23. Hanako Knows Best.

Upon entering the mountain, Hanako found a rickety old elevator overlooking a sheer pit. 

After checking it was safe, she tugged at the big wooden lever and waited for the platform to descend with a series of wet creaks.

Eventually, the elevator rattled to a stop, surrounded by an impenetrable darkness.

Stepping off, she tapped the glow-worm, lighting up a portion of the dark in lime green. It allowed her to carefully feel around the cave walls, taking every step into account.

Hanako clambered down three more ladders, each one on the edge of what appeared to be an abandoned site made up of scattered planks of wood. Careful not to lose her footing, she caught sight of a faint blue glow shimmering out from a small opening.

The narrow crevice opened out to an underground stream, where the walls radiated soft blue light. Below, waters rippled in shallow pools, while hooded figures swept rakes across them.

Hanako soon realised it was not water they were raking, but lilac-coloured flames, that never seemed to extinguish. The people themselves were translucent and would disappear out of sight before reappearing somewhere else.

Hanako stepped over the fires and found a small Gondola bobbing gently at the end of a Jetty.

Seated squarely at the back, she saw that there were no oars or anything to propel the craft along. Sighing, she was about to climb out when the boat suddenly moved by itself.

Startled at first, Hanako quickly relaxed.

There was a serenity to the place that made her feel at ease. She wondered if this is what Jenny meant by: 'If you are worthy, they will help.' Who were 'they'? There was no way to communicate, and she got the feeling it was best left to the experts.

A nearby tunnel brought her out into a vast cave. The ceiling was filled with white 'Bubbles' of varying size, all decorated with slender black veins. It reminded Hanako of Spider sacks.

Will she have to fight giant Spiders? Something told her not to worry and enjoy the ride.

Between the 'Bubbles, ' she saw a wave of white mist sweep across the ceiling. It was strangely hypnotic, like a serpent made of cloud.

Maybe her sight was playing tricks, but she swore there were faces inside the mist, and they were all singing. The faintest hint of a choir sang out.

I shouldn’t be able to hear this. 

Then she saw it. Hanako spotted Isaac among the faces and felt an icy shroud come over her. He looked at peace and kept glancing toward a woman, both of whom were smiling.

It appeared that whatever ritual the Mouse had performed had saved both souls and they were no longer tethered to the darkness.

Hanako felt an overwhelming need to cry. She wanted to tell him she was sorry, but felt like something was telling her to keep on living and not to lose herself to sadness. For only in sorrow can you be consumed by the abyss.

The girl let her hand drift through the flames, catching an image of herself in the waters. She was in a wheelchair, back at the Hospital. Family and friends surrounded her, laughing and hugging. There was undeniable warmth in the vision, a compassion she could feel through her fingertips. Maybe returning wasn’t so bad after all.

***

The journey led to another tunnel and onto a picturesque river.

Under a great Oak, stood a farmhouse with a thatched roof and a waterwheel lapping calm waters. Hanako recognised it immediately. It was home.

No. No. This can't be! 

The girl recalled how the river curved to the right, the tree with her favourite rope swing, how the evening sun twinkled between the willows.

The ride eventually creaked to a stop against a muddy bank, lit by golden sunlight

Hanako left the boat and followed the dusty road to the house. She stopped near the window and traced a finger around the sign: Dreamers’ End

Gently pushing the front door, Hanako let herself in.

Taking a deep breath, she made her way to the front room. It looked dark and empty in a way that made her feel sad. Not sad in the traditional sense, but hollow, as if she didn't belong.

Backing away, Hanako inspected her bedroom. What she didn’t expect was to see herself as a little girl watching the small television.

Halfway through a cartoon, the screen flickered to the sound of cries blended with white noise. The black and white image started to flicker with scratchy lines like an old videotape. 

A new scene showed a Plague Doctor spinning in complete circles, but it did not move of its own accord, which reminded Hanako of 'stop-motion' animation.

While this was taking place, a second Plague Doctor sneaked a look from the side, as if to check if the viewer was paying attention, before disappearing back out of sight.

Hanako also noticed a shadow figure peek from behind a cardboard tree, point at her and slinked back the way it came.

Soon, the imagery ‘melted’ into a white background, as if on a broken projector and was replaced by normal cartoons.

What was that?  The younger Hanako signed.

Her sister gave no response. She was still frozen in terror, staring at the screen.

Shaking her head, present-day Hanako continued around the room.

It was everything she remembered: messy, with scattered paintings and a spilt tub of building bricks. On the table was a drawing of a girl in a yellow dress standing next to a red tree. 

Passing a mirror, she blinked and saw two human eyes staring back.

Taken aback, Hanako had to double check, even going as far as to paw her own face, to make sure. She was definitely human again, but how? It was hard to say.

Unravelling the bandages, she was shocked to see her old self.

Her green eyes sparkled with fresh tears, while rosy cheeks cracked to form a new smile. The rush of memories came back and felt like a dream.

"A...dream." The girl said and paused.

The cold wash of a sudden realisation hit her out of nowhere. Looking back, she saw the other two girls were gone and the colour of the room was somewhat greyer than before.

"Just a dream."

Jenny warned about lures. How easy it was to remain in the comfort zone.

The moment this crossed her mind, the room darkened into a murky blue where no sunlight returned. The walls became rough, dark and blood-coloured, like flayed skin.

Oh, it didn’t like that.

Hanako checked her parents' room next. Nothing had changed except the photos. For some reason, all faces of her family had been blurred with a violent smudge. It was almost as if her memory was breaking down.

Something scratched her thigh, causing her to look down. It was their English Sheepdog, pawing at her leg. The girl wondered how something so imaginary could feel so real.

She passed into the kitchen, which smelled of fresh pancakes. Looking out at the garden, Hanako almost choked in disbelief.

On the high bank, by the grand Oak, she saw her parents tending to a girl in a wheelchair, while her sister stretched bubbles into sausage shapes.

In that moment, Hanako's happiness doubled. She so wanted to go, to feel whole again. To feel the sun on her face, and return to the way things used to be.

Used to be. She thought. How it...used to be.

Her smile dropped, and she backed away. Fake or not, Hanako didn't want her parents to see the silent rage or wrought despair of being cheated out of a life.

The anger started to build, and she increased her pace toward the exit. Her jaw clenched, and her hands bunched into fists. This vision, the house, the memories, it all felt like a mockery of the things she had lost.

Inside, Hanako could feel boiling resentment rise up and threaten to spill over into murderous rage. A rage she had held onto for so long, with no way to seal it off.

What would she do if she found those responsible?

No. You don't get to have me.

Hanako felt cold inside and started to tremble.

‘Try to fight the monster and the monster you will become.’ Seth had said. ‘Demons favour weak minds, because they are easier to poison and control. A demon will tell a weak mind there is honour in murder and convince that person they must strike with righteous fury; thus, damning another soul. In the end, they are all too easy to collect.”

Hanako took a moment and calmed herself down.

Looking around the walls, she noticed that they too were all made from flayed skin, with a rusted corrugated iron replacing the carpets and furniture. Nothing was real anymore. She always knew, but it felt good to live a lie, if only for a tiny bit.

On her way out, Hanako stopped by a framed drawing of a black spider and smashed it with her fist.