Chapter 1: Nothing More Than A Hallucination

CHRONICLES of the PARANORMAL
I
On Monday, the start of a school week in Tokyo, Japan, her cousin Megumi sent her a long text about an interesting romantic dream last night detailing her innocent crush on a cute boy in her class. Megumi detailed all its portents and symbolism in painstaking detail, from the way he presented himself as a storybook prince come to sweep her away off her feet on a white steed and brandishing a golden sword. While Megumi rapid fire texted her on her phone with a series of successive pings, blowing up Inbox with several messages about her Prince Charming on his white seed and golden sword only the true heir can wield, Kotone’s lips quirked into a smile as she read, wondering whether Megumi had been staying up late watching anime instead of studying. Kotone Takada trawled websites on her purple-themed sleek and professional laptop, brand new and bought out of pocket from her nights working as a barista in a coffeeshop and having two books on her desk open as cross-referenced material: A Chinese Zodiac Book and A Western Zodiac Book, plus a psychology book about the Enneagrams and another stash of psychology books that her father bought for his own personal library in business.

She pecked at her keys, her fingers clicking and clacking in the silent room which gone quiet. A clock chimed in another room, muffled through the walls separated her bedroom from the living quarters of the four square home. Kotone looked up her Western Zodiac (Aries) and Chinese Zodiac (Dragon) and Enneagram (One) alignment to better determine her analysis of her personality and upbringing, then compared her findings to Megumi’s (Gemini), Chinese (Dragon), Enneagram (Three). She then scribbled on her pink flower stationary notebook the notes she found online and in the Western and Eastern Zodiac Books and psychology tomes that her father had on his shelf, which told her interesting tales and stories about people with these personality types. Kotone checked the digital clock on her desk, before she pecked a few more keys, and turned on the television and dialed up the knob as the clunker started to distort and give out radio wave distortion. The muffled whispers of Japanese people struggling quietly in a society living with a declining birth rate managed to live with quiet dignity despite this, though a thick tension settled over Kotone’s shoulders like a drowsy-induced blanket as she yawned.

As a child, Kotone turned in her homework on time, always attended class an hour early and cleaned and swept the classroom and hallways. She believed in completing her homework with nothing less than perfect marks (100s), in getting a good school, that life was an exam that you would be tested for. So in order to get good marks, by people and society, you had to perform under pressure and do your best to live by society’s rules. She picked up litter from the streets, helped feed stray animals that would wander across Tokyo, and she did her homework and studying to get a good job as a lawyer in America to one day pay back the parents. Kotone eyed a family photo on her desk as she reminsiced fondly of memories of her mother taking her to aquariums and beaches of endless blue, going to hunt for shark teeth adn picking up seashells from the coastal regions and celebrating many holidays together as a wonderful home that nourished the mind and spirit with love. These were qualities that developed in a person, not predetermined from some higher celestial Deity, whether through the Zodiacs or generalized pop psychology that people seemed to be into these days. In the end, she didn’t believe what Megumi believed, though seeing Megumi always loved things like spooks and ghouls and ghosts and puppets, Kotone respected those passionate about their beliefs and didn’t let the common masses sway their opinion.

Though honestly, the thing about all these signs on dream symbolism and Zodiacs, whether Chinese or otherwise, seemed to be a sleight of mind to dupe the gullible masses into believing that they’re true. Their overly generalized personality traits that people in general usually shared to make people think that they belong in a certain categorization (House Virgo! Team Tiger! Root For Peacemaker!) rather than it being more subtle and nuanced than that. Yet…still, Kotone enjoyed Zodiacs and horoscopes as much as the next regular Japanese teen who probably preened her hair and makeup and donned it like battle armor in school to face society wearing smiles and secrets behind a white-toothed grin. She researched her findings and typed in her documents and wrote in her notebooks about the information she found—even if she didn’t believe in such things that Megumi did, Kotone believed no knowledge was wasted.

The television blared in the background as white noise as she wrote her notes. The studious life was an important one, and to make her way to a good college was part of her life agenda. Kotone had most of her life trajectory planned out to a tee, with there being an end goal of making a career as a lawyer in America. While she daydreamed about her ambition, the lights flickered a bit. Kotone frowned, brows furrowed, before she turned to face her television in the room. The television glitched out, creating static and eerie radio signals, before shutting off completely of it’s own accord. Frowning a bit, Kotone tried to adjust the settings on her television, she saw a ghastly impression in the flat screen surface, causing her to fall back from her chair, knocking her head from the tumble and sprawling out in a mess of tousled brown hair and overly long limbs.

