Chapter 4:
Chapter IV: The Girl Who Waited Too Long
The Girl Who Was Lost
The Girl Who Waited Too Long
They did not stop walking until the laughter at the base of the hill faded behind them.Daichi’s voice followed briefly—mocking, triumphant, demanding details—but Aika ignored him completely. Ren barely heard him at all.The farther they descended from Kuroyama Hill, the lighter the air became.But not inside Ren’s chest.Inside him, something had shifted.The town lights looked different now. Too bright. Too ordinary. As if reality were overcompensating.They reached the old stone path near the shrine.That was when Sora stopped.Aika nearly stumbled when her hand was gently released.“Sora?” she asked softly.The girl stood beneath the pale glow of the shrine lantern. She was no longer crying. Her face was no longer strained.It was calm.Unnaturally calm.“I remember now,” she said.Ren’s pulse tightened.The way she said it—Not confused. Not fragmented.Certain.________________________________________The ConfessionSora turned slowly toward Kuroyama Hill. Her small figure seemed almost weightless in the night air.“I was playing kakurenbo,” she said quietly. “With my friends.”Her voice carried an eerie steadiness.“I wanted to win.”A faint smile touched her lips.“It was my turn to hide.”The wind stirred the talismans hanging from the shrine rope. They rustled softly, like whispers too distant to interpret.“I climbed the hill because no one ever looks there,” she continued.Ren’s mind reconstructed the image.A child climbing alone.Laughing.Confident.“I entered the school,” Sora said. “I hid in the last classroom on the second floor.”Aika’s breath slowed. “That’s where we found you.”Sora nodded faintly.“I waited.”Her gaze drifted downward.“At first, it was fun.”She described the excitement of hiding, pressing herself into the corner behind an old desk, suppressing giggles.“I heard them counting,” she said softly. “But then I didn’t hear them anymore.”Ren’s throat tightened.“I thought they were looking somewhere else.”Minutes became hours. The light faded. The hallway darkened.“I told myself not to move,” Sora continued. “Because if I moved, I would lose.”Her expression flickered.“Then I started to feel it.”Ren already knew what she meant.The presence.The watching.“The air changed,” she said quietly. “The hallway became heavy.”Aika’s hands tightened at her sides.“I heard footsteps,” Sora whispered.Ren’s breathing grew shallow.“But they weren’t my friends.”Silence swallowed the shrine courtyard. Even the insects seemed to retreat.“I looked into the hallway,” Sora continued. “And I saw it.”Her small fingers curled slightly.“I don’t remember its face.”Ren’s stomach churned.“I just remember how it looked at me.”Aika stepped closer. “Sora… did it hurt you?”The girl shook her head slowly.“It didn’t touch me.”Her voice thinned.“It didn’t have to.”________________________________________The True HorrorSora placed her hand gently over her chest.“I was so scared.”Her eyes grew distant—not confused, but remembering something too large for her body.“My heart was beating so fast.”Ren felt his own pulse echo the rhythm.“I wanted to run,” she said. “But my legs wouldn’t move.”The shrine lantern flickered faintly.“I screamed.”The word barely left her lips.“No one heard me.”Aika’s composure cracked for the first time. Her jaw tightened.“I tried to breathe,” Sora whispered. “But the air felt thick.”Her voice trembled.“And then…”She paused.The wind stilled.“My chest hurt.”Ren felt nausea rise sharply.“I couldn’t breathe.”Her hand pressed harder against her dress.“And then everything went quiet.”A long silence followed.“I thought I fainted,” Sora said softly. “But I never stood up again.”Ren’s vision blurred.“You…” he began, unable to finish.Sora nodded.“I died there.”Not attacked.Not touched.Overwhelmed.Fear had shut her body down. Her heart had stopped under the weight of terror.________________________________________The Waiting“I didn’t know,” she continued. “I thought I was still hiding.”Her voice broke slightly—not from pain, but from understanding.“I waited for them to find me.”A small, fragile smile returned.“Even after it was dark.”Even after the building fell silent.Even after her body no longer responded.“I didn’t understand why no one came.”Something inside Ren fractured.The worst horror was not the distortion.Not the shadow.It was this.A child waiting.Believing someone would come.And no one did.“I stayed in that room,” Sora whispered. “I was scared.”Her eyes met Aika’s.“When you spoke to me… I felt warm.”Aika’s throat tightened.“You weren’t afraid of me,” Sora continued. “You weren’t afraid of the room.”A faint shimmer traced her outline.“And when that beam fell…”Ren inhaled sharply.“I didn’t want you to be scared like I was,” Sora said softly.“So I stopped it.”The distortion was nowhere visible.But Ren felt its absence like tension drawn tight.“I think…” Sora said slowly, “…I was waiting to be found.”Not by her friends.Not by adults.But by someone who would acknowledge her fear.Who would see her.________________________________________ReleaseThe moonlight grew brighter.Sora’s form began to glow faintly—not brilliantly, not theatrically.Subtly.Like mist touched by dawn.“I’m not scared anymore,” she said.For the first time, her smile looked like a child’s.“Thank you.”Aika stepped forward instinctively.Her hand passed through air.Sora’s body dissolved gently into silver particles. They rose like reversed dust, carried by the wind, vanishing into the night.The shrine lantern steadied.The air felt lighter.Ren’s knees nearly gave way.“It’s over,” Aika whispered.But her voice lacked certainty.Because when Ren slowly lifted his eyes toward Kuroyama Hill—He felt it again.The attention.Not Sora.Something else.Watching.From above.Unfinished.Ren did not speak of it.Not yet.But deep inside, he understood.Sora had been waiting to be freed.But the thing in the corridor—Had been waiting too.
