Chapter 2: The First Entry

From the first time I opened the book, I was enthralled with it. At first, I didn't want to put it down. However, the more I read, the more disturbed I became. Even then, though, I wanted to keep reading. It was hard to put down, simply.

Allow me to show you what I mean.

“7^th of June, year 1901

Today, it happened again. This place is most unholy. The spirits seem to become more and more violent with each passing day. I am at wit's end, and I know not how to appease them. Not only that, but... A few of them seem to be products of myths and legends. I'd heard about them when I was small.

The Rokurokubi.

The Kuchisake-onna.

The Tenome.

The Nopperabou.

Countless spirits I have witnessed, but it never makes the new ones easier to deal with.

I encountered the Kuchisake-onna this day. I walked the streets alone, though I should have known better. I will not again, however, mistake the real thing for the legend. There is no escaping her with a simple answer, as people say.

The wind was strangely chilled as I strode along the alleyway, back from the marketplace. I felt her presence before she even made herself known, though I was unsure of what creature I was about to witness.

'Am I pretty,' I heard a faint voice ask from behind me. A shiver ran down my spine, and my heart began to beat faster. I turned, seeing a woman there. Her kimono was elegant and beautiful, with bright colors and expensive looking dyes. A fan was held to her face, keeping it from view. My stomach twisted as I looked at her. I knew what she was... And I will never forget it.

~ Akiyama Tatsuki”

For those of you who aren't familiar with Japanese myth and folklore, what Akiyama-san came across a kuchisake-onna, or a slit-mouth woman.

The story of the slit-mouth woman has varied over the years, from being a concubine from ancient Japan, to being a woman who had a mishap with plastic surgery in modern times. However, from the writings of Akiyama-san, and from my personal experience, I believe I know the real story.

Hundreds of years ago, in the times when samurai existed, there was an extremely vain woman. Her husband, a great samurai, was as vicious and unforgiving as she was prideful.

Rumors began to spread that brought the woman's loyalty to her wedlock into question. When her husband caught word of this, he went into a blind rage. He grabbed her by the hair, and held her face to his sword. He laughed insanely, and she begged for her life. He cut her mouth from the corners all the way to her ears.

“Who will find you pretty now,” he yelled at her, still laughing as the blood pooled around her.

They say that she then became a spirit, wandering eternally, spreading her “beautiful” cut all over Japan.

That is the story that I believe to be true. I've seen her, just as Akiyama-san had. That is where we continue my story.

I closed the journal, feeling a little sick to my stomach. I'd heard about that legend before. This guy had to be insane. He was talking about seeing something that parents just used to scare their kids? And this guy thought it was true? That he'd actually seen the kuchisake-onna? I wouldn't believe it; couldn't believe it.

I placed the book back where it had been sitting the night before, and stood. I had things to do, I didn't have time to read the ravings of a mad man. Somehow, I'd lost a good bit of daylight.

I had planned on going to see my family within a few days, and stay for the weekend. I had some packing to do, and also some things to pick up from the store. I grabbed my coat, and tried to forget the journal as I left to do what I had to.

The trip to the store was fairly uneventful, other than the odd shadows that I saw here and there. I just kept saying it was a trick of the mind, and blamed it on the raving man's journal. I'd seen strange shadows while on the bus before, I told myself. It was nothing to get excited over.

After I was done at the store, I got on the next bus. After a little while, I was dropped off, and began to walk home. I was uncomfortable from the moment I stepped out into the darkness from the light of the bus stop. I took the way home that I'd learned over the last few days. It wasn't hard to memorize the ten minute route from my house to the bus stop.

It was strange how none of the lights in the neighborhood were on, and the feeling that I was being watched became very hard to ignore. I felt like something would grab my shoulder at any moment. Finally, unable to deal with it, I spun around, peering into the darkness behind me.

I saw a flash of gold in the pale moonlight that seemed to move closer. A figure stepped into the faint light, and I was taken back by how beautiful it was.

The golden fabric of her kimono shimmered and gleamed in the light. Her fan seemed luminescent of its own accord. Two piercing, icy blue eyes stared at me over the top of the fan. The enchantment faded quickly as I realized what this creature was.

“Am I pretty,” the soft voice called to me. The voice sounded so nonchalant. It was almost melodic, like bells. My mind processed a million possible responses, trying to find one to get me out of the situation.

You see, the kuchisake-onna is a simple creature, some believe. They think that a good enough answer will confuse her. However, there are dozens of variations of the myth, so I had no idea how do answer. In some versions, answer yes, and she will cut you to look like her. This would make it possible to live, though the chance would be slim. In others she will kill you either way.

Sometimes it is said that you can bide time by making her think. You can make her think on how she wants to react by telling her that she is average, but not pretty. I decided not to take my chances, however.

“Yes,” I said simply, remembering one particular version of the myth that stuck out to me. I prayed that it was the right thing to do.

She giggled from behind her fan, and walked toward me, until she was only a few feet away. Running would have done no good. You can't run from ghosts. She fanned herself for a moment, her eerily shining eyes piercing me. She lowered her fan, and I prepared myself, resolving not to gasp in horror. “Do you still think that I am pretty?”