“Crap!” Kotone cried out. “I’m freaking out over this? Get real, Kotone Takada!”

She slapped her cheeks once, as though to get herself out of a half-sleeping stupor.

“Why are you so spooked?”

Yet the light continued to flicker in her room, before eventually sputtering out after the carnival light spilled blood red. Then everything enshrouded in darkness. A shiver crawled up Kotone’s spine and she swallowed until her throat ached. Anxiety pulsed in her gut, and nausea rolled her in lightheaded waves as she staggered from her unconscious position and she took out her phone and used the light on the phone to illuminate the dark corners and shadows as though they manifested as pouncing predators and creatures of the night only told about in horror tales. Such childishness, she knew. Yet, in the flicker of her eye, she thought she saw something that shouldn’t be there in the corner move out of her peripheral vision; the temperature plummeted to bone-chilling levels, and Kotone swore frost spiked on the hairs of her arms and on the edges of her desk and computer.

Then, suddenly, something gooey emerged from her computer screen monitor, slithering out like a snake with a horror visual similar to The Ring. A scream collected in Kotone’s throat as she backed up, murmuring a Buddhic chant or some kind of prayer to ward off whatever thing this was that was coming out at her out of instinct despite her initial disbelief. Though Kotone’s first thought wasn’t that this was a ghost or something supernatural. She thought it must’ve been some sign of mental illness or visual hallucinatory mishap from her all nighter studies, and seeing something like this definitely wasn’t helping her get what little sleep she needed to prep for the day.

It’s nothing more than a hallucination. If you don’t acknowledge its existence, it’s like it’s not even there in the first place.

This was the thought of Takada Kotone as she slowly reached to grab something to defend herself with that Wednesday morning while glaring at the entity that came out of her computer screen. Kotone closed her eyes. It was obviously a hallucination, a byproduct of her half-dreaming musings as she slowly woke up. Not real. She was tired from last night, that had to be it. Nevertheless, that blurred image – a lithe pale girl with owlish cerulean eyes, two long dark green braids that dangled to her shoulder, and slightly large ears – remained in her peripheral vision.

Kotone let out a laugh, then put a hand upon her brow and shook her head. Her heart beat in a steady rhythm, her hand felt no heat upon her brow, and her blood pressure and vitals seemed normal. It had to be a product of her imagination. It was a bright and sunny day with the sakura blossoms in bloom, with nothing strange occurring otherwise. No one else in the household had acknowledged this spirit.

“You’re not so easily spooked by this, are you?” Kotone directed at her reflection. “Let’s be rational. There’s no such thing as spirits or ghosts. I thought you were a tougher girl than this, Takada Kotone. You gotta shape up and confront your problems head on. This hallucination isn’t your real problem. It’s you overworking yourself to the point of exhaustion and insisting you don’t need any sleep whatsoever, despite the fact that every functional human being needs at least eight hours a sleep a day.”

Once Kotone grabbed something, she threw a hairbrush at the ghost. The hairbrush clattered against the wall then banged down to the floor. Kotone winced then let out a heavy sigh. Of course it would phase through.

“Oh sure, since I’m dead, it’s alright to throw things at me,” the ghost said. “Twenty points if you throw it through my stomach. Fifty points if you throw it through my head. Who am I, Moaning Myrtle? Just because I’m dead doesn’t mean that I don’t have feelings!”

“You’re not real,” Kotone muttered before washing her face. The cold water upon her face was a welcome relief, though that relief dissipated when the spirit hovered next to and touched her. Kotone’s skin tightened.

Just a temperature shift in the room, nothing more, she told herself. There wasn’t a ghost floating next to her or talking to her. That was just silly. Irrational.

“I am real!” the ghost said angrily. “I came here because I needed your hel—“

“No!” Kotone shouted, disbelieving that she was getting in a shouting match with something that should entirely be a figment of her imagination. “Go away!”

“Listen here, y-you,” the ghost said, steaming from her top comically almost like one of those cartoons back in the olden days. “I would do it myself, but I can’t! Just please, I need—“

“Be quiet!” Kotone said, swatting at the ghost and causing it to fly through the wall.

She calmed her breathing for a few seconds, waiting to listen and here for anything else unusual in her room, before breathing a sigh of relief. The ghost or hallucination or whatever—was gone. Her room, however, was a mess. Frost still clung in icicles from the bottom of her tyrannosaurus rex desk, ectoplasm bled over her screen and floors and walls, and Kotone was left to clean all that up.

