Chapter Six: Into the Trap:

Ayame walked deeper into the woods in a daze. She wasn’t in control of her body anymore. The little girl just kept walking and walking deep into the darkness. Her mind didn’t question where she was going at all. The girl kept on walking. The singing in her ears slowly grew louder and louder. It guided the little girl safely into the trap that lied waiting for her.

Hazy yellow lights began to appear before her. They looked like little fireflies. Ayame unconsciously wanted to reach out and grab one of them. She slowly reached out to do so. The little ball of light broke and shocked her in the hand. The little girl winced in pain. Suddenly, the singing stopped. Ayame woke up and looked around. Pitch black swallowed up everything. Despite it being summer, the little girl felt cold all over. She suddenly felt scared.

“Where am I?” Ayame asked. “Aiko? Grandma? Grandpa? Mommy, daddy? Ise-san? Anybody?” She began fell like she was shrinking. The poor child didn’t know where she was or how to get back to the market. She began to little around for even a slight hint of how to get away.

Suddenly, she felt a little warm light on her tiny face. Ayame slowly looked forward. The little yellow lights appeared before her again. Seeing them made her little grey-brown eyes brighten with delight. “So pretty!” she thought. The lights danced around her in many different patterns. Ayame watched on intently. She wished that she knew what they were. These little lights looked so much like fireflies. Happy memories filled Ayame’s mind. She began to miss playing in her grandparents’ yard with Aiko and catching fireflies with her. The little girl began to reach out again to grab one of these “fireflies.”

Suddenly, the lights stopped moving. Ayame became confused. “Hm?” she thought. The lights slowly began to close in together. At first, they were just inching close. Then, they all compressed together like an accordion closing up. They all made a sound as they did so. It sounded like a cross between police sirens and dial-up on a computer. Ayame shielded her ears the best that she could.

“STOP IT!” she cried. “IT’S HURTING MY EARS!!!” The sound just got louder instead. The poor girl wailed aloud in pain. The lights stood up in a tall straight line. They began to take shape into a man. Ayame stared on confused. Her young mind feared the worst. She didn’t want to believe it, but the thought grew bigger and bigger. Her fears heightened this belief as well.

The light slowly died away. In its place stood a disfigured man. He had numerous burn scars all over his body. He had something like a chipped Noh mask on his face with worn paint on it. His hair looked a slick black with the smell of rotting fish oil. His burnt and ash-covered clothes looked like those of a farmer before the Meji Era. Ayame slowly backed away in fear.

“Koga Shinji!” she gasped. The man didn’t speak. He reached out and grabbed the little girl by her shirt. She screamed and tried to get away.

“No, let me go!” she cried. Ayame tried her best to fight the ghost off. She hit at him with her tiny fits and kicked him the best that she could all while screaming for help. Sadly, her cries fell on deaf ears. Shinji put his shriveled-up, black finger on the child’s forehead. Ayame slowly dropped out unconscious. The dead farmer removed his finger from the girl’s forehead and dragged through another cold pit of light that formed behind him.

Meanwhile, Aiko jerked her head up when she heard her little sister screaming in the distance. She too heard the noise and saw the lights. Fear and panic spread over her like a hot garlic butter spread on heated bread. She started to play the worst case scenario in her head. “Shinji’s got her!” the older girl thought. As much as she would have liked to banish that thought out of her mind, it was too late for that now. The legend had become too real. Aiko would have to save her sister before it was too late.

“Hold Ayame-chan!” she screamed. “I’m coming to save you!” Then, Aiko ran straight towards where she last saw that bright, bold light.