They did not stop walking until the laughter at the base of the hill faded behind them.Daichi’s voice followed briefly—mocking, triumphant, demanding details—but Aika ignored him completely. Ren barely heard him at all.The farther they descended from Kuroyama Hill, the lighter the air became.But not inside Ren’s chest.Inside him, something had shifted.The town lights looked different now. Too bright. Too ordinary. As if reality were overcompensating.They reached the old stone path near the shrine.That was when Sora stopped.Aika nearly stumbled when her hand was gently released.“Sora?” she asked softly.The girl stood beneath the pale glow of the shrine lantern. She was no longer crying. Her face was no longer strained.It was calm.Unnaturally calm.“I remember now,” she said.Ren’s pulse tightened.The way she said it—Not confused. Not fragmented.Certain.________________________________________The ConfessionSora turned slowly toward Kuroyama Hill. Her small figure seemed almost weightless in the night air.“I was playing kakurenbo,” she said quietly. “With my friends.”Her voice carried an eerie steadiness.“I wanted to win.”A faint smile touched her lips.“It was my turn to hide.”The wind stirred the talismans hanging from the shrine rope. They rustled softly, like whispers too distant to interpret.“I climbed the hill because no one ever looks there,” she continued.Ren’s mind reconstructed the image.A child climbing alone.Laughing.Confident.“I entered the school,” Sora said. “I hid in the last classroom on the second floor.”Aika’s breath slowed. “That’s where we found you.”Sora nodded faintly.“I waited.”Her gaze drifted downward.“At first, it was fun.”She described the excitement of hiding, pressing herself into the corner behind an old desk, suppressing giggles.“I heard them counting,” she said softly. “But then I didn’t hear them anymore.”Ren’s throat tightened.“I thought they were looking somewhere else.”Minutes became hours. The light faded. The hallway darkened.“I told myself not to move,” Sora continued. “Because if I moved, I would lose.”Her expression flickered.“Then I started to feel it.”Ren already knew what she meant.The presence.The watching.“The air changed,” she said quietly. “The hallway became heavy.”Aika’s hands tightened at her sides.“I heard footsteps,” Sora whispered.Ren’s breathing grew shallow.“But they weren’t my friends.”Silence swallowed the shrine courtyard. Even the insects seemed to retreat.“I looked into the hallway,” Sora continued. “And I saw it.”Her small fingers curled slightly.“I don’t remember its face.”Ren’s stomach churned.“I just remember how it looked at me.”Aika stepped closer. “Sora… did it hurt you?”The girl shook her head slowly.“It didn’t touch me.”Her voice thinned.“It didn’t have to.”________________________________________The True HorrorSora placed her hand gently over her chest.“I was so scared.”Her eyes grew distant—not confused, but remembering something too large for her body.“My heart was beating so fast.”Ren felt his own pulse echo the rhythm.“I wanted to run,” she said. “But my legs wouldn’t move.”The shrine lantern flickered faintly.“I screamed.”The word barely left her lips.“No one heard me.”Aika’s composure cracked for the first time. Her jaw tightened.“I tried to breathe,” Sora whispered. “But the air felt thick.”Her voice trembled.“And then…”She paused.The wind stilled.“My chest hurt.”Ren felt nausea rise sharply.“I couldn’t breathe.”Her hand pressed harder against her dress.“And then everything went quiet.”A long silence followed.“I thought I fainted,” Sora said softly. “But I never stood up again.”Ren’s vision blurred.“You…” he began, unable to finish.Sora nodded.“I died there.”Not attacked.Not touched.Overwhelmed.Fear had shut her body down. Her heart had stopped under the weight of terror.________________________________________The Waiting“I didn’t know,” she continued. “I thought I was still hiding.”Her voice broke slightly—not from pain, but from understanding.“I waited for them to find me.”A small, fragile smile returned.“Even after it was dark.”Even after the building fell silent.Even after her body no longer responded.“I didn’t understand why no one came.”Something inside Ren fractured.The worst horror was not the distortion.Not the shadow.It was this.A child waiting.Believing someone would come.And no one did.“I stayed in that room,” Sora whispered. “I was scared.”Her eyes met Aika’s.“When you spoke to me… I felt warm.”Aika’s throat tightened.“You weren’t afraid of me,” Sora continued. “You weren’t afraid of the room.”A faint shimmer traced her outline.“And when that beam fell…”Ren inhaled sharply.“I didn’t want you to be scared like I was,” Sora said softly.“So I stopped it.”The distortion was nowhere visible.But Ren felt its absence like tension drawn tight.“I think…” Sora said slowly, “…I was waiting to be found.”Not by her friends.Not by adults.But by someone who would acknowledge her fear.Who would see her.________________________________________ReleaseThe moonlight grew brighter.Sora’s form began to glow faintly—not brilliantly, not theatrically.Subtly.Like mist touched by dawn.“I’m not scared anymore,” she said.For the first time, her smile looked like a child’s.“Thank you.”Aika stepped forward instinctively.Her hand passed through air.Sora’s body dissolved gently into silver particles. They rose like reversed dust, carried by the wind, vanishing into the night.The shrine lantern steadied.The air felt lighter.Ren’s knees nearly gave way.“It’s over,” Aika whispered.But her voice lacked certainty.Because when Ren slowly lifted his eyes toward Kuroyama Hill—He felt it again.The attention.Not Sora.Something else.Watching.From above.Unfinished.Ren did not speak of it.Not yet.But deep inside, he understood.Sora had been waiting to be freed.But the thing in the corridor—Had been waiting too.
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