Kotone shook her head, murmuring to herself and saying that she shouldn’t leave such an ungodly mess for her mother to scold her over, so she went to work. She would be late for school, but she wanted to get the incident of the ghost off her mind and also to work. SHe liked to work and keep busy, whether it wsa academics or sports or just chores. Kotone Takada was never a person that was able to keep still.

Once she cleaned up her bedroom to her satisfaction, she made her way downstairs ine kitchen to pop a piece of toast into her mouth. She crunched on the buttery toast, finishing the last few bites with obvious relish when her father looked up from his newspaper nad crinkled his eyes at her in amusement.

“You’re walking Megumi there, yes?”

Kotone nodded.

“I will.”

“You go do that,” her father said before returning to his newspaper. He furrowed his brow as a cold draft coursed through the room. “Chilly, isn’t it?”

Kotone felt the back of her neck prickle, with the odd sense of weirdness she experienced this morning. Her hallucination, before she dismissed it.

“It’s probably nothing. A draft, I think.”

“The weather does say that we should be expecting rain soon.”

“Yeah,” she said before popping a piece of toast into her mouth.

Once she finished wiping crumbs off her pristine clothes and washing her hands in the sink, Kotone gave her father a peck on the cheek, smiling affectionately toward him. “Hey, take care, all right? Don’t overwork yourself.”

“I should say the same to you,” Kotone’s father said with the same crinkle in his eye. “Oh, Kotone, our little scholar. It’s admirable that you work so hard, but I know that you’ve been staying up all night to push for those perfect grades. You know that we love you no matter what grade you achieve, right?”

“I know,” Kotone said. “In a perfect world, that’s what everyone would do, and while I agree with the sentiment, I also believe that I must work hard to pursue my happiness and achieve it. Does that make sense?”

“Getting philosophical there, aren’t you?” Kotone’s father said with a laugh, before he said. “Regardless, you’re keeping up with your studies and that makes your mother happy. I’ve always been content to have a little girl who would grow up in a comfortable life and house.”

Kotone bowed.

“This place holds many memories for me…” Kotone said. “Mother would always talk about me seeing the portents and imagery in my dreams. I never believed in the things that she did, but she said there was a fantastical world of strange creatures and spirits and worlds you couldn’t imagine that are thriving underneath our noses…what do you think of all that, Dad?”

“Beats me,” her father said with a shrug of his shoulders. “I’m just your regular of the mill businessman who enjoys a cup of sake with some coworkers and occasionally splurges of platters of sushi for special occasions. So, Kotone…when you achieve your exam grades back, why don’t we celebrate and do something fun?”

“I would love to,” Kotone said. “But I really ought to study.”

Her father rolled his eyes playfully. “Couldn’t I have gotten a normal kid? Normally kids would be jumping at the opportunity to do something else other than study.”

“Well,” Kotone said as she cleared her throat. “It’s important to me that I get good grades.”

“Yes, but you’ve always been particular about getting perfect scores,” her father said affectionately. “Nothing less than that.”

Kotone flushed a bit.

“Well, if I don’t achieve the absolute best grades that I can, then I won’t go to the school that I want, and I won’t be able to get the career of my dreams!”

“It’s okay to just enjoy life, you know, Kotone,” her father said seriously, looking at her with a kind, blue-eyed gaze. “Your mother might’ve been a little strict with you—I love her, and I love you, and she loves you, of course; but the one thing you need to remember is that perfection doesn’t really exist. Sometimes it’s okay to have a little imperfection and raw edges to our life.”

“I ought to get going,” Kotone said, hitching her tote-bag on her shoulder. “Thank you for the talk, Dad, though you don’t really need to be concerned about me.”

“Think about it, Kotone!” Her father said as she walked out, giving a parting “Bye,” in return, before she walked toward Megumi’s house.

The neighborhood had cozy square homes with street walls surrounding their perimeters. Kotone followed the corridors of the stone walls that went towards Megumi’s house, passing by persimmon, orange, and pear trees with low-hanging boughs ripe with fermented citrus and fruit along the way. To a foreigner all the street walls hovering above would have been disorienting, though Kotone found them comforting and enjoyed the maze-like structure. It brought a sense of order and privacy into the neighborhood. This comfortable familiarty and walls and spaces made then intimate yet safe spaces to hang out, and if there was anyone who would dare try to do anything funny, it would be reported immediately. Generally, the neighborhood was safe, Tokyo was safe in general, and Kotone had absolutely nothing to complain about.

Until that incident from this morning.

Megumi waited for her just outside her modest home. She waved happily towards Kotone as she approached.

