The sea of faith (pt 1)

With slipping tires, the minivan stopped at the pickup location. Daichi waved at the long-haired man sitting behind the wheel. He wore shorts and a tropical pattern shirt. The door flew open, and he jumped out, holding his hand in the air. With a snappy high-five, he greeted Daichi.

“Long time no see, my little cousin! You’ve grown taller, haven’t you?”

Daichi chuckled, “Not as tall as them”, he said while turning to Haru and Renji.

The cousin turned to Mia. “So, you must be the famous exchange student we’ve all heard of. I think your arrival made the regional news!” He winked, then laughed at their confused expressions. “Just kidding! But I will show you one of the most beautiful places in this prefecture!”

He walked up to the trunk and opened it. “Please drop off your bags and pick a seat.”

The friends helped each other lift their luggage and entered the minivan, Haru and Mia sitting down together. With a flash of her phone, she captured the sweet moment.

“I can’t express how excited I am today! Any hints on where we might be going? A spooky castle?” the girl asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

Daichi smiled, “We did tell you to pack your swimsuit, right?”

Mia raised an eyebrow. “So… the castle has a pool?”

Everyone burst into laughter, and after a bit more playful banter, Mia moved her lips close to Haru’s ear. “I hope we can get some time alone this weekend… maybe sneak in a little smooch?”

Haru’s heart skipped a beat. A smooch? His mind raced, trying to come up with a response, the blood rushing to his cheeks.

Smooch?! I mean… yeah, of course, we’re dating now, right? But still… that’s fast. Or maybe it’s not? It’s just - she’s only here for a month. If I wait too long…

“S-sure,” he mumbled, forcing a smile while trying to force his brain back to reality.

Mia grinned, the flustered reaction pleasing her.

Outside, the road stretched on, leading the group to the wilderness outside town.

X

After about an hour’s drive, the friends arrived at a scenic campground nestled beside a large lake. A group of wooden cabins stood near the shoreline - one was assigned to the boys and the other to the girls. After putting away their luggage and checking out their accommodations for the weekend, the group reunited by the beach, where a campfire crackled gently in the sand.

They sat down on wooden benches, where Daichi passed a bag of marshmallows to his friends. They put the sweet candy on a stick and held it close to the flames, melting it into a fluffy goo.

“So yummy!” Mia said after eating hers, drips of melting marshmallow running down her cheek. Haru passed her his handkerchief, which she used to wipe her face clean.

After the friends had their stomachs filled with delicious marshmallows, Haru turned on a flashlight and pointed it at his face, casting an eerie shadow. Everyone stared at him in anticipation.

“It’s storytime,” Haru said with a straight face.

Mia’s eyes were sparkling in the red light of the campfire, “Please, whisper me a ghost story, Haru.”

Haru cleared his throat and started telling his story. His voice is soft and steady, almost as if he is reciting from a book, “There was a man who moved to the countryside. He’d gotten tired of the city noise - phones ringing, car tires screeching, people shouting at each other. He was ready to move to a quiet place, so he bought a small house on the edge of a hill. The house was surrounded by overgrown trees and a faltering fence. He didn’t mind the silence… in fact he liked it.”

“There was only one neighbor, who lived in a house across the valley, located in a clearing in the forest. It was tall with brick walls and had an attic window shaped like a crooked smile. Every evening, just after eating his dinner, he’d glance out his kitchen window and see a silhouette standing in the attic window… Just watching.”

“He told himself it was a trick of light. Or maybe a woman waiting for someone. But it kept happening. Every night. Same time. Finally, one evening, he couldn’t take it anymore. He walked across the field, holding a flashlight like this one. Haru moved the light he was holding, his friends listening in awe, “he felt the neighbour's doorknob… it was unlocked. He looked inside, where dust covered everything. He climbed the attic… but it was completely empty. No furniture. No signs of life…”

Mia clung to the boy as he told the final part, “But by the window, there were footprints in the dust. Just one set. Coming in… and not going out…”

Haru leans back and goes quiet… aiming the flashlight away from his face.

Renji lets out a low whistle. “Okay, that was creepy. You got a knack for this.”

Daichi shivers. “What if the guy never left either?”

Mia clung strongly to Haru, “I love you… eh… this was so great!”

Haru blushes and looks away. “It’s just a story… Anyway, who is next?”

The enthusiastic Mia pulled the flashlight out of his hand and started telling.

“Okay, so I heard of a vending machine in Tokyo that only appears after midnight. When you put in 100 yen, it gives you a random drink… but sometimes, the drink is lukewarm - even on the coldest night. If you take a sip, you see a girl standing behind you in the machine’s reflection. A girl about this tall.”

Mia stretched out her arm.. “Pale and dripping wet. She wears a soaked school uniform, just staring at you from behind. But when you turn around - poof - she’s gone instantly. But you’ll find puddles everywhere you go. At home, in school, even in your bed.”

She picked up a soda half-buried in the sand and held it up, “And if you ever drink from that can again…” she said, taking a big sip, “You take her place in the machine.”

Mia finished her story, and everyone stayed silent for a moment. Ayaka crossed her arms, clearly not impressed.

“That’s just some dumb urban legend. I don’t buy it.”

She looked around the group, making eye contact with each member, and then scoffed.

“Let me tell you a real ghost story, one that actually happened.”

Ayaka leaned in, lowering her voice. “Do you guys remember that abandoned shrine we visited a couple of days ago?” She glanced at Renji and Haru, who nodded.

“Well, there is this legend about it. They say that if you tie a red ribbon to the prayer bell and leave it there, something bad will happen,” She paused, her eyes glimmering.