Her face was cut, as the legend said, from each corner of her mouth to her ears. Blood dripped from the gash, and her tongue thrashed about. I managed to keep myself calm, and keep what I really thought concealed.

“Yes,” I said again. She smiled in a way that I can't describe well with words. It was, put simply, disgusting. I could see the muscles and tendons stretching, and the blood still dripping. Her teeth parted, and a large ruby seemed to appear. She reached up and plucked it out, blood still matting it and running down its facets. She extended her hand toward me, the fist-sized ruby glinting in the soft moonlight.

I reached out for it, and she didn't make any movements to stop me. I grabbed it, the blood that covered it still warm. Not only did the blood seem warm, but the ruby itself did as well. She closed her mouth, smiling in that horrifying way again.

“I will be back for it,” she warned cheerfully. With that and another giggle, she strode back into the darkness, and disappeared.

At that point, I broke into a sprint, hurrying back to my house. I clenched the ruby in my hand, the warm feeling it gave off making the blood in my veins run cold. I had no idea what had just happened, but I knew that it was not good. I had the strangest feeling that the journal held the key to finding it out.

If there is one thing I have learned, it is that spirits never give anything. If they do, be wary of it, because it will come at a price. I know this now as I knew it then. Saying that a dead woman is pretty will not make her give you an oversized ruby. Even if she does, she won't let you keep it. The world just doesn't work that way.

As I opened my door and locked myself inside, I regretted not reading into the journal farther. He hadn't finished with the slit-mouth woman, so there was probably another entry about her. There had so be some kind of detail about how he dealt with her. Some kind of action he took that got rid of her.

I went to my night stand immediately, intending to read the next entry. However, much to my dismay, the journal wasn't where I'd left it. I rummaged through the night stand, desperately trying to find where it could've gone. I looked under my bed, under the nightstand, behind the nightstand, in the drawer. Nothing.

I heard something pop behind me. I turned around and noticed that the closet had, again, come open. I saw a blur move through the crack. It had to have been the entrance to the attic. I recalled the face I'd seen the night before in the closet, and shuddered. It was not my most fond memory.

I slowly approached it, and I heard thumping above me, like someone was running. I swallowed, by my throat was swelled with fear and anticipation. My stomach knotted, and I felt nauseous. It also seemed like my sense of touch heightened. I could feel every little gust of wind that moved over my skin. I could feel my hairs standing on end.

I opened the closet, and saw that the way into the attic was completely opened, though I'd closed it tight before I had left it the day before. I could tell from Like all the events of the last two days, I couldn't give a rational explanation for it. I tried to shake it off and looked up into the attic.

It was dark and I couldn't see a thing. Since it was night, there was no light for the cracks to let through them. The thumping I'd heard had stopped, but the whole attic creaked around me. It wasn't the natural popping that most old houses make. It was a constant sound, as though the something was making the entirety of the attic move.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my keyring, recalling that I had a small light on it that I could use. I climbed into the attic, being careful not to hit my head on the low ceiling. I clicked on the light, shining it around the room to find the pull string. I found it and pulled it. It flashed on, but blew out. I exhaled, sounding shaky and uncomfortable. It was just like in the movies.

I looked around, the light not too much help being so small. I could see shadows out of the corner of my eyes, but I tried to ignore them. What else could I do? I would only waste my time trying to see them, wouldn't I?

Finally, I saw something of interest. On the floor I saw the journal. I sighed with relief, and started to walk toward it. I bent down and picked it up, happy that it hadn't just disappeared, but concerned about how it had gotten into the attic.

As I began to stand back up, I heard the running again, but it sounded dangerously close to me. It echoed off of the walls, filling my ears. Within seconds, it sounded like a dozen children, all running around me. Each thud boomed loudly, and I had to cover my ears. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to tell myself it wasn't real.

As abruptly as it had begun, it stopped. I stood there for another few moments, keeping my ears plugged. After it sounded like it was over, I slowly uncovered them, and opened my eyes. In front of me stood a pair of snow-white legs. I stumbled backward, and saw the entirety of the figure as I shone my light on it.

Its hair was long and black, going down to its waist. Half of its face was hidden behind the hair. It wore a black dress, its hair blending in. Its head was cocked to the side, and its neck bulged out in a way that was far from normal. I scrambled backward, unable to take my eyes off it the strange figure.

As I did so, it tilted its head back, and I could hear the snapping and cracking of bones. A bone-chilling laugh filled the room, as I moved backward, trying to find the way back down to the closet.

I found it alright.

In my panic, I fell down through the hole. It felt like slow motion as it happened, but I could do nothing about it. I feel, still looking upon the face of the girl. Her expression was horrifying, and it burned itself into my mind. I fell down into the closet, and I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head as I hit the bottom.

My vision went black, but I could still hear the shrill, demented laughter from above me.

Reviews

[Katie Wan]

Aaaah Creepy! I'm liking it so far.. :). Keep it up.