Megumi was far shorter in stature than Kotone. Her large eyes were emerald green and they bore babydoll lashes. A cute button nose was at the center of her face, which other people often commented on and how it lent her an adorable appearance, along with her heart-shaped face that was cherubic in quality and in demeanor. Her hair was fox gold orange and pulled into pigtails which swayed with each movement of her head as she chattered on about the latest horoscope she gleaned from the most recent magazine that she followed.

“Today’s horoscope is very promising today,” Megumi said as she read the astrology paper that she had clenched in her hands. “A Gemini like me will have influence over other people today, talking about my ideas and persuading others to see my point of view. As for you, it says that you, as an Aries, are subject to an eclipse. The eclipse is to bring your attention to important matters that you’ve ignored in your life, or things you’ve known about but haven’t acknowledged. Make sure to take advantage of this opportunity for self-realization.”

“It sounds interesting, but here’s my theory,” Kotone said. “Astrology is nothing more than a hoax full of generalized statements to make people believe that what they’re saying is true, that their predictions are right, and that your life is dictated by the stars. I, for one, am in charge of my own life, and I won’t let some astrology paper tell me what I’m supposed to do with my life.”

“Oh, Kotone-chan.” Megumi clenched tighter onto the papers. “But what if the astrology paper is telling the truth? You dismiss it as something trivial, but I think there are greater powers at work here. I mean, the universe is receptive to your wants and needs, so you should open up to it and live the life that you want.”

“If the universe really did deliver on its promises, I would be rich and a well-respected young woman known throughout the world, but as you can see, that hasn’t happened. No, I won’t wait on the universe to grant my wishes. It’s up to me to grant my wishes.”

“Well, why don’t I tell you this.” Megumi folded her hands behind her back and walked in front of Kotone, keeping her gaze level to Kotone’s. “There was another part to that horoscope as well. It said that you will meet someone very important, and the person in question will become a huge part of your life. Sounds like romance, no?”

“I have no interest in romance. It’s absolutely ridiculous. I have other priorities in my life.”

“Think on it.”

Kotone let out a sigh. “It would be nice if the universe delivered, but there is a quote in a book that I’ve read, once you’re born, you better crawl back in where you came from, because life is an endless feast of shit.”

Megumi giggled.

“Do you honestly beileve that, Kotone-chan?”

Kotone considered for a moment.

“Honestly, as of right now, the world out there can be shit. It’s not quite achieved it’s utopoian realiziation that we need for equality and rights for everyone. Regardless, I think that we need to start with our education and studies and become fine citizens for our country and fellow men and women.”

They both arrived at school without incident. The weird hallucination that haunted Kotone’s mind started to fade away from her consciousness as she made her way into the classroom. Now this was more her element, as an industrious worker and class president. There was work that needed to be done, and Kotone would fulfill her duties.

The teacher cleared his throat before making an announcement. “Class, we have a new student transferring into our school today. I would like for you all to welcome her and make her feel comfortable at this school. So, let me introduce you to our new transfer student.”

A petite girl who was shorter in stature than even Megumi entered through the door. She had large rounded eyes that were silvery blue in coloration and appeared lethargic in their apathetic gaze. Her short-cropped white hair framed a slightly rounded face, and the nose was rather pointed, though it didn’t seem to ruin the aesthetics of her face, which was generally pleasing to the eye. However, there seemed to be a lack of emotion upon the girl’s face, lending her a doll-like appearance. Coupled with her lithe build, it made Kotone think of the Faye that populated European literature.

She stood in front of the blackboard, where their teacher wrote her name in kanji. The kanji on the board read Natsume Ayano.

“Good morning, my name is Natsume Ayano,” the transfer student said, her voice curiously flat. “It’s nice to meet you all. I hope that we can get along.”

The other students murmured amongst themselves about how cute the transfer student was. However, some of the students whispered that there was something odd about Ayano, that they couldn’t quite put their finger on it. They also noted Ayano’s white hair, which some students seemed to like the aesthetics of and others seemed to be creeped out by it.

“Takada-san, can I entrust you with the duties of showing Ayano around the school and introducing her to everybody?” their teacher asked.

“That I can do,” Kotone said with a nod of her head. Business as usual.

The teacher instructed Ayano towards the empty seat next to Kotone, where she was to sit. As she closed in, Kotone squinted her eyes. There was a white aura emanating off of her. Didn’t anybody else see what Kotone could? None of the other students commented on it. It had to be another hallucination. She really needed to get more rest.

Kotone put on a pleasant smile and extended a hand towards the transfer student. “I am Takada Kotone. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Ayano fixed her silvery blues on Kotone and took in as much as she could. Kotone meanwhile averted her gaze for once, unable to stare any longer at her.