“Actually, there was a group of tourists that went up to the shrine that night, they thought it was just some harmless superstition. So they tied a ribbon to the bell, laughed, and snapped some pictures. But shortly after, one of them wandered off... and got lost.”

Ayaka smirks, leaning back on the bench. “The next day, they found him. He was freaked out, sweating like he’d seen a ghost. In his hand, he was holding a red ribbon…”

She paused for a few seconds.

"They looked back up at the shrine... and saw there was no ribbon tied to the bell anymore."

She slouched, pointing her palms up, “Now that’s a real ghost story.”

Mia looked at her with big, dreamy eyes. She seemed to be totally in her element, almost as if she believed the stories truly happened…

Oh, wait… she probably did, Haru gathered, a soft smile forming on her face.

Daichi chuckled, his joyous laugh grabbing the group's attention. “Okay, okay, so listen up! I’ve got the perfect story. Spooky… but also funny. Have you guys heard of the Hinagi mask festival?”

Haru looked at him with a half-smile, “Vaguely…”

“Well, in Hinagi they hold a yearly haunted mask festival. The townsfolk challenge themselves each year to create the scariest masks, and it is said that the winning mask gets cursed by some ancient spirit.”

Daichi laughed, “Sounds silly, right? But there was this group of friends who really wanted to push their luck. They broke into an ancient shrine and stole the mask from the legend. It was a creepy, wooden thing with big, exaggerated eyes.”

He leaned in closer, voice lowering. “One of them put it on and dared to wear it around town. At first, nothing happened. But then people stopped noticing him. Like… he’d talk, wave, even scream - and no one reacted. He was there… but invisible.”

Daichi made a spooky sound, then laughed.. “But here’s the kicker - the mask wouldn’t come off. No matter how hard he tried. And at night, he started hearing whispers... voices urging him to win the next festival.”

He paused, a grin forming on his face. “And legend says, every year, the same mask wins - one no one remembers submitting. No one sees who wore it. Just a creepy design with huge eyes.”

Daichi wiggled his fingers and leaned back. “So if you ever go to Hinagi and see a mask that no one can explain… maybe it's still him. Still trying to win.”

Haru frowned his brow. “That… doesn’t make sense. If no one could see him, how could he have won the contest?”

He glanced at Daichi, then at Mia, who seemed really invested in the story, and realized he was overthinking again.

“I guess… that’s not the point,” he added with a sigh.

Renji poked at the fire with his stick, then glanced around the circle with a soft smile.

“Alright, alright. Since you all gave it your best shot, I’ll guess I’ll share one too. It’s nothing flashy. Just something weird that happened to me.”

He sighed, leaning back.

“This happened last winter. I was walking home from school, you guys had all left already. The streets were empty, fresh snow was falling. The sun was already setting. I was cutting through that alleyway that is always littered with trash bins. You know the one I mean, not many people pass through that.”

He looked around, locking eyes with Haru. “You ever get the feeling that… someone’s behind you? I did that day, so I turned around. But there was nobody there.”

Renji paused, tapping his fingers against the bench.

“Except for one thing - there were two sets of footprints in the snow. Mine… and a second pair, just a few steps behind. Perfectly spaced, like someone had been copying my steps.”

The group stayed silent, looking at Renji in fear.

“I freaked out, obviously. I ran. Didn’t stop until I was home. I tried to calm myself down, guessing someone had just passed earlier. The snow had stopped falling for that day.”

He shrugged. “But the next morning, I went back. And there was only one set of footprints in the whole alley that matched mine perfectly.”

Renji tossed the stick into the fire. “I still don’t believe in ghosts. But I’ll never take that shortcut again.”

A silence settled over the group, only the crackling of the fire audible.

Mia was shivering, moving close to the fire. “Okay… that was actually creepy,” a smile formed on her face. “Exactly how I like it.”

Daichi turned around, glancing at the ground behind him, as if he were expecting footprints in the sand. “Dude, why did you have to tell it was that alley? Now I’m never walking home alone again.”

Ayaka scoffed, but her voice seemed quieter than usual. “Whatever, just some snow. Probably melting weird or something…”

Renji looked at the girl with a teasing glance. “Sure, Ayaka, you should test it out next winter.”

She immediately crossed her arms. “I am not scared or anything, these are just stupid footprints.”

Mia yawned, “Check! I can cross scary campfire stories off my bucket list. Can we please go to bed now before someone hears mysterious footsteps?”

Everyone agreed, getting up from the wooden benches as the fire dwindled to glowing embers. The group moved quietly, brushing their teeth by the light of the flashlight near the outdoor sink.

Renji stepped beside Haru, his voice low. “I really scared you there, right?”

A small smile formed on Haru’s face. “Yes… that was fun.”

Renji’s gaze turned to Mia, who stood a bit further, stretching and humming to herself. She was typing something on her phone.

“Tomorrow's the day, right?” Renji casually said.

Haru blinked, looking at his friend questioning.

Renji smirked. “The day of your first kiss. She’s really looking forward to it.”

Haru froze, remembering what Mia whispered earlier in the car.

How could he know?

Renji gave a teasing grin and slammed his hand on Haru’s shoulder, a bit too hard.

“Don’t worry." I’ve got your back! I know you won’t disappoint her.”

Haru’s thoughts spun. He hadn’t planned it… not exactly. But Mia had been dropping hints… the way she looked at him.

It was really going to happen, right?

His heart pounded in his chest. This was his chance to show initiative… it was time to stop hesitating.

He glanced at Mia, she caught his eyes and waved back.

Haru blushed a little.

Yeah… you’re right, Renji, tomorrow must be the day.