4: Shadow Visitor

About an hour before midnight, Tom arrived at the park, panting for breath.
His mind was filled with thoughts of Rena—she was still missing, and he had no idea where she could be.
As he reached the path leading to the familiar bench under the streetlight, he noticed a faint silhouette in the distance.

“Hey, aren’t you that boy from the other day? What are you doing here at this hour?”

A beam of light from a flashlight shone directly into Tom’s face.
It was the same police officer who had questioned him before.

“Well... There’s just something I need to check,” Tom said, sounding a little unsure.

“You remembered something? Still, there’s no need to be out here in the middle of the night.
Just recently, someone reported a suspicious person around here—said they saw him scrubbing the benches like crazy with a rag.”

The officer narrowed his eyes, scanning the area carefully.

“I told you before... that Rena had a glass milk bottle,” Tom said quietly.

“But I was too focused on that one detail...” There was a hint of regret in his voice.

“What do you mean? Was she carrying something else too?” 

Tom nodded slowly. “Yes... she also—”

But before he could finish, the officer suddenly stepped back, cutting him off.

“Wait—did you come here alone? Or is someone else with you?”

“I’m alone... I think,” Tom said, glancing around in confusion.

“I thought I saw someone in those bushes over there...”

The officer muttered nervously and began walking cautiously toward the overgrown grass.
As Tom watched him inch forward, he noticed something pale and thin lying near the man’s feet.

"How could I have missed this...?
She always made sure to leave one for me, just in case I forgot..."

It was a thin straw—just like the kind Tom used when drinking milk.
He bent down, picked it up, and murmured as he examined it.

“There’s no way it’s just one. Knowing Rena... she probably left more somewhere...”

“Oh, right—about that suspicious guy earlier,” the officer called over his shoulder.

“They say he had a straw in his mouth the whole time. Maybe blowing soap bubbles with detergent or something? Sounds weird, right? Ha, just kidding.”

“Is that why you were searching around this bench?” Tom asked.

“That’s part of it, yeah. But the park cleaners already came through and picked everything up—there’s not a single straw left. Not that I was particularly interested in the straws to begin with.”

Just then, Tom saw it clearly— a shadow, pitch black, creeping up behind the officer.

“Officer!! Behind you—someone’s there!!”

“What!?”

The officer spun around—but it was too late.
The dark shadow coiled like a vortex, wrapping around his body and pulling him in.
The flashlight he held tumbled from his hand and rolled silently to the ground.