“Nice to meet you, Takada-san,” Ayano finally said. “Please treat me well.”

After that, class went into session. Kotone took out her notes and pencils. She glanced towards Ayano, and saw the white aura still emanating from her being. Kotone blinked, yet it was still there. Then she surveyed the classroom. Ayano was the only one with an aura. And glancing at her was like peering into the sun. Something about it made her whirl. Kotone put a hand to her head, shook it off, and returned back to her notes.

She tried her best to remain focused on the lesson, but something about Ayano was bothering her. Why was she seeing this aura, and the other students weren’t? Why was it focused only on Ayano? Everyone else appeared normal. Whatever it was, it piqued Kotone’s curiosity despite of herself, and she stole a peek at Ayano one final time.

The aura seemed to grow even brighter and Kotone’s cranium pounded harder than before. She Kotone then focused on her notes again, and the headache disappeared. Strangely, she got headaches when she stared at Ayano--or the aura, or whatever it was. Or maybe it was just because she didn’t get enough rest, though a lingering doubt settled in the back of her mind. Wouldn’t the rest of the students have ‘auras’ around them if she were hallucinating things, and wouldn’t the headaches continue to be prolonged even after she glanced away from someone?

When the bell finally rang and signified lunch time, Kotone let out a sigh of relief. Kotone gestured for Ayano to follow her, and she did so. They made their way towards the school roof, where Megumi and Kotone usually ate their lunches together. Megumi waited for the two of them at the school roof, having prepared two bento boxes--one for herself, and one for Kotone. Kotone accepted hers gratefully. Inside Kotone’ bento were hot dogs shaped like octopuses, apples shaped like rabbits, some sushi rolls, and omelette rice. Kotone smiled a little at Megumi before saying, “You out did yourself this time, Megumi.”

“I’m so glad that you like my lunches!” Megumi said with a smile as she opened up her own bento, which mirrored Kotone’s. “I put extra love in them! Though let’s see, Ayano-chan, what do you have in your bento?”

Ayano lifted the lid of her bento box to reveal a bunch of white rice with an umeboshi dead in the center. It was not like the elaborate lunches that Megumi made, though Kotone supposed she couldn’t blame Ayano for making such a simple lunch. The only extent of Kotone’s cooking ability was onigiri, and she sometimes salted them way too much for other people’s liking.

“Only white rice and an umeboshi?” Megumi said while she peered into Ayano’s lunch. “Are you sure you don’t want to share some of mine, Ayano-chan? You’re welcome to it, if you’d like!”

“I prefer simple foods.” Ayano plucked the umeboshi from the center with her chopsticks and popped it into her mouth. “I prefer white rice and eggs. That’s it.”

“Oh, I see,” Megumi said, her smile unfazed. “Well if you ever want me to make you lunch, then I would be happy to do it.”

“No thanks,” Ayano said. Megumi nodded and they continued to eat their lunches.
During this time, Kotone remained silent, as her headache from earlier only grew and expanded into a pulsing nightmare. Kotone put a hand to her forehead, before putting it down again. She couldn't waver and show any signs of weakness in front of the new student. She needed to make a good impression, headache or no.

“So Kotone-chan,” Megumi said after she finished chewing a hot dog, “was there anything you were ignoring so far today?”

Kotone sighed. Megumi was still going on about the horoscope. “I haven’t had any major revelations, so there’s nothing to report.”

“Oh? That’s a shame. I was hoping that I would be able to persuade you, because my own horoscope hasn’t come up yet today. I’m not giving up yet, though! The day is still young!”

“How very interesting,” Ayano said. “What else did the horoscope say, Megumi-san?”

Megumi’s eyes flickered. “You’re interested in the supernatural as well, Ayano-chan?!”

“You could say I’m a specialist.” Ayano glanced towards Kotone, who averted her gaze once more.

Kotone continued to struggle against the pounding that afflicted her. The most she could muster about the conversation was the rolling of her eyes. It seemed Megumi and Ayano would get along just fine with one another, since they both were paranormal nuts.
‘However, I don’t believe that horoscopes are really reliable,” Ayano went on.

“Oh really?” Megumi took an apple rabbit and bit into it. “Most people don’t believe in horoscopes and predetermined destinies, but I find the entire idea romantic. The universe has everything planned out for each individual, and that also means there are some people that are destined to be lovers with one another, and then they continually reincarnate in several lifetimes and always find themselves with one another again. Why is that? The red string of fate, of course. Don’t you just find that kind of stuff so amazing? A soulmate. Someone who is a part of you and completes you.”

