about it peacefully?

I’d just walk away as if nothing had ever happened if I could. Urgh, could I shake them off if I run at full speed? No. Let’s wait and see. This isn’t an urban area.

If these two had confidence in their legs, they might just catch me as I make an attempt to escape, or they might even get enraged with my running away. On the other hand, if I keep standing here, I’ll end up tangled in a bad situation.

Could you two just let me off with verbal abuse today, please…? Just thinking about the ensuing situation is enough to tire myself to oblivion.

However, the two girls only took one glance at me and went back to sleep, as if they weren’t interested at all in me.

W, what? Did they let me go?

The moment I was relieved at their indifference, the two of them jumped up from their slumber, staring into my eyes as if they were witnessing something unbelievable. Then, they both started… jumping repeatedly?

Serious expression, nimble footwork. The constant eye contact is also terrifying. This, erm… what the hell are you two showing me? Is it something I should be witnessing? Hard to judge.

As I followed them with my eyes, puzzled, they stopped jumping up and down. Then, they both walked up to me with their eyes wide open.

I’m scared… I’ve never been so scared in my whole life.

“U, um… Can you see us?” She spoke, normally and puzzled.

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