A New and Spooky Home - Part 1

"It’s here, huh?" I said to myself. "It looks quite a bit older than in the photo…"

Before me stood a small apartment complex that would become my home from now on, or at least for a while. It looked somewhat neglected from the outside, mainly with dried paint peeling off in pieces, and wooden flooring that gave the impression it might give way under weight at any moment. Even so, despite how it looked, almost all of the apartments were occupied, so it couldn’t be that bad.

My name is Yuuta Shirogane. I’m 25 years old, and until recently I worked as an office employee for a few years, before being fired over a series of problems I was involved in despite having done nothing. Fortunately, thanks to a friend of mine, I managed to prove the injustice of the situation and obtained some compensation from the company. My plan now was to isolate myself for a while in a place far from everything and take things easy without working, living off my savings and the company’s compensation.

Luckily for me, I managed to find an apartment with fairly low rent. It was quite far from the city center, so I saw it as a good option to begin this new chapter of my life.

With suitcase in hand, and while a few movers unloaded the boxes with my belongings from the truck I had rented for the move, I approached the landlord’s door.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

After knocking, I heard some noises on the other side, and a few seconds later a somewhat short, bald, hunched man with a few wrinkles came out to greet me.

"Oh, you must be Yuuta, right?" he asked in a gentle tone. "I’m Kenjiro Watanabe, the landlord here. If you need anything, you can come find me."

I had already spoken with Mr. Watanabe online when I contacted him to ask about the apartment. At first, I thought I had been lucky that no one else had taken it before me, but after continuing our conversation about it, I understood why the price was so low.

"Are you sure about this?" Mr. Watanabe asked, with a hint of fear. The reason the apartment had such a low price and that no one had inquired about it was, apparently, due to paranormal events that occurred there.

When he mentioned it to me online, I thought it was some kind of joke, but as the conversation went on, I realized he was speaking completely seriously.

"Yes, don’t worry. I’m not superstitious, so I won’t run away so easily," I said confidently.

Mr. Watanabe still seemed to have his doubts, but he nodded at my resolve and told me, "Good luck," after seeing me off. It seemed to be a delicate subject around here, serious enough for the landlord to worry about my safety, but I didn’t care much. Ghosts don’t exist—that was a fact.

With determination, I returned to the entrance of the place and began carrying the boxes into my new home. It was somewhat complicated, mainly because the apartment was all the way at the end of the hallway, but little by little I managed to bring the boxes in.

That said, I won’t deny that the creaking of the metal stairs startled me a bit, but I managed to steady myself before falling along with the box I was holding.

Sooner rather than later, and after several trips back and forth, I finally finished bringing all my things inside.

***

Once I set the last box of my belongings down on the floor, I looked around and the first thing that came to mind was…

"This is definitely going to be a lot of work…"

Inside the apartment, a thick layer of dust covering much of the surfaces welcomed me. It seemed like it hadn’t received maintenance in quite some time. I suppose I should have expected that, given the extreme caution people seemed to have about this place and the stories told about it.

The first thing I did was check the electricity and the water, and fortunately both appeared to be working properly. After confirming that it was only a matter of cleaning, I got to work dusting the place.

"Achoo! Ugh… what a nuisance."

It was a titanic task. I had arrived at the place fairly early in the morning, and by the time I finished cleaning the dust and cobwebs, it was already getting dark. It was incredibly exhausting, so I decided to stop and take a breather. I had already cleaned the bedroom, so I would be able to rest without problems that night.

I took some essential items out of the boxes, mainly some clothes, plates, glasses, and utensils to get started. However, something happened in the middle of that.

"And the glasses go over here… Huh? Where are the… plates?" As I unpacked my things, the plates seemed to have moved. I had left them at the edge of the table, but now they were all the way on the other end.

Suddenly, the landlord’s warnings and advice flooded my mind, but I quickly dismissed them. It was surely the result of exhaustion from cleaning and the stress of moving. I must have been the one who left them there without realizing it.

"Seriously, I really am a mess…" I muttered to myself before cooking something quick and going to bed to rest.

I thought things would end there, that the event would be something unique that wouldn’t repeat itself, but I was completely mistaken.

***

Over the next three days, more and more strange things began to happen in the apartment. The first thing I noticed was that my belongings would change places, just like the plates on my first night, but to that were added other occurrences such as lights turning on and off whenever I turned around, or even the television switching on in the middle of the night. Moreover, the most chilling thing, without a doubt, was when I believed I saw a humanoid figure out of the corner of my eye. I couldn’t make out its features, but I know there was something there.

With each passing day in this place, things seemed to grow worse and worse, and I was already beginning to reach my limit.

It was clear that this was no longer the result of exhaustion or stress. There was definitely something lurking here. In addition, during these days the neighbors came to introduce themselves and check on me, worried that something might have happened. It seems that the previous tenants had the same problems as I did and left within a short time.

So many things happening at once, combined with the neighbors’ concern and the landlord’s warning, finally made me come to my senses. I had to speak with Mr. Watanabe as soon as possible and see if there was any way to fix this entire problem.

However, it was already rather late. It was close to one in the morning, and at that hour everything outside was incredibly dark, the only exception being the streetlamps lining the road. All the neighbors were already asleep, and surely the landlord was no exception.

There was no other choice—I would have to wait until morning.

With that decision made, I went to take a shower, ate something quick, and lay down to sleep, hoping the hours would pass quickly.

What I did not expect was that night would become an important turning point in my life, and that nothing from that moment onward would ever be the same.

Once I turned everything off and lay down, the hours passed. I tried to sleep as much as I could, but it was impossible. I felt my body sweating profusely, yet at the same time I felt chills. I thought about getting up to drink some water, but then things got worse.

"I-I can’t move…" I whispered in fear.