“There is no such thing as a soulmate,” Ayano said. “There are souls that you feel a connection to, yes, though there are some souls that are connected to a wide variety of other souls, and different souls could be one’s ‘soulmate’ in one lifetime and there might be another soul in the next. That’s just how the cycle goes. The idea of soulmates is just a romantic’s idea.”

“Ooh, you seem to have a lot of thoughts on the matter, Ayano-chan,” Megumi said with a smile. “So what kinds of things are you into?”

“I do fortune-telling for a living,” Ayano said.

“Fortune-telling? That’s so cool! Can you tell me my fortune, please?”

While Megumi and Ayano conversed with one another, Kotone’s head thickened more and more. The white aura from Ayano only made it pulsate even worse. She couldn’t even look directly at Ayano anymore.

Kotone closed her eyes.

I can overcome this. Impossible becomes ‘I’m possible’ if you put an apostrophe in there. I can make this stupid headache go away!

When she opened her eyes, the aura was gone and the throbbing stopped.

Ayano directed a wry smile towards Kotone, who shivered in response. What did that smile possibly mean? Why did Ayano smirk at her like that? Whatever it was, she must’ve made some kind of impression on Ayano, as Ayano gave a subtle nod towards Kotone’s direction before finishing off the rest of her rice.

After lunch, with the headache gone, Kotone could concentrate more on her studies. She went through her classes dutifully, from Math to Science and English class. She wrote down theorems and equations and vocabulary words in separate notebooks that she categorized neatly into sections, and she even wrote down some extra notes and her own commentary on the notes themselves to help her better understand the material. She gave Ayano a tour of the school afterward. She showed her the various classrooms, the library, computer lab room, the art room, and various after. Ayano’s expression remained stoic the entire time, and Kotone had to wonder if Ayano was even impressed at all.

Still, the day proceeded as normally after that, and when it came time to go home, Kotone packed her notebooks and material into her backpack and started to head back home. She escorted Megumi back home and waved goodbye towards her friend, before heading towards her house. When she entered inside, she took off her shoes and greeted her parents while she entered through. Then she made her way into the room, where she was prepared to study, though something unexpected that threw her off.

The hallucination from earlier was still there.

Why was she still seeing this silly hallucination? It wasn’t real. She really needed to make sure she got proper sleep tonight instead of pulling another all-nighter.

“C-Could...could you help me please?” the ghost said, her eyes fixated on the ground.
So now it was talking to her. Great. She really needed to do something about this.

“You’re not real,” Kotone muttered as she went to her desk and pulled out her notebooks for English. She looked up the vocabulary words then wrote down the words that she needed to know along with their definitions on a sheet of paper. Then she transferred these notes onto notecards, with the English word on one side and the Japanese definition on the other side.

“Please!” a voice said right in her ear. “I need your help! Only you can possibly help me with this. Help me, please, I’m begging you!”

“You’re not real!” Kotone said before swatting at the ghost. Her hand struck against a chill spot in the air and sent the spirit soaring through the wall.

Kotone held her breath for a few moments. She only let out a pent up sigh of relief when the hallucination didn’t return.

“Kotone-chan? Are you alright?” her mother called up from downstairs.

“I’m fine, Mom,” Kotone said, flushing a little. She must’ve been louder than she thought. At any rate, enough was enough. She needed proper sleep to regulate her biorhythms and hopefully get rid of the hallucinations permanently. Yes, sleep sounded good right now; and by tomorrow, she would be free of all hallucinations. Or at least that’s what she believed.

II
Kotone woke up that morning to find the ghost hovering over her. She closed her eyes again. Was she dreaming? She had to be. It was the only rational explanation.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but please, I need your help!” said the ghost. “I really, really need your help! I wouldn’t bother you otherwise, but this is really important, and you’re the only person who can do this for me!”

“You’re not real!” Kotone shouted at the ghost. “Stop bothering me and go away already!”

“Please, just listen to what I have to say! I’ve been searching everywhere for a solution an-”

“No!” Kotone said, before she lashed out at the ghost again. Again it went flying through the wall.

After that incident, Kotone undressed from her pajamas and put on her sailor uniform, complete with the shirt, skirt, tie, and stockings that went with it. Once she was satisfied that the tie was knotted correctly in place and there was not a wrinkle anywhere to be found on her dress, Kotone ate a quick breakfast and went outside to meet up with Megumi, who was cheerily waving at her, as always.

“Hey Kotone-chan! How are you this morning?”

“Much better. I’m feeling charged up to do important things today.”

“That’s the spirit!” Megumi said, and they began walking towards the school together.

“So how was your night?” Kotone asked to spur on a conversation with her friend.

