FORGOTTEN

     Yamanaka!” I called out forcefully. I could see the change in her eyes and knew that she’d finally snapped back.

     Fed up with the growing lack of focus we all had, I attempted to force myself and the investigation into some sort of sensical direction.

“According to you, time’s up. So, what happens next?”

     It was a bit hasty of an approach, especially considering the anomaly of a predicament we were in, but deep down I had a bad taste in my mouth.

     “I don’t know,” Uzume casually pushed back, “I don’t remember much about the letter. You’re the analyst, aren’t you? Maybe try actually reading when you stare at it next time? Who knows? You might learn something about it that could be of use.”

     Uzume had made a clear point. That we’d all been fixated on the concept of the letter, but not the entirety of its contents.

     I fished the letter out of my pocket in search of the 5:26 timestamp but suddenly found myself caught up with something else. A line of text began to catch my attention like never before.

“I forgot to tell her not to visit the shrine.”

     As I read that line out loud, everyone stopped. A lurking energy ruffled down my spine and the air began eating away at me. Uzume looked at the paper with fear.

     I looked over the words over and over again and a recurring thought started filling my mind; I’ve heard this phrase before.

     It had started to become a theme throughout this whole investigation.

     Uzume’s expression continued to waver, and her sense of fright didn’t budge. I glanced around the room, looking at everyone’s faces. All telling the same story.

They’ve all heard it before too.

Words that I have no recollection of but remember so clearly.

The concept of color that I’ve never been exposed to before but can see so clearly.

A world that I’ve seemingly never experienced, but somehow have forgotten…

     As I looked back over at Uzume, her eyes peered back at me with despair. Then when Agent Yamanaka’s voice rang out, it shook the entire room.

“This thing… It’s getting bigger.”

     As we all faced face her, I noticed she had been staring at the red substance yet again. Unfortunately, however, she was right.

The puddle was growing…