“Oh uh, you know, studying...the character dynamics in the various anime that I watch late at night?” Megumi said with a goofy smile on her face. “Oh, and did I tell you that Ayano-chan told my fortune? Everything was 100% correct! She even predicted the twists in the newest anime that were airing, as well! Isn’t that cool?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that it’s particularly amazing. Anime has become increasingly more predictable these days. Fortune-telling is a just scam that other people try to persuade other people into believing to make money off of them. There’s no such thing as being able to predict the future, that’s just silly.”

A draft whirled out of nowhere, and Kotone braced herself against the freak wind. Her hair streamed behind her, messing up the straight part she carefully combed. Her eyes then widened and she glanced down. She was wearing a skirt. The wind lifted up her skirt for all the world to see. A flush crept across Kotone’s cheeks, staining her cheeks a deep crimson red despite the fact she tried to remain as dignified as possible. She cleared her throat when she noticed Ayano approaching her.

“That’s fancy underwear that you’re wearing, Kotone-san,” Ayano said.

“S-Shut up!” Her cheeks reddened considerably.

“Ufufufufufu…”

A prominent chord stood out. Kotone’s eyes narrowed then darted back and forth between the white-haired girl and the seemingly empty space behind her.

“Ufufufu!”

Kotone gritted her teeth and clenched her hands into fists. It’s probably that damned ghost from before. She shook her head. No, even if there was a ghost - which there most certainly wasn’t - she had another matter to attend to, such as the strange girl that caught her in an inopportune moment.

“Good morning, Ayano-chan!” Megumi said.

“Good morning. May I walk with you to school?”

“Of course!” Megumi said. “The more the merrier, right, Kotone-chan?”

“I suppose it’ll do no harm. Do what you like.”

Megumi wrapped her arms around Ayano’s shoulders and clasped her tight against her.
“Thank you so much for telling my fortune yesterday! You’re like the most adorable fortune-teller ever!”

“My tiny size is full of concentrated cuteness,” Ayano said.

“Doesn’t she look just like a pretty little porcelain doll, Kotone-chan?”

Kotone rolled her eyes. “Sure, whatever.”

“So,” Megumi said, her green eyes lighting up. “About the paranormal…”

“There are many things that people refuse exist when they actually do,” Ayano said.

“The strange incident this morning doesn’t have to be a paranormal event, you know,” Kotone said while folding her arms across her scrawny chest. “Like for example…it could be me overworking myself into mental illness rather than it being some entity that doesn’t even exist or have a provable explanation.”

Ayano put a sardonic hand against her cheek. “Mm. If you want a demonstration of my powers, perhaps it is time to show you the validity of the supernatural experience.”

“Ha?” Kotone said. “No one asked for that!”

“She anticipated my thoughts before I even said anything,” Megumi said, her eyes sparkling, and that’s when Kotone knew that she was lost.

Kotone let out a sigh, before she said. “Fine, but make it brief. I’m not into this kind of stuff like Megumi is. So you should probably tell her fortune or whatever first.”

“Mm,” Ayano said, giving Kotone that mysterious smile of hers before she said, “You, as a Gemini, have a powerful magnetic aura that draws people toward you. On this particular day the portents show that the contents of your message have been fruitful. You’ve planted the seeds that will eventually bloom into beautiful flowers of fruit, so keep on spreading your message and divination abilities. You will become a powerful medium for sure with the proper meditation and exercises, so let your spiritual awakening come to you through a Vision.”

Kotone perked up. “A Vision? What is that?”

Ayano smirked, before she said. “Ara? I thought you weren’t interested?”

Kotone flushed.

“No, but…”

“As for you, Kotone Takada,” Ayano said solemnly. “You were born on the most Auspicious of Days. April 1st. The reason for this is because you have exceptionally powerful spiritual and mediumship a bilities, nad to compensate for such abilities, you have bad luck in exchange to whatever Deity that is watching over you. Remember to pay respects to your Deity for protection, because despite your powerful abilities of Catalystic power, the Deity is shaping a future for you stemming from your birthday and destiny that you’re bracing against forces that are beyond your conceivable imagining to battle against one day.”

Kotone muttered something under her breath, still fuming about Ayano seeing her black laced panties. But it wasn’t enough for Kotone to acknowledge the spirit’s existence. Ghosts simply didn’t exist. What just happened was just an unfortunate incident. She would fix that soon enough. After all, she, Takada Kotone, was an industrious worker.

Once they made it to class, Kotone straightened into her seat and took out her notebooks and pencil. She would remind Ayano that she was a competent class president, that she knew her stuff, that she was an intelligent and well-educated young woman who was serious about her career.

“Today we’re going to learn about mitosis,” the teacher explained as he wrote down notes on the whiteboard. “Mitosis the process of nuclear cell division. The nucleus of the cell divides, resulting into two sets of chromosomes… And is so….”
Kotone went to write her notes down, but her pencil snapped cleanly in half. She ground her teeth together. A tic started to form in her right eye, though she took a deep breath. She had to keep her composure; it was a school environment, after all. She got out another pencil, but it too snapped when she tried to write down the notes. She swore something underneath her breath.

“Ufufufu...how do you like that?” said the ghost.
Kotone took out a pen and scrawled some notes down on a fresh sheet of notebook paper. Success! The pen didn’t snap! She allowed herself a quick smile. Ghost or no ghost, she would not be outwitted.

Her victory, however, was short lived. Her seat collapsed on one side, nearly toppling her over onto the white tile floor. Her hands slammed onto the desktop to brace herself from falling. This was just a minor setback. She still had things under control. She just needed to keep calm and maintain her dignity throughout this trial.
Yet the desk itself unhinged and collapsed onto the floor with a crash. Kotone knocked her head dead center in the middle of the desk. Her brain whirled in ever decreasing circles. What in the name of God, Buddha, or whatever entity out there had some vendetta against her for her lack of faith? She didn’t deserve this!

The seat made one final wobble before it too unhinged and collapsed. Kotone’s bottom bumped the floor. A jolt shot up on her tailbone.

“Takada-san, are you alright?” asked the teacher.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Except for her broken dignity. A series of unfortunate events happening one after another. She just couldn’t catch a break. Nevertheless, she had to remain calm.
After all, she was the model student and class president.

Kotone caught a fleeting smile on Ayano’s lips. Was Ayano laughing at her misfortune? Her cheeks reddened again. Ayano would forever remember her as the girl whose skirt got flipped by a freak wind and wears fancy underwear.

“Takada-san, we will replace your desk and chair as soon as possible. For now, go to the infirmary and see if there are any bruises that need mended,” the teacher advised.

Kotone made her way towards the infirmary, where she explained the situation about a collapsing desk and chair. The nurse clucked her tongue sympathetically and bid Kotone rest a little while. She folded her hands upon her chest and closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, there was the ghost, floating above her. Her smile was that of a cat who caught a canary. “Did you like my little performance back there? I could do all sorts of things with my ghostly powers. I wonder what I should do next…?”

“You’re being a nuisance.” She threw an arm across her eyes.

“Oh, I could be even worse than that. I could get nastier. Pretty soon I will be throwing furniture around the room, causing heavy machinery to accidentally drop on you when you least suspect it, and flickering the lights on and off. I could do those things, you know, but I haven’t needed to go to drastic measures.”

A sigh escaped from her lips. “What do you want from me? If you want me to say that you’re real, then you’re real. You’ve proven your point.”

The ghost floated down to the floor and put a spectral hand against Kotone’s bedside. “What I want is to move on from this place.”

“And how do you expect me to help you? Couldn’t you have gone to a shrine and have some spiritualist purify you or whatever? I don’t dabble in the supernatural.”

“I can’t exactly enter a shrine because I’ve committed a great crime in the spiritual world and you’ve drawn me.”

“What crime?”

The ghost averted her gaze and tugged at her braid. Was it Kotone’s imagination, or did the ghost shrink to a smaller size. The ghost paused for a moment, realized what she was doing and cleared her throat. “...I… I committed suicide.”

Kotone’s stomach churned when the ghost mentioned her suicide. The ghost must have summoned up a lot of courage to say that to her. Damn it! She had been so insensitive this entire time! She could’ve listened to the ghost in the first place, but she was so adamant against acknowledging the supernatural. Sometimes, Kotone’s stubborn nature got the best of her.

Still, she was no spiritualist. She was simply an ordinary sixteen year old girl that wanted to become a lawyer in America. Just what exactly could she do for this poor spirit? Even if she now acknowledged that the ghost girl was real, that didn’t make her an expert on the paranormal or ghosts. She dealt with the rational waking world rather than the deep subconscious of cyclopean menageries that dominated dreams.

“I don’t know what I can do, but I’ll try to help you,” Kotone decided. “I’ll try to think of a solution after school. But no more ghostly business!”

Hana put a hand to her face, eyes wide and shimmering. “I’m in you debt, truly. I shall leave you alone for now and let you think of how to let me pass on.”

The ghost girl then faded away into the background, blending into the colors of her surroundings. Kotone blinked, then shook her head. Just what was she going to do?